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Within the past year or so, I’ve been making recipes related to pizza. Calzones, pizza quesadillas… I’ve even started making my own pizza crust in my bread machine!

For the longest time, I’ve just bought jars of pizza sauce. It’s convenient and tastes good, but I knew I could make my own somehow! After trying this easy recipe, I’m making my own sauce more often. The best part is that this delicious sauce makes so much, I can freeze the rest in individual sized bags to use in future recipes!

Keep scrolling to get to the recipe card of one of the best sauces ever, and to get more recipe ideas!

Ingredients

Tomato paste
Tomato sauce
Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Honey
Salt and pepper
Water

How much sauce will this make?

This sauce makes about 45 ounces, or almost 4 12-oz jars. It will definitely cover a large pizza and then some!

Can I make this on the stovetop?

Slow cooking is convenient because you don’t have to keep watch over it. But you can certainly make it on the stovetop. It’ll still have that delicious flavor!

I recommend heating it in a large pot on medium-low heat, and letting it simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Slow Cooker Pizza Sauce Recipe

Add all ingredients except Parmesan cheese in the slow cooker and give it a good stir.

Set to LOW and cook for 4 hours, making sure to stir every 30 minutes or so to prevent the sauce from sticking. Alternatively, you can use a slow cooker liner to save the mess!

After 4 hours, add the cheese and stir again, and then serve however you like!

How to use this pizza sauce

This seems like a silly question, but there are actually some really fun uses for this sauce!

• The most obvious way to use this is on homemade pizza! (I also make my own pizza dough) Add your favorite toppings and bake just like a regular pizza.
• We also use this as a dipping sauce for Pizza Quesadillas. You just add your favorite pizza toppings to a tortilla (Mozzarella cheese, pepperoni or turkey pepperoni, etc.) and cook it like a quesadilla.
• Use in your favorite pizza casserole recipe. It usually contains ground beef, dry pasta, vegetables like bell pepper, and sometimes spaghetti sauce. But obviously you can sub for this pizza sauce!
• Crock pot pizza dip: It might be easier to buy store-bought sauce for this, but homemade takes it to the next level. This makes a perfect appetizer!

How to store

Place any leftover sauce in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-5 days.

How to freeze

After the sauce has cooled, store the leftovers in quart-sized freezer bags. How many just depends on how much sauce you like to use for each recipe. We were able to get 3!

If you lay the bags flat like this in the freezer, they’ll stack easily once frozen to save room in your freezer!

Price comparison between store-bought and homemade

So because I’m a nerd and love seeing how much money I’m saving, here’s a breakdown of the cost of this versus a jar of pizza sauce:

1 jar of Ragu pizza sauce, 1 ounces: $1.64

This entire recipe, which makes about 45 ounces, or almost 4 jars: $3.50

• Price per “jar”: $.87!

That’s a pretty big savings! Plus you control the ingredients that are being put in and can freeze the leftovers, saving even more money!

This is a great crockpot recipe. Print the recipe below and try for yourself!