Marinara Sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

1 dried bay leaves

To Make

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste.

(The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

Recipe courtesy of

Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday Italian

Episode: Perfect Pairings

Exquisite Pizza Sauce

Recipe by: Angie Gorkoff

 "This sauce is wonderfully flavorful and is worth adding in the numerous ingredients."

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)

3/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

salt to taste

To Make

In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.

Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

Easy No-Cook Pizza Sauce

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic pepper

To Make

Stir tomato sauce, onion powder, sugar, oregano, and garlic pepper seasoning together in a bowl until smooth.

Kickin’ Hawaiian Pizza

Isn't it about time for a fun new twist on your usual pizza? Pineapple adds pizzazz and honey lends a touch of sweetness to the sauce in this wonderful Hawaiian pizza recipe. Give it a try today! —John Weakland, Springfield, Oregon

Kickin' Hawaiian Pizza Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Test Kitchen Approved

Contest Winner

4 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup roasted sweet red peppers

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons dried minced garlic

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tubes (13.8 ounces each) refrigerated pizza crust

2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1 cup shredded Romano cheese, divided

1 package (3-1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni

1 cup pineapple tidbits, drained

To Make

For sauce, place the first 10 ingredients in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Transfer to a small saucepan; heat through.

Meanwhile, press pizza dough into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan; build up edges slightly and seal seam. Bake at 425° for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned.

Spread 1-3/4 cups sauce over crust (refrigerate remaining sauce for another use). Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Romano; top with pepperoni, pineapple and remaining cheeses.

Bake for 14-18 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Originally published as Kicking Hawaiian Pizza in Simple & Delicious January/February 2010

Cauliflower Crust

This comes from a friend of mine. Her post is pasted below.

SOMETIMES I'm good at posting things in a timely manner...most of the time I am not.

Last weekend we finally tried cauliflower crust pizza with goat cheese, prosciutto and mushrooms on top.  It was incredibly delicious!  Cauliflower of all things!  

Pics are (C) 2018 Heather Nedham

Canadian Pizza

1 pizza crust

6 oz tomato pizza sauce

6 oz bacon, chopped

6 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

6 oz pepperoni slices

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion (optional)

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (optional)

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz) or more if your preference 

To Make

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray or grease 15x10-inch or larger dark or nonstick cookie sheet. Unroll dough on cookie sheet; starting at center, press out dough into a circle.

Top dough tomato sauce then with half of the cheddar cheese

Arrange bacon, pepperoni, mushrooms and the rest of the cheddar cheese to within 1/2 inch of edges. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese.

Bake regular crust 16 to 20 minutes, thin crust 10 to 14 minutes, or until crust is deep golden brown. Cut into 8 servings.

Neapolitan pizza "Margherita"

Neapolitan pizza "Margherita"

For the Dough:

4 cups Italian tipo "00" flour or bread flour, plus extra for dusting dough

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups water

Cooking spray or olive oil to coat containers

For the Sauce:

1 (14-ounce) can whole peeled Italian tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

For the Toppings:

12 ounces fresh buffalo mozzarella or fresh cow's milk mozzarella (fior di latte), cut into 1/4-inch slices or torn into small chunks

Handful basil leaves

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

To Make

Make the Dough

Combine flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix to combine.

Add water and mix to combine. Then, knead dough on low speed for 10 minutes. The mixture should come together into a unified mass that barely sticks to the bottom of the bowl as it kneads. If dough sticks, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time to the mixer while it is running, until the mass barely sticks to the bowl. If the mixture is too dry, add water 1 tablespoon at a time to the running mixer.

Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. It can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to make pizza, transfer dough to a floured work surface. Divide dough into four even sections.

Coat four small containers or bowls with nonstick cooking spray or olive oil.

With floured hands, form each section into a ball. Place one dough ball into each coated container or bowl. Lightly spray the top of each dough ball with nonstick cooking spray or coat with olive oil.

Cover each container or bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Each dough ball should double in volume.

Make the Sauce

Make the sauce by either pushing the tomatoes through a food mill or simply pulsing them in a food processor until a chunky liquid is formed.u

Heat oven to at least 475 F,  higher if your oven allows. If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to heat as well.

Assemble the Pizzas

Onto a well-floured surface, stretch out each ball into a 10-inch circle. Use a floured rolling pin if you need it. Don’t worry about the dough being a perfect circle!

Place one dough ball onto a lightly floured pizza peel, shake gently to ensure that the dough is not sticking. 

Spread about 1/3 cup of sauce over the dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch edge unsauced.

Top the sauce with a quarter of the mozzarella slices. Tear a few basil leaves on top (according to your liking) and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. You can also add the basil and olive oil after the pizza is cooked.

Transfer pizza from peel to the hot stone and bake about 5 to 7 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is charred in places.

Repeat with remaining dough balls and ingredients.

Note: Try making this pizza twice—once with Italian tipo "00" flour and once with bread flour and see if you can detect the difference.