How Long Does Pizza Sauce Last In the Fridge? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

End up making a large batch of delicious pizza sauce? Wondering how long does pizza sauce last in the fridge?

We’ve got all your answers!

Let’s find out!

What’s that One Ingredient that can Make or Break your Pizza?

It’s the pizza sauce!

The beautiful, delicious, garlicky tomato-based sauce adds zing and flavor to your pizza. If pizza is the heart, pizza sauce is the heartbeat; it’s the only ingredient that makes your pizza the BEST PIZZA!

It blends with cheese and other herbs and makes your homemade pizza memorable. However, if your beautiful sauce has gone bad, it can ruin your pizza. And not just the pizza; it can also affect your family’s health.

Generally, authentic pizza sauce is purely based on tomatoes. So, similar to pasta or spaghetti sauce, it gets spoiled over time. We have seen people storing their pizza sauce in the refrigerator for days or weeks and complaining about why their pizza doesn’t taste good.

How Long Does Pizza Sauce Last In The Fridge?

Always remember that not all bad things stink. Pizza sauce remains at its best for four days in the fridge between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Storing the pizza sauce for more than 3-5 days is pointless. It will only degrade its quality.

The short answer is, that pizza sauce can last around four days in the fridge. But this is about the store-bought sauce. What about homemade pizza sauce? Will it get spoiled in the fridge? Don’t worry; we will answer all of the questions. Let’s find out!

What Causes Pizza Sauce to Go Bad?

In simple terms, bacteria!

Bacteria exist everywhere in nature. They are in the soil, air, water, and food we eat. When they have nutrients (food), moisture, and favorable temperatures, they proliferate, increasing numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can cause illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 and 140°F.

Bacteria

Bacteria love warmth, especially when it comes from processed tomatoes. If given a favorable environment, they lead to mold. Such foods, if consumed accidentally, can make you sick!

Types of Bacteria in Refrigerated Foods

There are two different families of bacteria: pathogenic bacteria, the kind that causes food-related illness, and spoilage bacteria, the kind of bacteria that causes foods to deteriorate and develop unpleasant odors, tastes, and textures.

Pathogenic bacteria can proliferate in the temperature range between 40 and 140 °F, but they do not generally affect the taste, smell, or appearance of food. In other words, one cannot tell that bacteria is present.

Spoilage bacteria can grow at low temperatures, such as in the refrigerator. Eventually, they cause food to develop or bad tastes and smells. Most people would not choose to eat spoiled food, but they probably would not get sick if they did. It comes down to an issue of quality versus safety:

• Food left too long on the counter may be dangerous to eat but could look fine.
• Food that has been stored too long in the refrigerator or freezer may be of lessened quality but most likely would not make anyone sick. 

Come on; no one deserves to fall sick after eating a pizza!

Refrigeration slows bacterial growth. A refrigerator set at 40°F or below will protect most foods.

 So, knowing and understanding the proper food handling and storage is crucial.

How Long Does Store-Bought Pizza Sauce Last In The Fridge?

Tomato-based foods are among the favorite foods of most people. They got the right amounts of tanginess and just enough sweetness that gives a mouthful of fantastic taste and flavors.

But the sad part about these foods is that they spoil quickly due to the speedy growth of bacteria.

This spoilage becomes even more true when we talk about pizza sauce. Unlike the other sauces, pizza sauce doesn’t last for a very long time, even if you keep it in the refrigerator.

If you leave the pizza sauce on the counter, it will spoil the following day or maybe the evening if you live in colder places.

But suppose you store pizza sauce in the refrigerator. According to the USDA- Food Safety and Inspection Service, it will last for four days only if the temperature is between 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Store-bought sauces are packed with preservatives that make them last for a little longer. For this reason, some folks keep using the opened jar for weeks, which isn’t the right way.

Even if the sauce stays fresh due to refrigeration, it loses its flavor and quality over time. Hence, store-bought pizza sauce should be used quickly once the jar is opened.

Some popular brands claim that their pizza sauce lasts up to 2 weeks. This assumption can be accurate, but we can’t bet on the maintained quality!

How Long Does Homemade Pizza Sauce Last In The Fridge?

We always say homemade pizza is the best. It’s pure, flavorful, rustic, and, of course – made with love!

Nothing can beat homemade pizza sauce except bacteria.

