You’re planning to make pizza at home, but there’s only spaghetti sauce in the fridge. So, can you use pasta sauce for pizza?
You can utilize pasta sauce on a pizza, but the outcome will be different. Pasta sauce is well-cooked, whereas pizza sauce is generally uncooked before being applied to the pizza.
Even though raw tomato sauce tastes better on pizza, the pasta sauce is still delicious. If you’re preparing a simple home pizza, pasta sauce will still make a delicious pizza, but the flavor will be different than you’re used to.
This article will tell you all about the differences between pizza sauce and pasta sauce. We’ll discuss the differences, similarities, and possible alternatives.
Can You Use Pasta Sauce For Pizza?

It’s possible to use pasta sauce in place of pizza sauce. However, just because you may replace pizza sauce with pasta sauce does not mean you should.
Pasta sauce is far too sweet, with no harsh, garlicky, or spicy notes. So, it only helps if you use it on pizza when you have no other substitutes.
Add additional ingredients such as Italian seasoning, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic to make it seem more like a pizza sauce.
What Differs Pizza Sauce From Pasta Sauce?
Pasta sauce is cooked, whereas pizza sauce is cheese tomato sauce. The pasta sauce normally takes a long time to cook and contains extra herbs like basil.
Pasta sauce is also sweeter, more flavorful, and more complex than pizza sauce. The pasta sauce flavor the pasta, whereas the pizza sauce is simply a basis for additional components.
Pasta sauce is more difficult to produce than pizza sauce. Let’s take a closer look at each of these distinctions.
Ingredients
Pizza sauce is relatively straightforward. Tomato puree and tomato paste include balsamic vinegar, pepper, garlic, olive oil, oregano, and salt in jarred pizza sauces.
You can garnish your pizza sauce with whatever extra components you like (fruits, spices, etc.). To figure out how many ingredients are enough, you need to determine: How big is a large pizza?
Crushed tomatoes, pepper, garlic, salt, and onion powder are just a few of the ingredients in pasta sauce. Your canned pasta sauce may contain ground meat, sausage, and additional spices.
By changing the ingredients, you will create different ketchup variations. One of the famous recipes is Marinara sauce.
Here comes a question: Can you use marinara sauce for pizza? But we will answer it in another post.
Preparation
The store-bought pizza sauce is uncooked tomato. Pasta sauce, on the other hand, is normally cooked slowly to bring out all of the flavors because you’ll pour it over cooked spaghetti and let the flavors soak into the noodles.
In the oven, the store-bought pizza sauce cooks with the pizza base. When you take your processed pizza out, the outcome is fresh tomato flavors.
Consistency
The consistency of each sauce is appropriate.
The sauce on pizza is denser than the sauce on pasta. If you use a liquid sauce on the pizza crust, it will turn mushy while it cooks. Everyone likes a crisp pizza crust!
In terms of the spaghetti sauce, it should be a touch runny. For your noodles or spaghetti, it’s recommended to use a watery sauce.
The liquid sauce coats your pasta fast, resulting in tasty and silky noodle strings. The worst kind of spaghetti is sticky pasta!
Three Best Pizza Sauces Without Tomatoes
Want to make pizza at home but not have sauce? Scroll down to figure out how to prepare your homemade alternative sauces for your pie.
Pesto
Pesto is a great choice for you if you’re looking for something different and more fresh in your pizza. It goes especially well with vegetarian mozzarella pizza because the flavors complement each other wonderfully.
Basil pesto is the most popular pizza pesto. This traditional pesto recipe is simple to prepare. To make an amazingly fresh pizza, spread it over the prepared pizza base and top it with your favorite toppings.
Mozzarella, feta, bell peppers, and olives are the most common pesto pizza toppings. Aside from basil, there are a few more pesto choices worth exploring.
Pestos made with dried tomatoes, walnuts, pistachios, parsley, and anchovies are among them. To find out what you like best about the pizza, try experimenting with different pesto types.
Ranch Dressing
Ranch Dressing has long been the go-to dip for dipping pizza in North America. Ranch dressing adds a lovely, creamy flavor to the pizza with a sharp edge that complements the other ingredients and produces a distinct sensation.
You can make your ranch sauce. But, if you need a light pizza sauce, keeping a bottle or two in the fridge will come in handy.
Bechamel Sauce
Bechamel or white sauce are fantastic choices for a simple pizza. You may use bechamel to make more complicated sauces or add it to various meals, like bechamel lasagna and ricotta.
When making bechamel sauce for pizza, on the other hand, you can keep it simple by using only a few different flavors that you enjoy. Alternatively, you might experiment to come up with something unique and delectable.
To prepare the bechamel, start by making a sauce with flour and butter, then gradually add milk while whisking. Cook it to the correct consistency. And you can season it with cheese, salt, and pepper to make the ultimate white pizza sauce.
Final Thoughts
It’s up to you whether you use pizza sauce or pasta sauce, but if you use pasta sauce, you’ll miss a part of the fantastic pizza flavor.
Pasta sauce is convenient and excellent if you’re also using store-bought pizza dough. But if you’re going to the trouble of creating your pizza crust, you’ll need more time to make the pizza sauce. Making a simple pizza sauce with a blender or food processor can take as little as 5 minutes, so go ahead and try it.