How to Make Garlic Sauce for Pizza

By Robert Parsons April 24th, 2023

It was not so long ago that a great dispute started when people started to dip their pizza into sauces like ranch or garlic sauce. Traditionalists claim that this was an abomination of the highest degree. On the other side of this debate were people who just liked a little extra zing on this much-loved Italian dish. 

But it seems that brouhaha has burned out. In fact, four of the largest fast-food pizzerias now offer a variety of dipping sauces with the usual fare. And it looks like the public is loving it because this particular food industry has seen up to $45 billion in sales just in 2016. 

What’s Good about Garlic Sauce?

Many gourmands will agree that simplicity always wins in the kitchen and at the dining table. This is the case with garlic sauce, particularly its most common iteration: the aioli. 

This dip consists of ingredients you would already find in the kitchen: egg yolk, oil, lemon juice or vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic. And if you’re a bit lazy to whisk away, simply use mayonnaise (although top chefs will probably scream at you in frustration) in place of the first three components listed earlier. 

Aside from its rustic roots, garlic on its own is a wonder. 

Sure, people have had clashing opinions about this pungent vegetable since time immemorial. Some add it to every single dish they prepare, while others have an almost vampiric reaction to it. But that does not change the fact that almost all countries have their version of garlic sauce. And when you give each of these a try, you’ll see why it’s so hyped. 

Garlic Sauce is Global

It’s hard to pinpoint the origins of garlic sauce, mainly because different countries will probably say it’s them since their people consume a whole lot of it up to this day. What we can give you is a short list of sauces that has tons of garlic in them.

Aioli

Invented somewhere in the Mediterranean, the simplest recipe involves mashed garlic combined with olive oil and eggs. The name is actually a mash-up of ail (Catalan word for garlic) and oli (Provencal word for oil).

Toum

This Lebanese garlic sauce is probably as popular as the Mediterranean one discussed above. With its creamy texture and strong flavours, this perfectly pairs with a lot of the grilled meat and vegetable dishes in the Middle East. All you need is garlic, lemon juice, neutral oil, and ice water. Oh, and a food processor will be of great help. 

Chili Garlic Paste

Hop on to any country in East Asia and you’ll see this on every restaurant table, ready to be added to noodle stirfry, soups, and stews. Although different Asian countries have their way of making this, all require the ingredients in the name: chilli and garlic. Here are some specifics:

• – Sriracha from Thailand
• – Chiu chow sauce from China
• – Sambal of Indonesia
• – Rayu of Japan
• – Tuong Ot Toi from Vietnam
•  

Agliata 

This sauce comes from Liguria, Italy and is said to date back to Ancient Rome. This garlic sauce variant contains garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and the salt-pepper combo. What makes it extra special is the addition of bread crumbs giving it a pesto-like texture. Some use this as a condiment with meats and bread while others mix it in with pasta.

Taratoor 

A staple in Arabic cuisine, this is very much like tahini in texture but has loads of garlic in it. It is commonly paired with hummus, baba ganooj, and grilled fish. And to those who love shawarma, this is the traditional sauce drizzled over inside the wraps. Some say that this is the predecessor of aioli, which may be possible since the Gulf area and the southern part of Italy and France are only separated by the relatively small Mediterranean Sea. 

Garlic Sauce in Pizza

Once you’ve read some of the ingredients that go in the different garlic sauces, you’ll realize that you have tried one or all of those in your dishes and on your pizza!

Little Caesar’s offers buttery garlic. Pizza Hut and Domino’s have their own garlic sauce, Papa John’s has that mustard-looking garlic dipping sauce made especially for them. And there’s a reason why they’re even charging extra for these. People love it!

First, the creamy consistency, biting aromatics, and freshness of the sauces go well with the greasy and intensely cheesy flavour of the pizza. Second, there’s finally a reason to finish the usually bland outer crust of the pizza – the dip makes it extra special!   

Should You Skip the Dip?

Here’s the part where we tell you what’s in those garlic sauces served at your favourite pizza chain. And spoiler alert! you’re probably going to rethink that extra order. 

Because these are made in factories, you’ll probably find mono and diglycerides, sodium benzoate, calcium disodium, and all those difficult-to-read words on the back label of the sauce packet. They all serve an important function, sure, but those aren’t something you would want to eat.

But garlic sauce is such a great thing, to be perfectly honest, it’s hard to not have it once you have tried it. On top of that, garlic is actually a very healthy food and has numerous health benefits. 

So here’s a tip: make your own!

You can always choose the type of garlic sauce you like based on the traditional recipes above or change it up a bit depending on your tastebuds. Here’s a simple one:

What You Need:

• 2-3 tablespoons finely minced garlic

• 1 cup real mayonnaise

• 1 cup all-purpose cream

• 2 tablespoons of yellow mustard

• 1 tablespoon of honey

• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste

What To Do:

• Simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl

• Place in the fridge to cool down for a bit
• Drizzle on top of your pizza!

The best thing about making this sauce at home is that you can adjust the amount of garlic as you see fit. If you don’t finish this, you can just store it again and use it on salads or baked chicken because it’s that versatile. Give it a try and see how it goes!