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This recipe for sugar-free keto tomato sauce is full of flavor and can be used in so many recipes. All while only using 5 ingredients!
While tomatoes are keto-friendly, store-bought versions of tomato sauce can be full of hidden sugars, carbs and who knows what else that isn’t good for you.
This is a simple keto tomato sauce recipe that you can use in any way you like. Use this sauce on a cauliflower pizza crust, low-carb eggplant parmesan, or a keto pizza casserole.
The sauce can easily be prepared ahead, saving you time in the kitchen.
How to make keto tomato sauce
Step 1: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the garlic in the olive oil. Saute for a minute until the garlic is fragrant. Make sure the garlic doesn’t brown and become burnt.
Step 2: Turn the heat down and add the tomatoes, oregano, vinegar, and salt to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 30 – 40 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken.
Step 3: Use the sauce immediately if desired or store for later use.
Make a batch and store it!
You can use this sugar-free tomato sauce immediately if desired or it can be stored for later use. To store the sauce, allow it to cool to room temperature first. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze the sauce after it has cooled to room temperature. Freeze in bags or a container for up to 6 weeks. Defrost before use.
Spicing it up!
Because this keto marinara sauce only uses 5 simple ingredients, it’s a great base that you can add other flavors to.
It tastes fantastic as it is, of course, but you can change the flavor profile by adding additional spices such as basil or parsley. You can also adjust the heat by adding red pepper flakes or even chopped chili peppers.
A sweet sugar-free tomato sauce?
The fact that this sauce is sugar-free doesn’t mean that it can’t be a little sweet! There are many no-carb sweeteners that you can eat on a keto diet.
I have made this sauce with a little bit of Stevia sweetener and it turned out great. Monkfruit sweetener is also a great option. Just be careful and add a little at a time as both sweeteners are quite strong.
Other healthy low-carb recipes to try
If you liked this recipe, here are some other low-carb recipes you might enjoy:
Keto Gravy
Keto Ranch Dressing
Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
You can also check out the roundup I created ofHealthy Dinner Recipes for Diabeticsfor even more great recipe ideas.
When you’ve tried this keto tomato sauce recipe, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Keto Tomato Sauce
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This is the best recipe for a keto tomato sauce that is full of flavor and can be used in so many recipes. All while only using 5 ingredients!
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the garlic in the olive oil. Saute for a minute until the garlic is fragrant. Make sure the garlic doesn’t brown and become burnt.
Turn the heat down and add the tomatoes, oregano, vinegar, and salt to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 30 – 40 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken.
Notes
You can use this tomato sauce immediately if desired or it can be stored for later use. To store the sauce, allow it to cool to room temperature first. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze the sauce after it has cooled to room temperature. Freeze in bags or a container for up to 6 weeks. Defrost before use.
Use a light hand, as a little baking soda goes a long way. For a batch of tomato sauce, start slowly with a mere 1/8 teaspoon. Give it a stir, taste, and see if you need more. You will notice the tartness start to fade, giving way to a sweetness.
For instance, many store-bought tomato products, such as tomato paste, tomato sauce, salsa, tomato juice, and even canned tomatoes, contain added sugars. This significantly raises their total carb content, making them more difficult to fit into a ketogenic diet.
Most tomato sauce recipes are based on canned tomatoes, and canning companies carefully regulate the pH level of their products. So, the need to add sugar to tomato sauce is declining, but there may still be exceptions. It's best to make your sauce without sugar at first, then taste it and add a pinch if necessary.
Add some lemon juice: The tartness of lemon can help cut through the sweetness. Squeeze in a little lemon juice and taste as you go until you achieve the desired balance. Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar can also work wonders in reducing sweetness.
If your tomato sauce is too acidic and verging on bitter, turn to baking soda, not sugar. Yes, sugar might make the sauce taste better, but good old baking soda is an alkaline that will help balance the excess acid. A little pinch should do the trick.
"A pinch of sugar is a Southern Italian trick that was used when the sauce was made with end-of-season tomatoes that did not get ripe, or the tomatoes were so tart they needed to be balanced," Chiarello explained to Epicurious.
Can you eat tomatoes on the keto diet? "Tomatoes are keto," says Abby Langer, R.D., author of Good Food, Bad Diet. "They're low in carbs, so they fit perfectly into keto." One whole medium tomato contains roughly 5 grams of carbohydrates, of which 1.5 grams are fiber and 3 grams are sugar.
Keto practitioners incorporate a variety of different condiments into their diets, including hot sauce, low-carb BBQ sauce, sugar-free ketchup, mustard, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, guacamole, soy sauce, sour cream, and more.
NO ADDED SUGAR AND 100% ITALIAN TOMATOES: Rao's pasta sauce contains no added sugar*, and only includes 100% Italian tomatoes, no paste , making it the perfect keto friendly spaghetti sauce to add to your pantry.
Approximately three dashes or ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg is plenty for a jar of tomato sauce. If you are making a large batch, add a bit more for good measure. While the flavor should be subtle, you still want it to make the other ingredients shine, so feel free to play around with the quantity until you get it just right.
The natural sugars in tomatoes themselves, such as fructose and glucose, contribute to the sauce's overall sweetness. Even in traditional home-made tomato sauce made from scratch, a little sugar is often added to balance the flavours.
Sweetener: Spaghetti sauce needs a bit of sugar of some sort to help balance the acidity of the tomatoes. You can sweeten the sauce with a bit of honey, or white or brown sugar. Seasoning: This recipe calls for dried parsley, oregano, basil, bay leaves, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Great tomato flavor is all about balancing acidity and sweetness. Too much of either can leave you with asauce that tastes one-dimensional. Many sources recommend adding a pinch of baking soda to a sauce that's overly tart, which raises the pH and makes it less acidic.
How to Make Food Less Sweet. Add an acid or seasonings such as vinegar or citrus juice; chopped fresh herbs; a dash of cayenne pepper; or, for sweet dishes, a bit of liqueur or espresso powder.
If your jarred tomato sauce is too acidic, consider adding a pinch or two of sugar (after all, it makes the medicine go down!). Jarred sauces can sometimes make you pucker, lacking the sought-after balance of a homemade sauce.
A little sugar can make the rest of the flavors shine a little brighter, akin to adding vanilla to a chocolate cake. The goal is to amplify the natural sweetness of the tomatoes, not to turn the sauce sugary, so start with a pinch and work up if needed.
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