Round Table Pizza Sauce Recipe

What is Special About the Pizza Sauce at Round Table?

Round Table Pizza Sauce Recipe 2025: Zesty & Easy

You, having been brought up on pies in the west, may well recall how the sauce of Round Table introduces itself the instant you taste it–bright tomato initial, a hint of fennel, then a spicy finish just assertive enough to suggest the cheese without hogging it. The taste is something that fans have uncovered. According to veteran cloners on the PizzaMaking forum, a profile beginning sweet/tomato y, having fennel in the middle of the palate, and finishes with a peppery heat, occasionally with a light paprika hum, has been described many times. The labor theory (and an easily found knockoff enjoyed by one of the long time Round Table diners) is basic: tomato paste + water + a dry spice packet–no cooking, just mixing and resting. That is so chain friendly and can be perfectly replicated at home.

Round Table also calls their red sauce, which you can see on the top of the majority of their pizzas, Zesty Red Sauce, which is listed on their published nutrition and allergen books along with their Creamy Garlic and Polynesian sauces. Knowing the official naming will assist you to place your copycat: strive to have zesty, rather than simple marinara. It also informs you that the brand takes the view of the treatment of sauce as a flavor differentiator.

Some additional breadcrumbs in the form of public documentation: nutrition trackers and third party databases record foods such as Round Table Zesty Red Sauce and Zesty Red Dipping Sauce, which provides you with an idea of its lean macronutrient content (low amount of fat), and the amount of sodium per serving (differs with portion size). That proves us in typical tomato spice country–no cream, no heavy oils–clean, assertive red.

The Flavor Map Sweet Tomato Start, Fennel in the Middle, Peppery/Citrusy Finish.

But what do you do to create that Round Table style flavor map at home? To make a tomato paste that is slightly sweet and thick, start off with tomato paste and dilute it into a spreadable paste. Paste is a typical chain shortcut (we will discuss the reasons in a moment). Your second part is fennel–lots of it, but not so much as to make holes in the dairy blanket. A lot of cloners are big on using fennel as a signature in RT red, so it is easy to go overboard; chop the seeds to a fine powder and use sparingly. At last, add pepper (black and a bit of red), paprika, which is color and warmth as well as oregano to associate it with the Italian American profile. A few old Round Table enthusiasts have gone so far as to propose a coriander cameo (and less cumin than you might have guessed) to suggest a faint touch of citrus herbal finish some of your stores or periods–try it in your zesty lot.

To get a corporate breadcrumb with umami, the allergen PDF of the brand includes hydrolyzed corn protein listed under Zesty Red Sauce, a common savoury/umami base of the prepared foods. It is not necessary to create a fantastic sauce in the house, but it is a vehement indication that the supplier of Round Table is utilizing umami enhancers to develop that why does this taste so rounded? effect. This can be simulated with a pinch of MSG, parmesan or a sprinkle of anchovy paste–more of this below.

The Underlying Question–Tomato Paste vs. Crushed Tomatoes (and Why Chains are in Love with Paste)

We shall end the paste vs. crushed debate. Paste gives you targeted tomato flavor and allows you to control the thickness in specific amounts when thinning with water- exactly the workflow a chain kitchen requires when there is a rush. It has been reported that we see some large brands just pouring tomato paste with water and pouring a dry spice mix; it is quick, uniform and stockpile stable. According to a food service round up, most of the chains rely on paste (used alone or combined with other tomato products) to achieve predictable, hearty flavor without spending hours in the stovetop. To home cookers aiming at the Round Table profile, the introduction point is paste.

In order to be quite clear: it is not cheating to use paste. It is the way you strike that brassy and ever-so-sweet tomato taste Round Table fans know. In case you want it fresher and brighter, you can also mix paste with crushed tomatoes (or even San Marzano DOP) to make it fruitier with no loss in spreadability. There are tradeoffs–crushed tomatoes would add brightness but will change the chain style feel. You may have either:– 80 per cent paste + 20 per cent crushed, and then add water till the spoon leaves the clean path across the sauce.

