Easy low-sodium pizza sauce with half the sodium of store-bought pizza sauce. No cook, ready in 5 minutes, budget-friendly.
About Low Salt Pizza Sauce
If you're looking for a low sodium pizza sauce, this is for you!
With less than half of the sodium found in most store-bought pizza sauce, you still get all the flavor.
Plus, it takes 5 minutes to make and needs no cook time. Oh, and it's very budget-friendly, even if you use parmesan cheese.
Simply stir the ingredients together, and it's ready to go.
Not only is this pizza sauce lower in sodium, but it's also lower in added sugar with only one teaspoon of honey for the entire recipe.
To top it all off, this homemade low-salt pizza sauce is delicious and you'd never know it's low in sodium.
Be sure to check out the sodium content, variations, and options for this pizza sauce to make it work for your preferences.
This pizza sauce also freezes well if you have leftovers that you aren't going to use in the next week.
Looking for more low-sodium sauce recipes? Check out my recipes for Low Sodium Salsa and Low Sodium BBQ Sauce.
Ingredients
Tomato sauce: Canned no-salt-added tomato sauce is recommended to keep this from being higher in sodium.
Tomato paste: I prefer the tomato sauce from a can because it's more budget-friendly and easier to get out of the container. Plus, it comes in 6-ounce cans so there's no measuring involved; simply use the entire can.
However, tomato paste from the tube will also work.
Honey: For a touch of sweetness, add a little honey. It's not much but it enhances the sweetness of the tomatoes to give the pizza sauce a nice depth of flavor.
For a vegan option, use granulated sugar.
Spices: The spices in this low sodium pizza sauce recipe are onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt.
Parmesan (optional): Parmesan in the pizza sauce helps the sauce stay on the pizza crust and gives it extra flavor, but it's optional.
Recipe Cost
- Tomato sauce 8-ounce can: $0.53
- Tomato paste 6-ounce can: $0.88
- Honey 2 teaspoons: $0.19
- Onion powder ½ teaspoon: $0.16
- Garlic powder ½ teaspoon: $0.04
- Italian seasoning 1.5 teaspoons: $0.27
- Salt ¼ teaspoon: $0.01
- Red pepper flakes ¼ teaspoon: $0.05
- Black pepper ¼ teaspoon: $0.03
- Parmesan ¼ cup: $0.64
TOTAL COST: $2.80 or $0.28/serving (Based on San Diego grocery stores 2024)
Note that this is not the recipe; it's simply to show the cost breakdown of ingredients. Scroll down to the full recipe to see the specific ingredients and directions.
How to Make Low Sodium Pizza Sauce
Time needed: 5 minutes
Super simple, low sodium pizza sauce recipe is budget-friendly and needs no cooking. Here's how to make pizza sauce with tomato sauce:
- Add tomato sauce and tomato paste to a bowl.
- Stir together.
- Add in water and honey.
- Carefully stir it all together.
- Add spices.
Stir well.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
*Use a non-reactive bowl like plastic, glass, or bamboo. Do not use a metal bowl.
*Adding parmesan to the pizza sauce helps the sauce stay on the pizza crust and gives it extra flavor, but it's optional.
Variations
Ingredient Options
Honey: If you do not want to use honey, use an equal amount of granulated sugar.
How to Make Allergy-Friendly
This low salt pizza sauce is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free, and vegetarian.
If you want it to be vegan, omit the honey and use an equal amount of granulated sugar in its place.
How to Fix a Mistake
Too thin: You can simmer the pizza sauce on the stove over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until it thickens.
Too thick: If it's too thick, stir in 1 tablespoon of water at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
Lacks flavor: Let it sit for at least 1 hour before adding extra seasoning.
If needed, add extra spices in ⅛ teaspoon increments. Or add one or two minced cloves of garlic. Also, you can add 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh herbs like basil or oregano.
Make-Ahead Ideas
The low-salt pizza sauce is perfect to make ahead of time.
Storage Suggestions
Store the pizza sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
It's best to store it in small bags or containers so you can defrost only what you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pizza sauce does not need added salt to taste good. This recipe proves it's still tasty as a no salt pizza sauce.
Make a quick and easy pizza sauce using a combo of tomato sauce and tomato paste along with spices.
Store-bought pizza sauce is high in sodium with between 200 and 250 mg of sodium per serving. If you make a homemade version, you can decrease it as low as 19 mg sodium per serving.
Difference Between Pasta Sauce and Pizza Sauce
The difference between pasta sauce vs pizza sauce is that pizza sauce is usually not cooked until it is on the pizza.
Similarly, in spaghetti sauce vs pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce is cooked before topping spaghetti pasta, and pizza sauce is not cooked until it's added to the pizza crust.
Nutrition Benefits
On top of the fact that this pizza sauce has less sodium than store-bought pizza sauce, it's also quite nutritious.
One ¼ cup serving provides 21% RDA of Vitamin C and 2 grams of fiber.
Using canned tomato ingredients increases the lycopene content. The heat used to can the tomatoes helps release the lycopene stored in tomatoes but is less bioavailable in fresh tomatoes.
Lycopene is a phytochemical that can help promote heart health and prevent certain cancers like prostate cancer plus so much more.
Low Salt Pizza Sauce Sodium Content
- ¼ teaspoon salt + 1-ounce parmesan cheese = 117 mg sodium per serving (5% DV)
- ¼ teaspoon salt + no parmesan cheese = 77 mg sodium per serving (3% DV)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt + 1-ounce parmesan cheese = 88 mg sodium per serving (4% DV)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt + no parmesan cheese = 48 mg sodium per serving (2% DV)
- no salt + no parmesan cheese = 19 mg sodium per serving (1% DV)
After testing the recipe multiple ways, I honestly think it's delicious with no added salt for a no salt pizza sauce.
What to Serve with Low Sodium Pizza Sauce
This versatile, homemade, low-sodium pizza sauce can be used as a base for a pizza, as a topping for chicken, in soup, or as a dipping sauce.
Some recipes to use your homemade pizza sauce include Roasted Veggie Pizza, Pizza Pasta Soup, Zucchini Pizza Bites, Pizza Chicken, and Pizza Casserole.
Final thoughts:
You'll love this quick and easy pizza sauce recipe that needs no cooking. It's great even if you aren't trying to reduce your sodium intake.
If you are using this as a dipping sauce, I recommend adding ¼ teaspoon of salt plus parmesan cheese. But please note the sodium content above if you need a very low-sodium pizza sauce.
RECIPES WITH PIZZA SAUCE YOU'LL LOVE:
Low Sodium Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 ounce no-salt added tomato sauce
- 6 ounce tomato paste
- 6 ounces warm water ¾ cup
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon onion powder or dried onion flakes
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt-free Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated, about 1 ounce (optional)
Instructions
- In a large plastic or glass bowl, whisk the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water together.
- Whisk in honey and water.
- Stir in all the spices and parmesan, if using.
- Best if covered tightly and let sit for at least an hour. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Notes
Meme
This post was originally published on October 7, 2014. Text, recipe, and photos have been updated.
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