how long is pizza sauce good for in the fridge

pizza sauce good for in the fridge

You’re making a homemade pizza in the comfort of your kitchen. You’ve kneaded, shaped the dough, grated the mozzarella cheese, and diced up the veggies and meat. Your stomach is rumbling, and your mouth is watering for some delicious, cheesy tomato goodness as you smell the ingredients.

For example, a jar of pizza sauce can last anywhere from 5-7 days when left in a refrigerator between 0 and 5℃. When properly stored away in the freezer at -18℃ can last about 3 months. If you decide to freeze it, here are a few ways you can defrost pizza sauce: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator (Recommended)

Check for Broken Seals refrigerator life opened pizza sauce

Before you taste or smell your pizza sauce to see if it's still good, inspect the jar or can for a few key indicators of a problem:

The jar seal is broken

The can is dented or swollen

Bubbling foam appears when you open it refrigerator life opened pizza sauce

If you notice any of these signs, the jar of sauce has gone bad and should not be used.

Although tomatoes are an acidic food, if they haven't been properly canned or the seal on your jar has been broken, it's possible that your sauce has become contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a potentially toxic bacteria. Even tasting or smelling the tomato sauce can make you very sick if ingested or inhaled, warns the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Find the Expiration Date

Your can of pizza or spaghetti sauce will have an expiration date printed on it, usually on the bottom of the can or lid of the jar. If this date has passed, then your sauce has possibly gone bad. These dates are determined by the manufacturer and indicate when the product inside is at its peak freshness.

Although canned sauce may still be edible beyond the expiration date, the date is a good indicator that the sauce inside isn't going to be very fresh or tasty. To ensure a delicious pizza, purchase a new sauce can or jar at its peak of flavor.

Keep Track of Open Sauce

Even if your can of sauce isn't past its expiration date, if you've opened it, it still could have gone bad. Sauce kept in the refrigerator between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit lasts around five to seven days and in the freezer at 0F for about three months.

If you've left the sauce out for longer than two hours at temperatures above 40F or more than one hour at temperatures above 90F, the sauce has likely gone bad and should be tossed, warns the CDC. Mold and bacteria flourish at these temperatures, making the product dangerous to eat.