Pizza sauce: cooked tomato, some salt, and no study of its own

A meta-analysis of 34 randomized trials of tomato or lycopene in adults found no significant change in cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose or blood pressure, and those trials mixed supplements with foods. We found no study of pizza sauce itself, so everything on this page comes from tomato products and from lycopene, the red pigment in them. The one small positive signal is on the waist. A 2026 meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials in adults with a mean BMI of 25 or more found tomato-based foods reduced waist circumference by 0.45 in (1.15 cm). The 95% interval runs from 0.02 to 0.89 in (0.04 to 2.27 cm), almost touching zero, and body weight did not change consistently. What the sauce reliably gives you is modest: 54 calories and 348 mg of sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g) in the single USDA record, which is one canned product with no spread across brands.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Canned ready-to-serve pizza sauce has 54 calories, 348 mg sodium, 354 mg potassium and 11.3 mg vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g) in the USDA reference record. — USDA SR Legacy reference record for US canned pizza sauce (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: energy 54 calories, sodium 348 mg, potassium 354 mg, vitamin C 11.3 mg, fiber 2.0 g, sugars 3.78 g, fat 1.15 g

What a real portion looks like

• USDA weighs a quarter cup of pizza sauce at 63 g, which carries about 219 mg sodium by the reference record. — USDA portion weight for canned pizza sauce (n = -) Evidence E source
  0.25 cup = 63 g; sodium about 219 mg per 63 g (348 mg/100 g x 0.63)

What your body absorbs

• In a crossover trial in 12 adults, lycopene from a heat-processed tomato sauce rich in cis-isomers was absorbed about 54% better than from an all-trans-rich sauce. — 12 healthy adults, 150 g tomato sauce in a standard breakfast, plasma followed 9.5 h, 2-week washout (n = 12) Evidence B source
  Dose-adjusted lycopene AUC 7.30 vs 4.74 nmol x h/l (P = 0.002)
• A meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials found that eating fat with carotenoid-rich foods raises carotenoid absorption, more with unsaturated fats (SMD 0.90) than saturated fats (SMD 0.27). — 12 RCTs plus 27 in vitro studies of dietary fat and carotenoid absorption (n = 12 RCTs) Evidence A source
  Unsaturated fat SMD 0.90 (95% CI 0.69-1.11) vs saturated fat SMD 0.27 (0.08-0.47)
• In a crossover trial in 19 adults, one week each of tomato juice, spaghetti sauce or tomato oleoresin significantly raised serum lycopene. — 19 healthy adults, each tomato product for one week (n = 19) Evidence B source
  Significant rise in serum lycopene and lower TBARS, size not given in abstract

What cooking and storage change

• USDA factors for boiled or baked tomatoes keep 95% of vitamin C and B vitamins and 70% of folate, while sodium and potassium stay at 100%. — USDA group factor for vegetables, tomatoes boiled/baked (n = -) Evidence E source
  Folate 70%; vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6 95%; choline 90%; minerals 100%

What it does to your health

• A 2026 meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials in people with overweight found tomato products cut waist circumference by about 0.47 in (1.2 cm), with no consistent change in body weight. — adults with mean BMI 25 or more, tomato or tomato-product interventions excluding isolated lycopene (n = 11 RCTs) Evidence A source
  Waist circumference MD -0.45 in (95% CI -0.89 to -0.02; metric: -1.153 cm, -2.27 to -0.04)
• Observational data link higher total tomato intake with 11% lower cancer mortality in a pooled analysis of prospective cohorts. — adults in prospective cohorts, follow-up 2-32 years (n = 119 studies in meta-analysis) Evidence C source
  Cancer mortality RR 0.89 (95% CI 0.85-0.93), I2 65.7%

What people believe that the data does not support

• A meta-analysis of 34 randomized trials found that tomato and lycopene intake did not significantly change blood lipids, fasting glucose or blood pressure in adults. — adults in 34 RCTs of lycopene or tomato consumption (n = 34 RCTs) Evidence A source
  No significant effect on TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, FBG, SBP, DBP, CRP, body weight; lower MDA with lycopene
• The EU did not authorize a claim that lycopene from tomato pulp and sauces should be eaten for its nutritional qualities, and no lycopene claim is authorized in the EU register. — EU health claim applications (n = -) Evidence E source
  Status Non-authorized, 0 of 28 lycopene entries authorized

