Change It Up! 6 Alternatives to Tomato Sauce on Pizza

We tend to eat a lot of pizza during the summer months. Not only is pizza the perfect vehicle for fresh seasonal toppings, but we can make them on the grill or the stove top without heating up the kitchen. But we do get tired of using the same old tomato sauce as the base time and again.

It seems like almost any sauce that you'd toss with pasta or pre-dinner dip can make a good base for a pizza if you pair it with the right toppings. Here are some new sauces we've been playing around with lately:

1. Pesto - This classic basil sauce can take a wide range of toppings, from wild mushrooms to sausage to simple summer tomatoes and cheese. It's fun to play around with different kinds of pesto, too.

2. Tapenade - This deeply savory olive spread is great with Mediterranean flavors. Think: grilled zucchini slices, eggplant, feta cheese, and goat cheese.

3. Muhammara - Tangy and smoky, we love pairing this roasted red pepper spread with a pizza of thinly-sliced grilled steak and red onions.

4. Gremolata - We like the fresh zesty flavors in this lemon-garlic sauce with toppings like artichoke hearts, thinly sliced potatoes, and wilted greens

5. Barbecue Sauce - Spread this sauce thinly or it can be a little overpowering. It's great with shredded chicken, onions, and peppers.

6. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil - When we really want the vegetables to shine, we just brush on some really good olive oil and let it be. The olive oil soaks into the crust, making it crispy and savory.

What other sauces do you like on your pizza?

(Image: Emma Christensen)

Comments (19)

Peanut sauce! It's great with pineapple, vegetarian chicken, cilantro, red onions, and garlic.

I love making buffalo chicken pizza w/ranch dressing for the sauce :)

I've been smearing fresh ricotta as something for the other pizza toppings to hold on to. I like pizza dotted with ricotta, but this is even better :)

i put peanut sauce on mine! trader joe's satay sauce, actually.

A thick layer of sauteed chopped onions and portabello mushrooms that have really been cooked for a while to develop the flavors (add some wine to make it even more of a sauce). You'll never miss tomato sauce.

I love the idea of peanut sauce! I'll have to try that.

Garlic! Well, garlic with the olive oil, specifically. It just makes my mouth so happy! I've also been putting the tomatoes on top of the cheese, on top of the crust when grilling, and it seems to be working really well. It's like an upside-down pizza.

What is the recipe for the above pizza?

Ricotta is my all-time favorite. Never liked tomato sauce; it gets too sweet and sticky in the hot oven.

I second hummus and add black bean puree.

Satisfying and vegetarians get a complete protein.

Also love hummus and ricotta (with lemon zest mixed in.) Big fan of roasted red pepper sauce (we just grind the canned or jarred peppers with a little olive oil, black pepper, maybe garlic if we're feeling feisty.) Béchamel is also a fave, especially with ham and gruyere. Hollandaise with prosciutto and an egg on top was killer, but we haven't really done that much because it was so good, we ate the whole pizza. We'll put pretty much anything on a pizza except tomato sauce (yuck.)

Mustard. My goto pizza is to use stone ground brown mustard as the sauce and top with with brie, provolone and kalamata olives. (last week I also added some thin sliced new potatoes)

My favorite sauce-free pie is this version with potatoes, garlic scapes, bleu cheese and walnuts. The potatoes provide a surprisingly creamy base, and garlicky scapes, tangy blue and toasty nuts play against each other beautifully.

When we make a pizza, I chop up a few garlic cloves into olive oil in the morning so the flavors can develop all day.

I make a naan bread pizza last week and used artichoke-spinach dip instead of sauce! It was amazing with a grating of parm!

I just posted a blog post of simple pizza dough-- and I love to top it with pesto. This peanut sauce idea is fantastic, but I don't live near TJ's. I'll have to get on this!

If you're interested in the dough recipe, check out www.lauranav.com.

BBQ sauce with red onions, cilantro and chicken is a favorite of ours... but I'm loving reading about everyone's use of ricotta - I'll try that next.

lauranav, thanks for the reference to your recipe, I'm really enjoying your blog!

Great idea! I know little about these six alternatives but still not use all of these but i have some information about these alternatives like they are great in taste, cheaper, helpful for our health. i always demand for Gremolata with pizza delivery.