Garlic Parmesan Pizza Sauce

Growing up with an Italian grandmother meant we prioritized pizza night. In fact, my grandmother started "Pizza Friday" in her Midwest home in the 1960's and 1970's! Pizza and pasta sauce aren't just for tomatoes. This garlic parmesan sauce recipe, based on a classic bechamel sauce, is the perfect way to spice up your next pizza or pasta night sans tomato paste. It's full of creamy, parmesan flavor and spiked with garlic throughout.

This sauce was inspired by my desire to make a garlic-forward white pizza sauce. My potato leek pizza was in need of some supporting flavor! Thankfully, this garlic parmesan sauce was up for the job, and Pizza Friday was saved. 🥳

💕 why you'll love this parmesan garlic pizza sauce...

🧀 cheesy. This sauce is packed with parmesan which gives it great depth and flavor! As a bonus, it's another layer of cheese on your pizza!

♻️ versatile. While this sauce began as a pizza sauce, you can also use it on your pasta or in baked chicken dishes, like chicken parmesan!

⏱️ simple to make. This sauce is a riff on a classic "mother sauce," the bechamel sauce. It uses a simple technique for maximum flavor. Plus, then you get to tell your friends and family you know about mother sauces!

🛒 ingredients

Since the ingredients in this recipe are few, it's important to use the best quality you can. I'll always sing the praises of fresh garlic over the kind that comes pre-minced in a jar, for instance, but use what you have, or what's most convenient for you.

• garlic - use fresh garlic for this recipe. I promise it makes a big difference! How you cut the garlic can also affect the flavor and intensity, so keep that in mind as you prepare your sauce!
  
• parmesan cheese - opt to go for a high-quality cheese if you can. I buy my parmesan wedges from Costco! It's the real deal, and it's a great value. Trader Joe's also has some reasonably priced authentic parmesan cheese available. If your parmesan cheese isn't attached to a rind, it may not be the real deal.
  
• milk - you can use whatever milk you prefer. I've had success with whole milk, reduced-fat milk, and even cashew milk!
  
• butter - unsalted butter is my fat of choice in this sauce. You can control the saltiness of the sauce better if your butter is unsalted. Say that four times fast.
  
• flour - all-purpose flour will do just fine in this recipe, but you can use whatever wheat flour you have on hand. If you're opting for gluten-free flour, I'd stick to something like tapioca over a nut flour like almond.
  
• salt - I use diamond brand kosher salt in all my cooking, depending on availability. If you're using a brand like Morton's, you will need to use less salt.
  
• pepper - freshly ground pepper is the finishing touch on this sauce! Diaspora Co. makes my favorite pepper!

🍳 instructions

From start to finish, this sauce takes about 15 to 20 minutes to make!

Step 1: Grate your parmesan cheese and finely mince your garlic. Warm your milk, either on the stovetop or in the microwave, to take the chill off from the fridge.

Step 2: Melt the butter and combine with flour, constantly stirring for about 2 minutes over medium heat. Take care to watch the mixture, as it can burn easily. This step in sauce making is called a "roux," where you combine a fat with starch, to make a thickener for the sauce.

Step 3: Once the butter and flour have been combined and have cooked for a few minutes, add in the minced garlic and allow it to cook for a minute or so. This helps take a bit of the sharpness of the garlic away, and adds a nice depth of flavor to the garlic.

Step 4: Slowly add in the warmed milk while whisking. You may need a cooking partner to help with this step, depending on your motor skills. I always end up shouting for my husband's help. 😂 Once you add all the milk, add in your cheese!

Step 5: Simmer the sauce on low heat until it thickens slightly. Be sure to stir every few minutes to keep things from burning. Give your sauce a taste and then season with salt and pepper. If your sauce is too thick, you can add in more milk. If it's too thin, you can allow it to cook a bit longer at a low simmer until it thickens up.

💡 tips and tricks for getting it right

• freeze the leftovers - Freeze any leftover sauce in ice cube trays to make perfectly portioned amounts of sauce that defrost quickly!
• beware of the burn - the key to making a bechamel sauce is using gentle heat, constantly whisking, and keeping a good eye on it. The roux can easily go from being perfectly browned to burned in a short amount of time!

♻️ substitutions & variations

Missing an ingredient? Don't worry, try one of these tested substitutions!

• olive oil - you can swap the butter in this recipe for another fat like olive oil, no problem.
• alternative flour - I've used bread flour and even cake flour to make this recipe. If you're wanting to make this recipe gluten-free, opt for cup-for-cup gluten-free baking flour, or tapioca flour.
• alternative milk - cashew milk is one of my favorite alternative milk to use for pasta sauces, but you can use whatever milk you like. Just make sure it's not flavored. Vanilla garlic parmesan sauce doesn't have the same ring to it.
• mozzarella- you can swap mozzarella for parmesan cheese in this recipe! The sauce will definitely be cheesier, and stretchier, so you may need a bit more milk.

🎛️ variations

Feeling like a rebel?! 😈 Make this recipe your own with one of the following variations.

• spicy - add red pepper flakes to the sauce for a spicy kick!
• roasted garlic - roast your garlic before adding it in to the sauce for a sweeter, less intense garlic flavor.
• double (or triple cheese) - add in a mixture of cheeses to give your sauce a double or triple dose of cheesy goodness.

🧰 equipment needed & storage tips

Thankfully, this sauce comes together without the use of any extra-fancy kitchen equipment. You can blend the sauce to make it smoother with an immersion blender or high-powered blender, but it is not necessary. Besides, I love the small pieces of garlic throughout the sauce!

• cheese grater - I used to be a box-grater-girl, but then my box grater bit the dust. Now I am a microplane-girl, and I've not looked back. They store nicely in a drawer, and come in a variety of sizes, from zesting to coarse grating.
  
• heavy-bottomed saucepan - I love our All-Clad d5 cookware because it heats evenly and retains heat well. I use a 1.5-quart saucepan for this recipe, and it works great.
  
• chef knife - a good quality knife can make your life in the kitchen so much better. Dull knives are actually more dangerous than sharp ones.
  
• whisk - after using a whisk from Ikea until the handle literally fell off, I upgraded to a balloon whisk from OXO. It fits nicely in hand and is a joy to use. Can you say that about your whisk?!
  
• measuring cups - I like to heat my milk up in the microwave because I hate using multiple pots for a recipe if I don't need to.

🫙 storage

Once the sauce has cooled, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. It can also be frozen for longer-term storage of up to three months.