No Cook vs. Simmersed: When is Your Sauce Hot (and When is It Not)?

Round Table knockoffs often boast of no cook: mix, rest, use. That is the same method used by cloners who have described the process of using the paste + spice packet method and serves to preserve volatile herb aromatics. However, sometimes a brief simmer (5-12 minutes) might come in handy, especially when you have crushed tomatoes, and would like to have a little thicker, more clinging spoon coating. It is advised in the industry that you should not have long simmer times that cause caramelization and dull the tomato brightness; you should have enough heat to bring flavours together but not too much that you end up into the jammy edge.

The technical components of PMQ Pizza support this: depending on your ingredient base and the texture you want at the end, fresh, raw sauce will maintain the top notes, light cooking will smooth out the acidity and balance the oil soluble spices. It depends on the freshness, the conditions of storage and the quality of tomatoes. In the case of Round Table style, I would recommend two lanes to choose, one being a no cook classic (pure paste build), and another one is a short simmer zesty (part paste, part crushed, with the coriander option).

Round Table pizza sauce recipe(red)

Style: Clean and punchy no cook, paste forward.

Makes: Approximately 21/2 cups (sufficient to fill 3-4 standard size pies)

Why it works: Basically follows the procedure used by Round Table fans of paste + water + spice packet, but lets the mixture sit overnight to make a true pizzeria fusion.

Ingredients

6 oz (170 g) tomato paste

180-240 ml (3/4-1 cup) of cold water, added slowly and to desired consistency.

1 tsp ground fennel seed in a fine powder.

1 tsp dried oregano (Mediterranean style preferably)

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or grain)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper, fine grind

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed (use more or less depending on the heat)

1/2 tsp paprika (sweet or half sweet/half smoked to add just a little warmth)

Optional: pinch MSG or 1 tsp finely grated Parmesan to add the umami (see allergen PDF context).

1)) Blend method past and 1/2 cup of water. Stir in all the spices and stir once more.

2) add water 1 tbsp at a time until the sauce is easy to spread with a spoon but not runny (imagine: the ketchup brother).

3) Rest stored away in the fridge at least 6 hours (preferably overnight). The edges are rounded with fennel and pepper blended in during the resting.

4) Sparingly sprinkled on dough just before topping.

Notes & tips

The combination of fennel and pepper is the beat to this; do not over salt. You may want to make it more tangy, then add 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar right at the end before saucing.

When your tomatoes are dull, sugar will pick them up.

This arrangement is a reflection of the paste and packet workflow cloners that can be found; the free time at home is your at home version of what pizzerias do with sauce in the walk in.

 Zesty Red (Coriander Forward, Option Cumin) Variant.

Style: Brief simmer, part paste part squeezed, and a citrusy coriander pop and toned down cumin–a riff based on long forum arguments and customer reviews.

Ingredients (makes ~3 cups)

4 oz (113 g) tomato paste

14 oz (400 g) (good quality) crushed tomatoes (fire roasted optional)

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

1 tsp fennel seed, ground.

1 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp coriander (ground) (begin with this, do more to taste)

1/8 -1/4 tsp ground cumin (optional, but be careful not to add too much because it will make the tacos vibrate)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

Optional: 1/2-1 tsp sugar when tomatoes are over acidic.

Method 1)

In a saucepan, combine paste crushed tomatoes and water and whisk until smooth.

2) Add all spices; simmer bare over medium low heat.

3) Simmer 6-10 minutes, stirring; do not reduce much–we will want a spoon coating consistency, not marinara.

4) Refrigerate, chill and cover with a lid and keep overnight. Use within 4-5 days.

Why coriander?

Senior Round Table cloners who tried them side-by-side though insisted that the missing sparkle was a citrusy raise of coriander rather than an earthy one of cumin, they suggested that we should back off on cumin and add a pinch of coriander to get the all-familiar zasty touch. Cumin makes it into other copycat posts on the internet; taste one then the other to find out which profile you like better.

Pro Technique-Blooming Spices-Resting Over night and Adding Umami.

