This creamy garlic pizza sauce is a delicious, flavorful base for my favorite pizzas, pastas and chicken and sausage dishes.
I created today’s dish to go with the Garlic Pizza recipe, but the more I make it and use it, the more I realize just how versatile this sauce can be. To date, I’ve used it on pizza, like Dill Pickle Pizza, with pasta, meatballs and even in a lasagna.
It is the perfect substitution for any recipe that calls for Alfredo sauce!
When making the garlic pizzas, I always grab a couple extra naan or flatbreads to use up some of the extra sauce. Just spread a few spoonfuls onto a flatbread, top with cheese and bake – super easy cheese bread!
However, when I use this sauce with pasta I prefer to make it a little thinner. This recipe is closer in consistency to gravy. Although awesome on pizza, it can take away from the texture of a pasta dish and make it heavier than usual.
If that’s the case, just use 1 TB of flour instead of 2 in this recipe.
It will make the garlic pizza sauce seem very thin at first, but it thickens as it simmers and cools.
Making the roux
A good start to any yummy, creamy sauce, soup or gravy is with a roux. All it involves is mixing flour with butter or oil and gradually adding liquid.
A very helpful tip I learned from J Kenji Lopez Alt is to let your butter/oil and flour mixture cook for about 60-90 seconds. It cooks off any unwanted flour taste and ultimately makes for a smoother sauce.
Another tip for getting a smooth (and not lumpy) sauce is to gradually add your liquid and whisk constantly. In this recipe, I would add 1/2 c of the half and half at a time.
And if you’re new to making sauces at home, don’t fret! The more you practice the easier it becomes, and once you get a good understanding of roux, you’ll soon be creating your own sauce recipes at home.
What will you use this garlic pizza sauce recipe on? Let me know in a comment below!
Until next time. X
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Garlic Pizza Sauce
Garlic Pizza Sauce
This creamy garlic pizza sauce is a delicious, flavorful base for my favorite pizzas, pastas and chicken and sausage dishes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves (2 tsp) garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp All Purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, place the olive oil and the minced garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly so the garlic doesn’t brown. Add the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir.
- Sprinkle in the flour and whisk quickly until it is a thick paste. Let cook and bubble for another 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the half and half 1/2 c. at a time, whisking constantly. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir, then turn the heat to low and let simmer 5-10 minutes to thicken. Serve warm or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5-7 days until ready to use.
Notes
Garlic takes on a different flavor when it is browned – be careful not to burn it.
This sauce has a consistency like gravy. If you prefer a thinner sauce, use only 1 Tbsp of flour.
Half and half is half cream, half milk and sold near coffee creamers in US grocery stores. This can be substituted with 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 heavy cream.
Keywords: garlic pizza sauce, garlic sauce, garlic alfredo sauce, pizza sauce, creamy garlic sauce, creamy pizza sauce, sauces condiments and seasonings
Recipe adapted from Nellie Bellie
Jenelle says
We had a garlic prawn pizza (Aussie) from a takeaway once that had a creamy sauce base. I’ve been trying to re create it, and this sauce is it. I am very popular when I make the garlic prawn pizzas on my Green Mountain Grill pizza oven attachment.
★★★★★
Sara says
I’m super excited to make this creamy, no-mayo garlic sauce! Thanks so much for enlightening me. I would have never considered a roux based sauce!
★★★★★
Dave says
Can’t wait to try the garlic sauce
Megan says
This is our go to recipe for homemade pizzas. It has just the right amount of flavor to it to complement the toppings.
★★★★★
Priscilla Boykin says
I made this recipe for the first time to use on my bagel pizzas and it is so simple and delicious . Thank you
Kevin says
We made pizza at home tonight and I was tasked with making the garlic sauce for it. This recipe is amazing and it comes together very much like white gravy if you’re familiar with that. I didn’t have half and half so I substituted with just a cup of whole milk and it turned out great.
★★★★★
Tina Clark says
Just made this tonight. So yummy!! Just wondering if I can freeze leftovers?