Who this works differently for

• Two people in Switzerland had severe anaphylaxis from peanut protein hidden in a fast-food pizza sauce that was not labeled as containing peanut. — 2 patients with peanut allergy, Switzerland (n = 2) Evidence C source
  Severe anaphylaxis, peanut antigens confirmed in the sauce by immunochemistry
• Lupine flour, used in Europe in pasta, pizza and sauces, cross-reacts with peanut and can trigger allergic reactions in people with peanut allergy. — case report of a 10-year-old boy with peanut and tree-nut allergy, Canada (n = 1) Evidence C source
  Anaphylaxis to lupine flour, skin test positive

What is still unknown

• A scoping review found only 12 studies on how industrial processing changes tomato nutrients, with inconsistent results and no simple answer on whether processed tomato products match fresh. — 12 original studies of industrial tomato processing (n = 12 studies) Evidence D source
  Direction differs by compound and method, data limited

The bottom line

A quarter cup, the USDA portion, weighs 2.2 oz (63 g), which works out by our arithmetic to about 219 mg of sodium. A pizza may carry more or less than that, and homemade and branded sauces differ in salt and sugar. Absorption is where the evidence is most concrete. A meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials found carotenoids are absorbed better when eaten with more fat, with a larger effect for unsaturated fat (standardized mean difference 0.90, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.11) than for saturated fat (0.27, 0.08 to 0.47). It pooled all carotenoids and did not report lycopene on its own. In a crossover trial in 12 healthy adults given 5.3 oz (150 g) of sauce at breakfast, a lab-made heat-processed sauce rich in cis-lycopene gave about 54 percent more lycopene in the blood than an all-trans sauce over 9.5 hours. That was one meal, and the 54 percent is our ratio of the two reported values. In an older crossover in 19 adults, a week of spaghetti sauce raised blood lycopene significantly, though the abstract gives no size. USDA factors for boiled or baked tomatoes keep all the sodium and potassium, 95 percent of vitamin C and 70 percent of folate. Those factors date from 1975 and were never measured on sauce baked on a pizza. A scoping review found only 12 studies of industrial tomato processing, with inconsistent results, so whether jarred sauce matches fresh tomato has no simple answer. Observational data link higher total tomato intake with 11 percent lower cancer mortality (RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.93) across prospective cohorts followed for 2 to 32 years. That is an association, the studies disagreed with each other a lot (I2 65.7%), and the authors dropped the one tomato sauce study. The EU register has turned down a claim that lycopene from tomato sauces is worth eating for its nutritional qualities, and none of its 28 lycopene entries is authorized. The caution that is documented is allergy. Two people in Switzerland had severe anaphylaxis from peanut protein hidden in an unlabelled fast-food pizza sauce, a 1998 case under the Swiss labeling rules of that time. Lupine flour, used in some European sauces and pizza, cross-reacts with peanut, according to a single Canadian case report in which the product was a pancake mix. If you have a peanut allergy, ask about restaurant sauces. We have no card on pregnancy, children, kidney disease or medicines for this product.

