How Long Can Pizza Sauce Last in the Fridge?
By Vanessa Richards
January 10, 2024 • Fact checked by Dumb Little Man
Pizza sauce matters. Pizza is a top favorite three layered pie around the world. A great pizza must compose of tasty and crispy crust, a flavor-rich sauce and the best combination of toppings.
Truth be told, it is likely incomplete if it does not have one or the other. Pretty sure that tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce poured over a slice of bread, is a regular touch that could instantly give us the pizza vibe.
Therefore, the sauce is considered as one of the distinct feature of our sharable round of happiness. Never leave your homemade pizza unattended for a bad sauce.
It is the life of a satisfying bite so treat it well and don’t let it wasted. Give this article an attention, cause we might have the best details you need.
⊙ How to Store Pizza Sauce
It is best to keep an eye on the expiration date of your sauce ingredients. Might as well check if the seal is broken because it contributes to the taste and on how your pizza sauce will last.
There are few options to keep the pizza sauce safe and good for your series of party and snack time. One, is to store it in the fridge particularly on the freezer. Feel free to follow your sauce recipe and set aside to cool down before storing.
Be sure to not overflow your choice of storage. Leave a space of at least one inch to accommodate the sauce when it expand due to freezing. Pour it over a dry and airtight container or Ziploc bag. You can also spoon it into cupcake tins or ice tube silicon molders. In addition, you can save your spare sauce by using a sterilized jar.
Related Article : How to Store Pizza Dough
How to sterilize jar for pizza sauce
1. Submerge the jar into a boiling water for 10 minutes.
2. Take it out and leave to dry on the inside.
3. Pour the sauce into the jar and cover it tightly.
4. Store it in the freezer.
⊙ How Long will it last in the Fridge
According to the experts, pasta sauce stored in the refrigerator can still be used between 3 to 10 days after it is opened. Tomato as a main ingredient, contains acid that helps to prevent the rapid growth of bacteria in the food.
Generally, pizza sauces last for five to seven days in a temperature between 35 and 40°F. On the other hand, tomato based sauces will be edible for a little longer (more than five days). However, cream-based or cheese-based sauces may expire quicker.
A jar of tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce may last in a refrigerator at a temperature of 0-5°C. To get the maximum use, put it in the freezer at -18 to 5°C.
How to thaw a frozen pizza sauce
- Put it down on the lower part of the fridge
- Give t jar of sauce on a iced water bath (do not submerge)
- Heat it in the pot until it is soft and warm. You can also microwave it in order to melt down.
⊙ How to Know if the Pizza Sauce is Spoiled
If the sauce is left in a room temperature for more than four hours, it is most likely to develop signs of spoilage. Precisely, the sauce will go bad if it is exposed long in temperatures above 40 °F.
Take note: a frozen sauce will last up to two weeks if refrigerated. Do not reheat it too often because fluctuating temperatures could encourage the growth of the bacteria.
⊙ How to Determine if Pizza Sauce is not Safe to Eat
A food is not good already when it has off smell or taste. If you find your pizza sauce darkened or thickened, it might be closer to its point of spoilage.
A dairy-based sauce gone bad if it has unnecessary smell and the color gets dark. You might also see little bubble on the sides and an uncomfortable sourness when tasted.
⊙ 4 Signs that Indicate Your Pizza Sauce is Inedible
There are few signs to tell that your sauce is rotten. Keep an eye on these four indicators that tells your sauce is not good anymore.
1. It has molds
The most visible way to prove that your sauce gone bad are molds. It might be a spot of white, green or black molds rested at the surface of the sauce or at the back of the lid.
If the jar which contains the sauce is covered with a thick spider-web like thing, it is already populated with molds. Don’t bother to open it and throw it away immediately because it is already dangerous to eat.
2. Off smell or taste
As mentioned earlier, the sauce is spoiled if it infuse odd odor as soon as you open the lid of the jar. You might find nothing bad about the smell sometimes, but when it tastes unusual with an overpowering sourness and a kick of bitterness, it’s time to discard it. Another way to tell that the sauce is bad is through its color. If the color darkened, it is likely expired.
3. The seal is broken
If you buy a ready-made sauce at the store, patiently check if the seal is not opened or broken. This is a warning sign that the quality is bad and might get expired quickly.
Indicators that will cause the sauce some issues:
- Pealed seal of jar lid
- Scratched or puffy can
- The expiration date has passed
4. Left for hours on the countertop
If you left your sauce in a quite hot temperature for long hours, it might get bad faster especially when covered while it is hot. The evaporation will not escape and it will turn into drops of water that will gradually fall onto the sauce. This will trigger spoiling.
Related Article : How to Make White Pizza Sauce
⊙ Conclusion
Storing sauce is essential
It is essential to have available sauces in the Kitchen. It can highlight a lot of dish like pasta, stew especially pizza. It is also equally important to keep in mind how to properly store it in order to maximize its usage and also to save some money.
Follow the right way of storing pizza sauce
Storing sauce is wise to have a go to ingredient for pizza to be enjoyed by your family during movie time. It is also an advantage for salary people who have tight schedule and needed to prepare their meals faster than they could. You just need to prepare a good amount of sauce and follow our tips at the top. Just heat and eat it anytime you want.
FAQ
Q: How long does pizza dough last?
A: A pizza dough will last up to two weeks long if you store it properly in the fridge. It will also last more than two weeks if you put it in the freezer.
Q: How long does take away pizza last?
A: If you want to keep a hot leftover takeaway pizza, you should let it cool down for at least two hours in a room temperature. It is advisable to put it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge to be edible as long as two days.
Ready to start making pizza sauce?
Vanessa Richards
Vanessa is a mom of 3 lovely children and a software geek. Outside of her career as a health and wellness instructor. She enjoys writing and researching on topics such as finance, software, health and culinary.