Blooming: In a no cook sauce, it is beneficial to whisk in spices into oil soluble compounds. Paste based sauces already have in place a concentrated matrix in which fat solubles will be able to disperse, though you can pre combine your dry spices with 1-2 tsp olive oil and fold that in; this raises oregano and paprika. The sauce coverage at PMQ helps remind operators that herbs, garlic and onion do not perform the same as raw as they do cooked-you want to open aromatics up, but not to dull them.

Resting: Give your sauce time. Allowing the spice compounds to rehydrate and combine (particularly fennel and pepper) is exactly how the chains maintain the profile the same way. The workflow of Round Table (blending a spice packet with a paste base and then chilling in a bin) is aligned with the notion that some kind of finished sauce is in place chilled to be served–your rest at home is the equivalent to an overnight rest.

Umami: Round Table has hydrolyzed corn protein and its Zesty Red Sauce; that is an umami helper–you do not need to replicate it, but that is why many people experience the rounded umami. You can fake it by adding a pinch of MSG, or grating Parmesan, or 1/4 tsp anchovy paste into a 1/2 cup of sauce. Light hand: you would prefer tomato+fennel to dominate.

Prepar and Store Food Safely at home.

Fridge life: Paste based no cook sauces 3-5 days refrigerated, in a clean container. Simersed versions are like it.

Freezing: The two sauces can be frozen within 1-2 months. leave to thaw; beat to smooth.

Hot hold: In case you are the host keep any sauce warm (not boiling) in a small slow cooker on warm; stir occasionally, and pour a little water in it to ensure that it spreads.

Food safety: Do not store sauce at room temperature more than 2 hours. Always take what you require; do not put spoons used back in the main container.

Combining Sauce and Dough, Cheese and Toppings.

Dough style: Round Table has a very distinctive style of a sheeted/laminated thin crust with a crisp bite and slightly zesty sauce. The amount of sauce used should be judicious: it must not be a lot, but just enough to be felt, but not excessively so as to override that defining crunch (or to make it mushy). When you are working with a very thin, laminated skin at home, the paste base classic comes to the rescue of you–thin layer, big flavor. You would want to hear Cloners say (often) about Round Table processes such as sheeting and lamination–drink your sauce to go with that kind of texture, not submerge it in it.)

Cheese matching: Round Table themselves published their own FAQ, which gives their house pizza cheese blend: 80 whole milk mozzarella, 10 aged cheddar, 10 provolone. The fact that 80/10/10 is a tremendous tip when dialing the intensity of the sauce; the cheddar adds mild sharpness and color, and the provolone enhances flavour. Your sauce must be zesty enough to slice through this heavier mix without being too spicy as to negate the cheddar/provolone flavor.

Toppings: Bold meats (pepperoni, linguica, sausage) pair well with the Classic Red; veggie forward pies pair well with the Zesty Red are slightly lifted with coriander fresh mushrooms, peppers and olives. When using a lot of watery vegetables, make the sauce layer as thin as possible and pre heat your stone/steel as hard as you can to guard against crunchiness.

Pie Sauce (and How to Prevent a Soggy Crust)

Too watery sauces can destroy the crust before the pie has even arrived in the oven; this is what was being whacked by PMQ technical pieces over the years. Your target consistency is not goey. To prepare a 12 inch thin crust, use 3-31/2 tbsp sauce; 4-5 to prepare a 14 inch crust. When you have crushed tomatoes in your mix, cook to gentle viscosity, or strain briefly through a fine netting–but not further–or all fresh tomato flavors will be burnt off.

This is a fast test, pass the back of the spoon over the sauce in the bowl: the trench will continue to appear after a second, but will close gradually. Should it shut at once (or you find pooling fluid), then you have a paste that is too thin, stir in a teaspoonful of paste or simmer 12 minutes. When it is pasty add 1-2 tsp water until it ribbons.

Nutrition Clues, Nutrition Notes, Allergen Notes and Scaling Up.