Melissa says
This was really good! My cloves were pretty big, so it was so extra on the garlic! 🙂 I made this with gluten free flour and it turned out great. Wonderful on flatbread pizza with Italian sausage and arugula!
Jane white says
We use this recipe for mushroom/onion pizzas
★★★★★
Ali says
Wow! This is so tasty, I could almost eat it on its own! It’s so simple to make, perfect garlic sauce to give variation to my mini pizza’s! Thanks so much!
Shanthi says
Hi Sarah, I love your garlic pizza sauce. Please, may I know what does ~ 1 1/2 c. half and half mean??
Going to try this recipe soon, thank you very much
★★★★★
Sarah | AwayFromTheBox says
Thank you so much! It’s one and a half cups of “half and half.” Half and half is half milk and half cream typically sold near the coffee creamers in US grocery stores. It can be easily substituted with 3/4 cup heavy cream and 3/4 cup whole milk.
Carolyn says
Looks interesting!!! Gonna try this, quarantine has me bored 😑 as heck!! Pickles! Cheese! Gotta 💕 this!
★★★★★
Erin says
Made dill pickle pizza with this sauce tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for posting it! #covidcooking
★★★★★
elsa says
hi .. lovely idea ,.. it never crossed my mind… to use the white sauce on pizza..
.. its corona time and we r trying to avoid buying food from outside,.. will b trying this idea to make a little portion of my pizza little differently.. thank you!
from uae
Adele says
Half and half? Not sure what it is, I know it’s the liquid, is that a combo of stock and water?
Sarah | AwayFromTheBox says
Half and half is 50/50 milk and heavy cream. It’s sold near the milk and coffee creamers in most US stores, but it can be easily substituted with equal amounts of milk and cream.
Kina gibson says
Hi, it’s half cream and half milk, sold in carton, plastic or jars. Container will just listed as “Half and Half” I use it in my coffee.
Paula Mullenix says
Thanks for this delightful change from traditional pizza sauce. I use pita that is getting old as mini pizza crusts, and this works beautifully. Toppings are whatever leftovers I have in the frig. Tonight, it was a slice of grilled checken chopped up, some sprinkles og cooked turkey sausage, fresh spinach, a couple of mushrooms sauteed, sliced olives, cooked onion slice.
★★★★★
Sarah | AwayFromTheBox says
That sounds fantastic! Thank you for sharing, Paula. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Virginia says
I am alergic to tomatoes and this is perfect
★★★★★
Jasmine says
This sauce looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it for my fondue dinners as a dipping sauce! (used to buy one, but can’t find it anywhere lately)
Joy says
I will be trying this tomorrow! Husband & I love dill. Best part for me no tomatoes. Thanks.
★★★★★
Kerry says
Okay so this is you asked for us to share how we used this garlic pizza sauce. I’ve used it on pizza several times and it’s always a hit. But the best way I used this sauce was with smoked meatloaf.
I took 1 1/2 pounds pounds of ground beef 1/2 pound ground pork and rolled it out flat on a pan (maybe an inch thick and then covered with a thin layer of the garlic pizza sauce, sprinkle with some extra sharp white American cheese, sprinkle with shaved Parmesan onion, chopped peppers, and s&p. Then I rolled it up and put more garlic pizza sauce on top. cooked it at 225 off set with just apple chips for for the first half an hour and just charcoal briquettes for the rest. Ground meat is very porous and you can over smoke it. Once it got up to about 160it I add couple slices of havarti on top for the last 5⁰. Pulled at 155. Let rest under loose foil for 15 mins and chopped into slices.
Sarah | AwayFromTheBox says
Holy… Okay, so this sounds amazing. Wow! I’ve never been the biggest fan of meatloaf, but this obviously sounds like the best way to do it. Thanks for sharing!
Joy says
Thank you so much! I will be trying this. I have a tomato allergy and have been wanting some meatloaf but didn’t know what to substitute the tomato sauce with. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Sharron says
What is AP flour? Thank you!
★★★★★
Sarah | AwayFromTheBox says
It is All Purpose flour 🙂