You only need one main ingredient and a few spices to make the best spicy pizza sauce. This raw (no cook) Italian spicy tomato sauce is perfect for Neapolitan-style pizza.
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If you're looking for a fun twist on the classic pizza sauce, you have to try this spicy version! This is a Neapolitan-style pizza sauce, meaning that there's no cooking required!
If you're unfamiliar with Neapolitan style pizza, it was born in the city of Naples, in the region of Campana. I learned how to make pizza Napoletana while attending culinary school in Italy.
In school, we would use peperoncino powder (also known as Calabrian chili powder) to add a delicious spicy flavor. However, since this spice is hard to get your hands on when you're not in Italy, I’ve opted to use crushed red pepper for this recipe.
If you'd prefer a normal pizza sauce, be sure to check out my classic Italian pizza sauce recipe.
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- The easiest way to make spicy tomato sauce for pizzas.
- Helpful tips to fix your tomato sauce if it’s too watery.
- The importance of tasting and adjusting seasonings.
Want to make the best Italian pizza? Grab a list of 85+ Italian pizza topping ideas.
Ingredients You Need
Such a simple recipe uses just a handful of key ingredients to make a delicious Italian no-cook spicy pizza sauce.
Whole canned peeled tomatoes: For this recipe, you want a large amount of canned tomatoes. Be sure to buy a can of tomatoes that are already peeled. I highly recommend choosing a brand or variety that you know tastes delicious (like San Marzano tomatoes). Since tomatoes are the only real ingredient in this recipe, it’s worth it to pay a little extra for a higher-quality.
Crushed red peppers: This is where the spice comes from! Crushed red peppers or red chili flakes add the perfect amount of heat to this tomato sauce. The dried chili flakes are great because they distribute evenly throughout the sauce to make sure every bite is just as spicy as the next. Feel free to use more crushed red peppers if you want a spicer sauce.
Kosher salt: For this recipe, I recommend using kosher salt. Salt enhances the flavors of the tomatoes.
Black pepper: I prefer to use finely ground black pepper to avoid any large peppercorn chunks. Pepper is another essential flavor enhancer, adding depth to savory dishes.
How To Make This Recipe
You have never seen a recipe for Italian Neapolitan spicy pizza sauce that is this easy. In no time, you'll have a raw tomato sauce ready to go on top of your Neapolitan-style pizza.
1.To begin, you are going to need an electric blender. An immersion blender or a food processor would work for this as well.
Start by filling your blender with the tomatoes, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and salt.
Make sure to use the liquid from the canned tomatoes as well.
2. Attach the lid and pulse the tomatoes four to five times. You only want to break up the large chunks of tomato. Avoid blending it so much that it turns into tomato juice.
As soon as you’re done blending, you can use it right away to spread atop your Italian Neapolitan pizza. If you aren’t planning on using it right away, store the Italian tomato sauce in an airtight container. This will stay good in the fridge for up to a week.
Expert Tips
- Storage: Store leftover pizza sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- If the pizza sauce has too much liquid for your liking, you can strain some of the excess juice with a fine mesh strainer.
- I always suggest tasting your sauce before deciding if it’s good to go. If you taste it and feel that it needs more crushed red pepper, a little more salt, and/or a little more pepper, feel free to add some. Simply mix the extra seasoning with a whisk (no need to blend again).
- Tomato sauce can be hard to clean out of plastic containers because it tends to stain them a bit. If possible, store your tomato sauce in a glass container for easy cleanup.
Recipe FAQs
An easy fix for watery tomato sauce is to use a mesh strainer to filter out some of the tomato water. Do this a little bit at a time until your tomato sauce is the consistency you like.
To add some more heat to the tomato sauce, add a little more crushed chili flakes. Taste as you go until you get your desired flavor.
Absolutely, because this recipe is so simple, you can halve or even quarter this recipe.
There is no best brand, but some of my favorites are Red Gold and Cento.
If you want to make this recipe with ripe, summer tomatoes, which I highly recommend, then you'll need to flash-cook (blanch) the tomatoes. Here's what to do:
1. Boil a large pot of water over high heat.
2. Score the bottom of each tomato with a small "X". I like to use a pairing knife for this.
3. Add a small amount of tomatoes to the boiling water and cook for 30 - 90 seconds until you start to see the skins split open.
4. Finally, remove them from the boiling water and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking.
5. Then, you can peel off the skin and follow the instructions in the recipe card below.
More Pizza Recipes
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Spicy Italian Pizza Sauce
Equipment
- blender, food processor, or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 28 ounces whole canned peeled tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add tomatoes along with the juice, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper to the container of an electric blender. Pulse 4 - 5 times, just until the large chunks of tomato have broken down. Alternatively, use a food processor or immersion blender.
- Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Taylor
We just tired this as a dipping sauce for our pizza last night and LOVED it!