According to the nutrition guide and interactive menu of Round Table, Zesty Red Sauce is the standard red sauce on most pizzas; the entry of the Zesty Red Sauce or dipping sauce appears separately in various nutrition trackers (calories and sodium vary depending on portion size and database methodology). Although recipes are proprietary, those common numbers confirm that it is a lean, tomato based sauce- a small amount of fat, average sodium that characterize experienced paste powered reds.

In case of allergens, see the allergen PDF of the brand: it contains the name of Zesty Red Pizza Sauce among others. It does not provide the entire spice deck, but this indicates any high level concerns (e.g. containing certain allergens, reference to hydrolysed corn protein). When you are making sensitive friends, you can leave your copycat visible–tell them which spices you use and avoid MSG, in this case.

The paste based technique works best when you are making a scale up of the recipe to serve parties: scale up spices, thin to a uniform consistency and leave overnight. Should you desire to maintain a hotter on a warmer a zesty pan over the hours, stir every now and then and add a few splashes of water to make it spoonable.

Ingredient Substitutes & Pantry Hacks (so the sauce will still be good anywhere)

Tomatoes: In case the imported brands are expensive or out of stock, any good paste can be used in the Classic Red. When your local crushed tomatoes are liquid use a strainer, or cook a few minutes, do not overcook. (Professional advice points out that excessively cooking tomatoes caramelizes them and wafts away their flavor.)

Fennel: Entire seeds are stored longer and are sweeter in freshly ground mortar/pestle.

Coriander and cumin: Coriander is an ingredient where there are whole seeds, freshly ground. In the fragrant type, cumin must be light, not perfumey; coriander must not smell perfumy, but citrusy. (Food science explainers characterize coriander as sweet lemony and cumin as warm earthy, just as they act in pizza sauce.)

Umami: In case you are not a fan of MSG, you can use micro plane Parmesan or even sprinkle a bit of anchovy- you will still achieve the same roundness without altering the red color. The reason is that the restaurant version is so savory is revealed by the listing of hydrolyzed corn protein that Round Table uses (here).

Troubleshooting Guide-Fixing of Texture, Acidity, sweetness and Aromatics.

Too thick/pasty: Add 1/2-1 tsp of water at a time.

Too thin: Add 1 tsp paste; or boil 1-2 minutes on low (does not over reduce). PMQ warns that prolonged simmering alters the chemistry of tomatoes–do it delicately.

Too acidic: Add 1/4-1/2 tsp sugar or pinch baking soda (be careful–too much is soapy). Some olive oil can gild corners, although it will not make this a marinara. The ingredient piece of PMQ states that the perceived acidity in tomatoes highly depends on the quality of tomatoes; use the best tomatoes possible.

Too sweet: Add a drop of red wine vinegar or lemon juice; add a pinch of additional salt.

Flat flavor: Fennel might not have been dosed seriously, grind whole seeds. Add 1/2 tsp oregano or pinch Parmesan to add some flavor.

Taco tastes: You were heavy handed in cumin. Turn it down or leave it out; use coriander in the event you feel like the citrus burst that cloners suggest.

Muted aromas post baking: Under spiced sauce or excessively thick layer of cheese. The 80/10/10 cheese mix by Round Table is plush; the sauce ought to be a bit more snappy in order to break through.

FAQs: Freezing, Canning, children version and Quick Weeknight Hacks.

Can I freeze this?

Yes. Blend into mini tubs; freeze; blend prior to use. Zesty citrus flavours remain light and can be served with a pinch of sugar after thawing.

Is canning safe?

Tomato paste saues are extremely acidic, yet approved recipes are necessary to safely can them in terms of pH and time. In the case of pizza on regular nights, it is easier to freeze it.

Kids’ mild version?

substitute the Classic Red without red pepper flakes and 50 percent of the black pepper. Store fennel–kids tend to enjoy the sausage smell.

Weeknight hack?

Add tomato paste + water + RT spice mixture (fennel/oregano/garlic/paprika/pepper); do not simmer. Spread thin; bake. This is similar to the paste and spice packet strategy of Round Table enthusiasts.