Red Sauce Pizza
Make this Red Sauce Pizza, with my easy pizza dough recipe, and stop ordering take out pizza. Make it your own by adding your own favorite toppings!
You don’t need a fancy pizza pan or pizza peel to make homemade pizza at home. You can even make it on a sheet pan if you don’t have a pizza pan. My pizza dough recipe makes two pizzas, so let the kids do one their way!
Required Ingredients for this pizza
There are a few necessary ingredients for this recipe. Of course you need pizza dough. You also need cheese for any good pizza recipe. But hey…after the few required ingredients, you can do your own thing!
- 1/2 of my easy pizza dough recipe, (or 1 store bought pizza dough)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (I like to use olive oil with garlic)
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic from a jar
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce, homemade or store bought
- 1 (8-ounce) bar Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, (not from a can)
- Cornmeal optional, if using a pizza stone
Optional topping ideas
- Crushed red pepper
- Fresh spinach, (stems removed and roughly chopped)
- Diced green pepper
- Diced green onions, (both white and green, about two onions)
- Small grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- Meat… Pancetta, salami, bacon, ham, pepperoni, cooked ground beef or sausage, chicken or any other meat
- Pineapple
- Olives…black or green
- Mushrooms
- Sliced tomatoes
- Salt or pepper optional
How to make this pizza
- Prepare the pizza dough, through step #9 of the pizza dough recipe. (If using store bought, follow the directions on the package).
- Next, preheat oven to 475 degrees.
- Once you’ve shaped the dough into a large 12-inch circle, transfer it to a pizza pan. If using a pizza stone, sprinkle it with some cornmeal so that the pizza doesn’t stick to it.
- Brush the olive oil over the pizza crust, then spoon the sauce over the dough, and spread it out, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge. The olive oil helps to seal the crust, preventing it from becoming soggy.
- Add the toppings: Add the Mozzarella cheese first, then scatter the remaining toppings over the top, ending with the parmesan cheese on top. You can also add a little sprinkling of salt or pepper, if you prefer.
- Bake the pizza about 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheeses are melted.
- Allow the pizza to cool for about 7 to 8 minutes, (allowing the cheese to firm up some), before slicing. Wrap and refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days.
Pro tips for making this recipe
- Mozzarella cheese: Don’t use shredded cheese. It has a waxy coating on it. Buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself.
- If you’re using a pizza stone to place your pizza on, I recommend sprinkling it with cornmeal to keep the pizza crust from sticking to it.
- My new favorite way of baking pizza…I place my pizza on a pizza pan. Then I place the pizza pan in my oven on top of my preheated pizza stone. It comes out perfect and doesn’t stick to the pizza pan. I don’t need to use cornmeal.
- This pizza dough recipe makes a thin crust pizza. It’s slightly crispy. If you prefer a chewier crust, you can opt to use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour.
- Dough tip: Use your fingers to begin stretching the dough into a small circle. Then pick up the dough and allow it to hang over two of your knuckles. Hold the pizza up in the air, rotating it slowly, and let gravity stretch it as you rotate it. Keep rotating the dough as you go. Alternately you can hold the top edge of the dough with your fingers, rotating it every few seconds, allowing gravity to stretch it. If the dough seems to want to spring back into place instead of stretching, place it back on the work surface and allow it to rest for 10 minutes, then try again. You can also use a rolling pin to help stretch it.
- Make sure your oven is preheated and if you’re using my tip on the pizza stone, (4th bullet from top), preheat the pizza stone in the oven. This makes for a more crispy crust.
- Allow the pizza to cool for at least 7 to 8 minutes before cutting into slices, giving the cheese time to firm up.
- As much as you might like lots of toppings, try to limit the amount of each one. The more toppings you have piled on top, the longer it will take to bake, and you don’t want to over bake the crust while waiting for the toppings and cheeses to get done.
FAQ’S
Can I freeze the pizza dough?
Yes. You can freeze it for up to two months. When ready to use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Once you press it out onto your pizza pan, leave it for about 30 minutes to rise some.
Can I freeze the pizza sauce?
Yes. You can freeze it for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Can I freeze this pizza?
Certainly! You can froze it unbaked or baked. If freezing it unbaked, place it on a cookie sheet first and freeze it until firm. That way it will keep its shape. Then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, then heavy foil.
You might also like my White Pizza recipe!
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Red Sauce Pizza
- Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: One 12-inch pizza 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This Red Sauce Pizza is extremely easy to make, and a great weekend recipe without having to go out. The pizza dough makes 2 pizzas, so let the kids do one their way.
Ingredients
- 1/2 of my easy pizza dough recipe, (or 1 store bought pizza dough)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (I use olive oil with garlic)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce, homemade or store bought
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, from a bar
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, (not from a can)
- Toppings of your choice
Instructions
- Prepare the pizza dough, through step #9 of the pizza dough recipe.
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
- Once you’ve shaped the dough into a large 12-inch circle, transfer it to a pizza pan. If using a pizza stone, sprinkle it with some cornmeal so that the pizza doesn’t stick to it.
- In a tiny bowl, mix together the olive oil and garlic, and brush it over the pizza crust.
- Spoon the pizza sauce over the dough and spread it evenly, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge.
- Add the toppings: Add the Mozzarella cheese first, then scatter the remaining toppings over the top, ending with the parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake the pizza about 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheeses are melted.
- Allow the pizza to cool for a few minutes, giving the cheese time to firm up before slicing. Wrap and refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days.