When it comes to cooking food for yourself, one of the best things is that you can modify the recipe according to your personal taste.
This includes altering the number and variety of spices and herbs used, ranging all the way to swapping out, eliminating, and including additional ingredients.
On the topic of customization, when it comes to making a pizza, the vegetables and type of cheese you prefer are vitally important ingredients.
For others, the sauce slathered over the dough is far more important. After all, sauce forms the base for your entire pizza, assisting flavors to fuse and combine with the tangy, tomatoey foundation.
Two of the most commonly confused pizza sauces are marinara and tomato sauce from Domino’s. Which is the better sauce Domino’s tomato sauce vs. marinara sauce, and how do these two differ?
We’ll be breaking down everything that you need to know in our comprehensive comparison.
Dominos Tomato Sauce Vs. Marinara Sauce Comparison
| Tomato Sauce | Hearty Marinara Sauce | |
|---|---|---|
| Main Differences | Stronger Tomato Flavor, Thicker Sauce, Bold Spices, Bold Herbs, Bold Garlic, No Cheese Included In Sauce | Subdued Flavors All-Around With Tangy Tomato Sweetness Featuring Prominently, Thinner Stickier Sauce, Light Spices, Light Herbs & Light Garlic, Pecorino Romano & Parmesan Included In Sauce |
| Uses | Standard With All Pizzas | Available On Order |
| Availability | Light, Standard, Extra Sauce - All Pizzas | Light, Standard, Extra Sauce - All Pizzas |
| Flavor | Herbs & Spices That Accentuate The Flavor Of Tomato, Boldly Tomatoey And Richly Herbaceous Robust Sauce | Subdued Sweet Herbaceous Tomato Sauce |
| Ingredients | Tomato Puree(Water & Tomato Paste), Sugar, Salt, Spices, Garlic, Soybean Oil, Citric Acid | tomatoes, tomato puree, onions, sugar, pecorino romano, parmesan cheese, carrot puree, salt, celery puree, garlic, spices, butter, olive oil, citric acid, sunflower oil, natural flavor, and xanthan gum |
| Consistency | Thick, Silky, Dense, Pourable, Velvety | Thick & Sticky But Not As Thick As Domino’s Tomato Sauce |
| Versatility | All-Purpose Versatility | All-Purpose Versatility - Suits Bold Flavors & Spicy Combinations Well |
| DIY Difficulty | Very Hard To Mimic Domino’s Secret Recipe | Straightforward To Replicate High Quality Italian Marinara Sauce |
Dominos Tomato Sauce vs Marinara Sauce
All tomato products used in Domino’s recipes for both sauces use vine-ripened tomatoes of the highest quality.
To start you off on deciding which is ideally the best pizza sauce for your preferences, here’s a breakdown of both sauces.
Domino’s Tomato Sauce
Unless you’ve changed your order on purpose, each of us has most likely had Domino’s tomato sauce countless times. Let’s see what makes this sauce such a classic.
Main Differences
Domino’s tomato sauce is described by the company as a robust tomato-inspired sauce. This makes it bolder in tomato flavor and more prominently herbaceous than the Hearty Marinara Sauce.
The flavor of garlic carries the herbs and balances the slight bitterness of tomato’s richness.
It’s the bold tomatoey goodness that one would expect from a classic pizza with very low sweetness as compared to the lingering and forerunning sweet tomato taste of marinara.
Expect a far thicker, silkier sauce as opposed to the near-sticky texture of marinara.
Uses
All pizzas from Domino’s come with a base slathered with tomato sauce by default. It makes up the very first layer atop the crust.
Availability
The initial layer of tomato sauce on each Domino’s pizza is customizable.
You can ask for extra tomato sauce if you prefer a saucier pizza or a light helping for those who are looking for as little tomato taste as possible.
Tomato sauce is available from Domino’s as both a sauce covering the pizza base and as an individual extra dipping sauce.
Flavor
Domino’s Tomato Sauce is a signature blend that accentuates the taste of tomato with a bittersweet foundation of garlic and spices.
