What's the difference between spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce?

[BAPyessir6]

To clarify, in my mind:
Pizza sauce = Pizza (of course )
Pasta sauce = spaghetti sauce

I don't know if pasta sauce is spaghetti sauce technically, but that isn't my question exactly. Either way, I'll probably use both interchangeably. I am not Italian, and I'm always open to correction/learning.

So! I am making pizza cabbage rolls for funsies, and my husband likes pizza, so why not. I threw in some pizza sauce and some spaghetti sauce for the sauce on the rolls, then I wondered. What is the difference between pizza and pasta sauce?

I've heard the ONLY difference is pasta sauce is cooked, pizza sauce isn't. If true, does this mean if I cook my pizza sauce, it becomes pasta sauce?

On my palette, I can make pasta sauce taste closer to pizza sauce if I add tomato paste to it. Is tomato paste a more common ingredient in pizza sauce?

Basically just me thinking out loud on: if I only have pasta sauce and want pizza sauce, can I make pasta sauce taste more like pizza sauce? Or vice versa? Or is it not as simple as that, since "pasta sauce is cooked, pizza sauce isn't"? (If that's the true only main difference)?

 

[dcSaute]

. . . . and then along comes "marinara" . . .
not sure what "cooked / not cooked" actually is thought to mean.
it's very tricky to make a tomate-sauce-by-any-name without cooking the tomatoes down from "whole fresh"

I suspect it may be the degree of seasonings added....

here's my garden-going-to-sauce

 

[Aunt Bea]

In my kitchen pizza sauce is thicker and highly seasoned compared to pasta sauce.

This is the easy pizza sauce that I normally use.

Pizza Sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
¼ - ½ cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
1T dry Oregano
1T dry Basil
Mix well. If you use fresh basil omit the dried from the sauce and add the fresh basil as a pizza topping. This makes enough for 2 sheet pizzas. The leftovers can be frozen with good results.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Oregano! Pizza sauce has it, spaghetti sauce doesn't.

 

[msmofet]

I put oregano in my spaghetti sauce.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I put oregano in my spaghetti sauce.

Some people put pineapple on pizza. That doesn't make it right. Trust me, I'm Sicilian.

 

[msmofet]

And my family is from Naples.

 

[blissful]

This past few years, my spaghetti sauce has mushrooms in it, my pizza sauce does not. I cook the pizza sauce down much more, it is thicker.

 

[dragnlaw]

For me -
Pizza sauce is very much thicker and spicier.
Spaghetti sauce is often herbier and thinner.
Pizza sauce takes robust toppings (pepperoni for example).
Spaghetti sauce could be robust but often milder additives (shrimp for example).

You can thicken Spaghetti sauce and spice it up to Pizza sauce easily, but not vice versa, at least not easily.

Both can take copious amounts of cheese

Edit:
things like mushrooms are cooked
"in" a spaghetti sauce but
"on" a pizza sauce.

 

[pictonguy]

My pizza is generally Neapolitan style, very basic and I've used cooked tomato sauce with minimal ingredients, mostly minced onion, garlic, evoo and basil cooked for a fairly short time, maybe 15 minutes which is also my basic spaghetti (pasta sauce) sauce.

Most of the time for my homemade pizza I'll either use a local San Marzano type ripe tomato and only in season or canned authentic DOP San Marzano from Italy and just crush them with my hands and use them uncooked on my pizza. The thick pizza type sauce I've tried a few times, yeah, that's not going to happen any time soon.

 

[Linda0818]

For me -
Pizza sauce is very much thicker and spicier.
Spaghetti sauce is often herbier and thinner.
Pizza sauce takes robust toppings (pepperoni for example).
Spaghetti sauce could be robust but often milder additives (shrimp for example).

You can thicken Spaghetti sauce and spice it up to Pizza sauce easily, but not vice versa, at least not easily.

Both can take copious amounts of cheese

Edit:
things like mushrooms are cooked
"in" a spaghetti sauce but
"on" a pizza sauce.

Nice explanation and what I was thinking. I'll use pasta sauce for pizza but won't use pizza sauce for pasta.

 

[dragnlaw]

Sauces made from scratch, then maybe follow pictonguy's lead.

But I was basing my answers on the sauces already made and how they compare.

 

[HeyItsSara]

I use them interchangeably but they really aren't the same. The kind in the can is very different than a jarred sauce too.

 

[dragnlaw]

I've never seen Pizza sauce in a jar. I have seen spghetti sauce in both jarred and canned - but jarred is much more common, at least around here.

 

[Linda0818]

Sauces made from scratch, then maybe follow pictonguy's lead.

But I was basing my answers on the sauces already made and how they compare.

Me too.

However, I will sometimes make my own sauce from scratch, using, of course, fresh tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, spices, etc. My home version I will use on both pizza and pasta, but not the store-bought sauces.

 

[BAPyessir6]

I've actually made a chicken Parm pasta using pizza sauce that me and the DH like very much. It's Aldi red bag chicken (frozen breaded Chicken breasts), pizza sauce, mozz, and rigatoni. It's quite good! I like the "spicier/brighter" flavor that the pizza sauce gives it.

I know. Sacrilege! But alas I am not Italian.

 

[BAPyessir6]

My pizza is generally Neapolitan style, very basic and I've used cooked tomato sauce with minimal ingredients, mostly minced onion, garlic, evoo and basil cooked for a fairly short time, maybe 15 minutes which is also my basic spaghetti (pasta sauce) sauce.

Most of the time for my homemade pizza I'll either use a local San Marzano type ripe tomato and only in season or canned authentic DOP San Marzano from Italy and just crush them with my hands and use them uncooked on my pizza. The thick pizza type sauce I've tried a few times, yeah, that's not going to happen any time soon.

I'm confused on this, so hopefully you can elaborate. Maybe I just read it wrong. I do wear glasses.

You said you use a cooked tomato (15 min) sauce of tomatoes, garlic, Evoo, etc. then you later said you use crushed San Mariano tomatoes you put directly onto the pizza.

Does this mean you mix the san Mariano tomatoes into your cooked seasoned tomato sauce, or do you do one (San Mariano) or the other (tomato garlic onion sauce) depending on what you have on hand?

 

[pictonguy]

I'm confused on this, so hopefully you can elaborate. Maybe I just read it wrong. I do wear glasses.

You said you use a cooked tomato (15 min) sauce of tomatoes, garlic, Evoo, etc. then you later said you use crushed San Mariano tomatoes you put directly onto the pizza.

Does this mean you mix the san Mariano tomatoes into your cooked seasoned tomato sauce, or do you do one (San Mariano) or the other (tomato garlic onion sauce) depending on what you have on hand?

No, I make both and use them separately. My cooked sauce is generally for different pasta sauces or dishes where I use a marinara type sauce, like chicken and eggplant parm, meatballs that kind of thing and occasionally for my pizza but generally when I do make pizza it's with uncooked tomatoes, just hand crushed with herbs, evoo, garlic, onion and cheese but I've also used roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, olives, pepperoni, mushrooms, chilies etc and of course parmigiana .

 

[dragnlaw]

Don't think I've ever really thought about it but yes, I guess it would be good with just crushing the tomatoes to go straight onto the pizza.