Spicy Oil-Free Pizza Sauce

Hey babes,

Quick, what’s your favorite pizza sauce? If you said anything other than tomato marinara, you are free to leave. Just kidding! I love a white sauce, or a pesto, or even a buffalo. But when I think pizza, I think of spicy, delicious tomato sauce.

Equally important, what do you dip your pizza in?

Trick question! It’s the same thing. I tried the ranch thing, even vegan ranch after I came over to the dark side, but all I really want is more of that acidic, tomato-y goodness.

Alas, though…canned marinara sauce is packed full of three things I cannot abide by- oil, salt, and sugar. Okay, I can do a little of those last two, but I want to control the amount. I know. Type-A weirdo. I can live with that. Luckily though, because it isn’t overly sweet, it also can step in for a quick topping for a whole wheat pasta, a bed of spiralized zucchini, or a bed of spaghetti squash, in a pinch.

SAUCE QUEEN

Tomatoes are obviously the core ingredient of any traditional sauce, but store-bought varieties like to sneak in things like oil, excessive sugar, and worst of all, cheese. Never compromise your delicious tomato sauce to such a sad fate! The flavorful, antioxidant packed tomato deserves better friends than that. In this case, basil, fennel seeds, and garlic.

Aside from being delicious, basil is most well-regarded for containing the compound eugenol, which has been heavily studied for both its ability to fight inflammation and oxidative stress. Fennel is added because it reminds me off the flavor that makes pepperoni tasty (surprise surprise, it isn’t the meat or the grease). But like other plant-foods, it is jam-packed full of vitamins and minerals, particularly manganese, which among many other jobs, helps to regulate blood sugar.

Garlic deserves its own post, for all of its incredible health benefits. It is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich, and antibacterial. It leaps over tall buildings and saves buses full of school children. It battles everything from the cold to cancer, wards off muscle fatigue and memory loss. Truly incredible, and like everything else I talk about, it’s DELICIOUS!!