The thing is, the homemade sauce doesn’t have any added preservatives or stabilizers. Therefore, they don’t last for weeks like store-bought sauces.

Store your homemade sauce properly in the refrigerator can last for 3-5 days. However, it won’t stay as flavorful as it was on the first day.

If you have tomatoes in season or have your farm produce, you can make a large batch of sauce and freeze it. The frozen tomato pizza sauce can last up to 3-4 months! 

How Can You Tell If Pizza Sauce Is Bad?

This section is essential to this whole post, so read it carefully.

As we have already discussed above, not everything stinks after turning bad. This is especially true in the case of pizza sauce. You might think your sauce is still fresh because it was stored in a fridge, but it gets bad even in the fridge in reality.

Sure, it won’t harbor bacteria due to cold temperatures; it will lose its taste and flavors. It will become bland over time.

If you’ve stocked up your sauce for quite some time, it’s very important to check it before using it on your pizzas. Below are a few ways to check if a pizza sauce has gone bad :

How To Properly Store Pizza Sauce In The Fridge?

Storing the pizza sauce correctly is very important if you want it to retain its flavors as long as it is in the fridge. So, here we are with our guide to storing pizza sauce correctly!

Storing Store-bought Pizza Sauce

• For storing the store-bought pizza sauce left after one use, clean the jar nicely using a dry tissue. Again, leave some space on the jar’s top by taking the seal tightly.
• Put the lid and seal it tightly.
• Please place it in the fridge and use it within 3 to 4 days.

So, this was about storing the pizza sauce in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the tomato sauce and use it for up to 4-5 months.  For more on this, you can check our article on freezing pizza sauce.

Storing Homemade Pizza Sauce

Let it cool down entirely if you’ve prepared a homemade pizza sauce using natural ingredients and no preservatives.

Meanwhile, prepare your glass jar with an airtight lid. Make sure to wash the jar and dry it thoroughly before adding sauce to it. A single droplet of water may ruin your delicious sauce. So, be very careful.

Once the jar is nice and dry:

• Fill in your homemade pizza sauce. Never fill the jar up to the rim; fill it slightly more than half. There should be some space for airflow.
• Put the lid on and keep it in the fridge at a constant temperature.

You can store it for up to 3 to 5 days. If you want to stretch it a bit, ensure you don’t exceed 6 days.

Freezing Pizza Sauce

There are three ways to freeze pizza sauce: freezing the jars, making pizza sauce cubes, and freezing in ziplock bags.

Here is how you can do this :

• if you want to freeze the sauce in the jars, choose good-quality jars with an airtight lids. Clean and dry them completely and fill the sauce up to 90% of its capacity. Close the lid and keep it inside the freezer at a constant temperature.
• To freeze in freezer bags, portion the sauce in the desired amount and put it inside clean freezer bags. Remove the air and seal them tightly before throwing them into the freezer.
• Finally, to make your sauce cubes set them in a clean ice tray or muffin tray and keep them in the freezer.

If you want to learn more about freezing pizza sauce, don’t forget to check our article Useful Insights for Keeping Pizza Sauce in the Freezer.

So, it is clear that you can store your pizza in the freezer. But how about the pizza sauce? Can you freeze pizza sauce as well in the freezer? In this piece, you will discover more about pizza sauce and how it can be stored in the freezer. Let’s dive in.

March 25, 2021

How To Properly Use Pizza Sauce That Has Been In The Fridge

• To use the refrigerated pizza sauce, take out the container and use a clean and dry spoon to scoop out enough amount to use. After that, keep the rest inside the fridge without leaving it out for longer.
• To use the frozen pizza sauce, you’ll need to defrost it first. To use the jars and bags, put them in the refrigerator for an hour, and after then, take the sauce out using a spoon and put the rest back inside the freezer. Using the sauce cubes is easy’ take the desired number of cubes and melt them using a microwave.

Recommended Pizza Sauce Storage Containers

The Last Slice

Pizza sauce is the most critical ingredient for making a next-level pizza. So, it’s imperative to maintain its quality. We have discussed how you can store it properly, along with the time you can keep it inside your fridge to make a delicious pizza every time you use it.

We are confident that this guide will help you preserve your pizza sauce and become the best pizza baker!

Did we miss anything? How do you like to store your pizza sauce? Let us know; we would love to know.

Additional Resources

Enjoy!

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