Looking for a flavorful pizza sauce you can whip up while your oven pre-heats? Then this is the pizza sauce for you! This kid-friendly Hidden Veggie Pizza Sauce is perfect for pizza, pasta, or dipping—and it comes together in just 15 minutes. It’s freezer-friendly, packed with hidden veggies, and basically the homemade pizza night cheat code.

Silver saucepan with red pizza sauce and a tan dishcloth and carrots and garlic scattered around.
5 stars (8 ratings)
“Love this!! As a mom of young kiddos, I’m always trying to find ways to incorporate veggies into our meals. This sauce was so delicious and neither one knew it had carrots!! I even noticed that it has at least half of the sodium as usual pizza sauce. So delicious and freezing the leftovers for future pasta dishes, too!” -Karyn
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I’m not sure about at your house, but around here, Friday nights are pizza nights.

Some weeks call for ordering out. Other weeks I have the bandwidth to make my own crust. But most Fridays? I’m reaching for the cheat code: bagels, naan, pita, or a store-bought crust, then adding a thick layer of sauce and ALL the toppings. It’s Friday. There is absolutely no shame in how we get dinner onto the table (or the couch) around here.

When I have the bandwidth, I’ll make a batch of this homemade pizza sauce. For starters, my kids both absolutely LOVE it and request it weekly. They like to add this sauce, along with our Costco pesto (#iykyk), to their pizzas in the most chaotic Jackson Pollock sort of way possible. It makes me question my parenting a little, but they love it, so I let them become pizza artists.

But the other reason I love this sauce? Veggies. As my kids have gotten older, they’ve become firmly Team Pepperoni and are less interested in putting veggies on top of their pizza. So I put the veggies in the sauce instead. You can completely hide them, or you can do what I do and let them pick: “Do you want carrots or zucchini in the pizza sauce tonight?” They usually have approximately zero opinions about the vegetables and VERY strong opinions about their pizza art. Either way, all they know is that they love this sauce.

Most weeks, I have some leftover sauce, which goes straight into the freezer for next Friday. Future Michele thanks present-day Michele.

#mymomhack – Need this sauce even faster? Skip the simmering altogether. Add all the ingredients to a blender, increase the tomato paste to ¼ cup, and blend until smooth. Pizza night: unlocked.

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To the Kitchen, we go –>

Gather your ingredients.
Silver saucepan on a marble surface with cooked carrots and garlic inside.
Cook garlic and shredded carrots in olive oil.
Silver saucepan on a marble surface with ingredients inside for a pizza sauce for kids.
Add in tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and salt.
Silver saucepan on a marble surface with cooked down tomatoes and veggies for a pizza sauce.
Let simmer for at least 10 minutes.
Silver saucepan on a marble surface with cooked pizza sauce blended.
Using an immersion blender or blender, puree until smooth.
Silver saucepan with red pizza sauce and a tan dishcloth and carrots and garlic scattered around.

Get the recipe: Friday Night Pizza Sauce (with Hidden Veggies)

5 stars (8 ratings)
Looking for a flavorful pizza sauce you can whip up while your oven pre-heats? Then this is the pizza sauce for you! This kid-friendly Hidden Veggie Pizza Sauce is perfect for pizza, pasta, or dipping—and it comes together in just 15 minutes. It’s freezer-friendly, packed with hidden veggies, and basically the homemade pizza night cheat code.
Yield: 3 cups
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Author: Michele Olivier
Course: Main Course
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Ingredients 

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2-1 cup carrots, shredded or finely chopped (see notes)
  • 1 28 oz can peeled whole tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

Instructions 

  • In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, add the olive oil and let warm for 2 minutes. Add in the garlic and carrots and saute for 2 minutes.
  • Add in the tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, and oregano. Turn heat to medium and let simmer for a minimum of 8-10 minutes.
  • Transfer to a blender and puree for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. You can also use a hand immersion blender. Let cool slightly and use it for a pizza.

Notes

Note on Tomatoes: I prefer to use Italian San Marzano tomatoes for this recipe. If your sauce is too acidic, then you can add in 1-2 tsp of honey (for 1 year olds and older) or butter to calm it down.
Note on Carrots/Zucchini: I originally made this recipe with only carrots, but now I do half carrots and half zucchini with similar taste. 
Expert Tips
  • If using whole carrots or fresh zucchini, no need to worry about chopping your veggies too small, as you’ll use your blender to puree everything together at the end.
  • You can easily make a double batch of this hidden veggie pizza sauce and freeze what you don’t need for later.
  • Freeze this pizza sauce in ice-cube trays, freezer-safe jars, or silicone molds for the perfect portion when you need it.
How to Store and Freeze: Store this pizza sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost – take the sauce out of the freezer and put it into the fridge 1-2 days before you want to use it. If you are in a rush, you can always take it out of the freezer, and place it into a sink full of hot water for 15 minutes before placing the sauce into a saucepan and reheating it on the stove. It will still be a lump of sauce but as it gets hot, it will thin out.

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Medically reviewed and cowritten by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).