Whether you bought a store version, or opened a can of whole tomatoes to make your own sauce, pizza often leaves you with extra sauce. Don’t let that bowl sit in your fridge for 3 days before you throw it out, use it up in one of these ideas. This will reduce your waste and save you money!
Pizza sauce can be made up from just canned plum tomatoes that are blended and seasoned, or could have more ingredients. Popular additions are garlic, herbs, onion or chili. Any of those ingredients will fit well in any of the suggested dishes I’ve linked below.
I’ve added recipes to each item in the list so you can get making them straight away. Most things you can get a general idea and then adapt it and make it as simple or complex as you like.
Baked Eggs
Get some baking dishes and saute some onion and garlic, or just go straight in with your tomato sauce. Crack an egg into the middle, and add other meat or vegetables such as peppers. Bake in the oven until the eggs are cooked to your liking.
Get the recipe – Middle Eastern Baked Eggs
Gnocchi
These Italian potato dumplings need a tasty sauce to come to life. Heat your pizza sauce and then add the cooked gnocchi with some seasoning. Grate over some cheese while still hot, and serve.
Get the recipe – Gnocchi With Tomato Sauce
Tomato Soup
Tomato soup can be made very quickly and easily with your left over pizza sauce and ingredients in your pantry. The cream thickens it and the basil adds that classic tomato soup flavor. Remember to add lots of black pepper to serve.
Get the recipe – Souped-Up Tomato Soup
Penne Arrabbiata
A simple but tasty pasta dish. This uses the tomato sauce with some added chili for anyone that likes a kick. Penne is the classic pasta shape for this which holds the sauce well. Finish with some hard grated cheese like Parmesan.
Get the recipe – Penne Arrabbiata
Seafood Stew
Use the pizza sauce as the base of a stew. Fry some garlic, onion, ginger and fennel seeds. Warm you sauce and then add salmon, cod, prawns, mussels and cook until the fish is just cooked through.
Get the recipe – Cioppino Seafood Stew
Braising Beef
Slow cooking meat in a flavorful sauce can add a huge depth of flavor. Use the leftover sauce and add some stock if you are a bit low. Use a casserole dish with a lid and braise until very tender for around 3-4 hours.
Get the recipe – Braised Beef With Tomato And Garlic
Stuffed Pasta Sauce
Ravioli, tortellini, tortelloni and cannelloni are just a few of the many shapes of pasta that are filled with meat or cheese. These obviously need a sauce, so what could be easier than using your ready made tomato sauce that is bursting with flavor.
Get the recipe – Ravioli With Tomato and Basil
Indian Curry
Tomato sauce is the base for many curries which is made into a base “gravy” by adding browned onions, garlic and ginger. Then add the spices required in any recipe you want. I’ve linked Lamb Rogan Josh which is one of my favorite slow cooked lamb curries.
Get the recipe – Lamb Rogan Josh
Enchilada Sauce
The key to good enchiladas is the sauce, which has a deep Mexican flavor from ground spices. Fill your tortillas with meat and vegetables and line them up in a baking dish. Cover with the sauce and then add cheese to the top. Bake until golden.
Get the recipe – Enchilada Sauce
Beef Goulash
This slow cooked Hungarian stew has a base of tomato and lots of paprika, which gives it a rich sauce. Braising steak is slow cooked until very tender, served with its thick sauce and sour cream.
Get the recipe – Hungarian Beef Goulash
Spaghetti Bolognese
A classic and obvious way to use your tomato sauce. This dish is popular around the world, and rightly so. Use the pizza sauce alongside extra garlic, onion, red wine, ground beef and pork. Serve with spaghetti and Parmesan cheese.
Get the recipe – Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese
Chorizo Stew
Chorizo is a pork sausage with paprika from Spain. Fry some garlic with the chorizo, then add red wine, thyme, beans, and your left over sauce. Serve as a stew with some crusty bread.
Get the recipe – Chorizo And Butter Bean Stew
Meatballs
Meatballs and tomato sauce is warming comfort food. Using beef and breadcrumbs is a nice way to make them a bit lighter instead of being very dense. Add garlic, herbs and brown in a pan. Then just pour over your sauce and finish the cooking.
Get the recipe – Meatballs In Tomato Sauce
Lasagna
A great dish to feed a crowd. Layer pasta sheets with a white sauce, cheese, and your pizza sauce. You can use the left over sauce to make a meat sauce, or just add vegetables for a vegetarian option. Top with cheese and bake until browned.
Get the recipe – Classic Lasagna Recipe
Chili Con Carne
Another classic tomato based recipe that is cooked week in, week out across the world. You can use ground beef here or try some slow cooking steak to make a chunky style chili. Kidney beans is classic but you could try black beans or pinto beans to mix it up.
Get the recipe – Chili Con Carne
Sausage Casserole
Use your favorite sausages to make a tomato based sausage casserole. Brown the sausages first, along with some onions and any herbs. Then add chicken stock to your tomato sauce and simmer for 20 minutes. Add mixed beans to finish.
Get the recipe – Sausage And Bean Casserole
BBQ Sauce
BBQ sauce is just a tomato base and brown sugar and vinegar at heart. This is reduced down with some seasoning such as garlic and onion and you’ve got yourself a great sauce for basting meats and dipping.
Get the recipe – Homemade BBQ Sauce
Shellfish In Tomato Sauce
Shellfish go great with a tomato sauce and just a few other simple ingredients. Try mussels, clams or scallops which can all be mixed together. Add some halved cherry tomatoes which boil down to join the sauce. You can have this as an appetizer, or a main dish with some bread.
Get the recipe – Sauteed Clams In Tomato Sauce
Marinara Dipping Sauce
You can turn your pizza sauce into a sauce perfect for dipping appetizers such as nachos or mozzarella sticks. The attached recipe is quick and easy with just 5 ingredients you will have in your pantry.
Get the recipe – Marinara Dipping Sauce
Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a classic French Provençal stewed vegetable dish which probably had a big rise in recognition from the Pixar movie of the same name. It’s one of those dishes which doesn’t have many rules, although typical ingredients are usually a tomato sauce with onion, garlic, eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers.
Get the recipe – Classic Ratatouille
Chicken Parmigiana
This is an Italian-American dish (also known as Chicken Parmesan), where a breaded chicken breast is covered with tomato sauce, cheese and cooked until melted. It’s super tasty with some fries or spaghetti. An alternative vegetarian dish is where eggplant is used in replace of the chicken.
Get the recipe – Crispy Chicken Parmesan
Sloppy Joes
Simply add some ground beef or pork, onions, garlic and red pepper to your pizza sauce and have yourself a Sloppy Joe sandwich. Serve in a toasted hamburger bun with some sides prepare to get messy.
Get the recipe – Homemade Sloppy Joes
Conclusion
And there you have the list! I hope you can use up your pizza sauce and not let it go to waste next time. Have fun trying out some of these recipes, I promise you they are all delicious.