Sources

1. pzs-r2-01 · dataset
   Sauce, pizza, canned, ready-to-serve (FDC 172880, sr_legacy): energy_kcal 54.0; sodium_mg 348.0; potassium_mg 354.0; vitamin_c_mg 11.3; fiber_g 2.0; sugars_g 3.78; fat_g 1.15 per 100 g
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (2018), FDC 172880 Sauce, pizza, canned, ready-to-serve · checked 2026-09-30
2. pzs-r2-02 · dataset
   food_portion 91625, fdc_id 172880: amount 0.25 cup, gram_weight 63
   USDA FoodData Central release 2026-04-30, food_portion 91625, FDC 172880 Sauce, pizza, canned, ready-to-serve · checked 2026-09-30
3. pzs-r2-04 · RCT (crossover)
   Healthy adult subjects (n 12) were recruited for this randomised cross-over trial. ... Each sauce (150 g) was served in a standardised meal at 08.00 hours after overnight fasting. ... AUC values adjusted for the amount lycopene consumed showed that total, total cis-, and all-trans-lycopene responses were significantly higher from the cis-isomer-rich sauce, compared with the all-trans-rich sauce, being 7.30 (sem 1.45) v. 4.74 (sem 1.08) nmol x h/l (P = 0.002)
   Br J Nutr, 2007 · checked 2026-09-30
4. pzs-r2-05 · meta-analysis
   A total of 27 in vitro studies and 12 RCTs were included. ... The meta-analysis of RCTs showed that the bioavailability of carotenoids was enhanced when a higher quantity of dietary fats was co-consumed. Moreover, fats rich in unsaturated fatty acids resulted in greater improvement in carotenoid bioavailability (SMD 0.90; 95%CI, 0.69-1.11) as compared with fats rich in saturated fatty acids (SMD 0.27; 95%CI, 0.08-0.47).
   Nutr Rev, 2022 · checked 2026-09-30
5. pzs-r2-06 · RCT (crossover)
   A study was conducted on 19 healthy human subjects to evaluate the uptake and in vivo antioxidant properties of lycopene, using a randomized, crossover design. Dietary lycopene was provided by tomato juice, spaghetti sauce, and tomato oleoresin for a period of one week each. ... Dietary supplementation of lycopene resulted in a significant increase in serum lycopene level and diminished amounts of serum thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances.
   Nutr Cancer, 1998 · checked 2026-09-30
6. pzs-r2-03 · dataset
   USDA-RETN-R6:3751 TOMATOES,BOILED/BAKED: folate_total_ug 70%; vitamin_c_mg 95%; thiamin_mg 95%; niacin_mg 95%; sodium_mg 100%; potassium_mg 100%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007), code 3751 Tomatoes, boiled/baked · checked 2026-09-30
7. pzs-r2-07 · meta-analysis
   Forty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria: 11 clinical trials (RCTs), 5 epidemiological studies, and 31 preclinical studies. In the RCTs, tomato-based interventions produced a small but significant reduction in waist circumference (MD: -1.153 cm, 95% CI: -2.27 to -0.04, p = 0.0432), with no consistent effects on body weight or BMI.
   Food Funct, 2026 · checked 2026-09-30
8. pzs-r2-09 · cohort meta-analysis
   In total, 121 prospective studies were included in the systematic review and 119 in the meta-analysis. During the follow-up period of 2-32 years, a total of 108,574 cancer cases and 10,375 deaths occurred. ... Regarding cancer mortality, negative relationships were found with total tomato intake (Pooled RR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.85-0.93, I2 = 65.7%, p < 0.001)
   Front Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-09-30
9. pzs-r2-08 · meta-analysis
   a total of 34 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. ... However, lycopene and tomato consumption did not have significant effects on other cardiovascular risk factors such as triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting blood glucose (FBG), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP)
   Curr Pharm Des, 2023 · checked 2026-09-30
10. pzs-r2-12 · regulatory decision
    POL-HC-7535 Lycopenes from tomato pulp and sauces Tomato is as almost unique as a source of a specific carotene named: Lycopene; Therefore use it always is any conditions for its nutritional qualities Non-authorised
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-7535, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-09-30
11. pzs-r2-10 · case series
    Peanut, which is a member of the legume family, can thus form up to 10% of processed foods without being mentioned on the label, thus making avoidance impossible. We report on two patients who presented severe anaphylaxis from peanut hidden in a pizza from a fast food restaurant. We were able to provide evidence for the presence of major peanut antigens in the pizza sauce by immunochemical analysis.
    Schweiz Med Wochenschr, 1998 · checked 2026-09-30
12. pzs-r2-11 · case report
    Lupine is a member of the legume family and is often used in many food products in Europe (e.g. pasta, pizza, sauces, etc.) as a wheat or soy substitute. Lupine cross-reacts with peanut, and cases of allergic reactions to lupine in peanut-allergic patients have been reported in Europe mainly.
    Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol, 2018 · checked 2026-09-30
13. pzs-r2-13 · scoping review
    Twelve original research papers were found to study the effects of different industrial processing methods on the nutrients and/or bioactive compounds in tomato products. The data suggested that different processing methods had different effects on different compounds in tomatoes. However, currently available data are still limited, and the existing data are often inconsistent.
    Adv Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-30