The herbs feature boldly, merging with the tangy tomato and garlic to create a lingering herbaceous taste. Tomato sauce from Domino’s is much bolder in spiciness than the company’s marinara.
Ingredients
Domino’s lists tomato puree made from a blend of water & tomato paste, sugar, salt, spices, garlic, soybean oil, and citric acid as the ingredients in their tomato sauce.
Consistency
The robust tomato-inspired sauce coating all Domino’s pizzas carry a rich, thick, velvety texture that’s both silky and pourable.
It’s a thick sauce that creates a significant layer of tomato atop the crust of every pizza.
Versatility
As an enriched version of the timeless default tomato sauce that matches just about every combination of toppings out there, Domino’s Tomato Sauce is more versatile than Domino’s Hearty Marinara Sauce.
DIY Difficulty
Even though the basic recipe for a velvety tomato sauce is readily available in many forms, the blend of spices that Domino’s uses in their tomato sauce is unknown.
The combination elevates and promotes the flavor of tomato while the herbs remain light enough to make the sauce versatile enough for all pizzas.
Striking this balance at home is hard.
Hearty Marinara Sauce
Whether it’s been by special request at Domino’s or on a homemade pizza, marinara sauce is an unmistakable classic from Italian cuisine that the world has fallen in love with.
Domino’s Hearty Marinara is a tasty alternative to the standard tomato that’s just as tasty with breadsticks as it is on a pizza. Here’s a breakdown of what makes this sauce so special.
Main Differences
Domino’s Hearty Marinara Sauce captures the ideal flavor of the classic Italian sauce, presenting a more subdued tomato flavor with lighter herbaceous notes than their standard pizza sauce.
Marinara from Domino’s is sweet without being overly intense, using a sweet tomato base that’s tangy instead of rich like the regular tomato sauce.
The company’s signature marinara sauce also includes both pecorino romano and parmesan, whereas the robust tomato-inspired sauce doesn’t contain any cheese at all.
Uses
For those who prefer a sweeter sauce, Domino’s marinara sauce is available.
To replace the first layer of sauce atop the crust, the customer must specify that they want the alternate sauce otherwise, tomato sauce is provided.
Availability
You can either choose to order Domino’s marinara sauce as the first layer of sauce atop your pizza or as a dipping sauce extra.
When ordering marinara, the same three options are available, namely light, standard, and extra sauce.
Flavor
Expect a sweet tomato sauce that carries the flavor of herbs in the background, with the spices and tomato taste being far more subdued than a regular rich tomato sauce.
The taste of the herbs is stronger, and the sweetness is far more prominent and intense in Domino’s marinara sauce as compared to their signature tomato sauce.
Ingredients
Domino’s lists tomatoes, tomato puree, onions, sugar, pecorino romano, parmesan cheese, carrot puree, salt, celery puree, garlic, spices, butter, olive oil, citric acid, sunflower oil, natural flavor, and xanthan gum as the ingredients in their hearty marinara sauce.
Consistency
Although a dense tomato-based sauce, the manner in which marinara sauce is cooked and comes together gives it a consistency that’s midway between a thick dipping sauce and a sticky sauce. It’s not as silky as a straight tomato sauce.
Versatility
Fans will argue that Hearty Marinara Sauce from Domino’s is as versatile as the standard tomato sauce. In most cases, this appears to be true. It pairs particularly well with strong and spicy flavors.
DIY Difficulty
Even though the marinara sauce is a moderate difficulty to pull off, the availability of authentic Italian recipes makes it relatively easy to make a sauce with a similar flavor and sweetness.
Simply follow a recipe that results in a sweet marinara rather than one of the spicy varieties and you’ll most likely come pretty close within a few tries.
Which Is Better Dominos Tomato Sauce Vs. Marinara Sauce
Marinara sauce is mild when compared to Domino’s tomato sauce in spice. If you’re making marinara at home, spicing up the flavor is easy. Figuring out the company’s secret tomato sauce isn’t likely.
So, which is better Domino’s tomato sauce vs. marinara sauce? Both of these can be amazing options to use on your pizza.
Although, in the end, the best pick depends entirely on your personal taste. You can even try both of these at once by ordering a half marinara and half tomato pizza.