Keto Tomato Sauce: A Flavorful and Healthy Choice

For those following a ketogenic or low-carb lifestyle, finding suitable sauces can be a challenge. Many store-bought options are laden with added sugars and fillers, making them unsuitable for a keto diet. However, tomato sauce can absolutely be incorporated into a keto or low-carb diet, especially when it's homemade since you'll have more control over what's in it. This article explores the world of keto-friendly tomato sauce, offering insights, recipes, and tips for making the perfect low-carb sauce.

The Problem with Store-Bought Sauces

Store-bought jarred sauce is convenient, but almost always has added sugar and fillers that also add carbs. It is essential always to read labels when choosing tomatoes. Many brands have added sugars, which is something you should avoid. (Especially since tomatoes already have added sugars.) Many brands will work.

Why Make Your Own Keto Tomato Sauce?

Sure, you can buy marinara, but homemade tastes so much better. (Plus - it is always great to control what is going into what you are eating!) Making your own keto tomato sauce offers several advantages:

• Control over Ingredients: By making your own sauce, you can avoid added sugars, unnecessary fillers, and unhealthy preservatives.
• Customization: Homemade sauce allows you to tailor the flavor to your liking, whether you prefer a simple tomato-based marinara or a garlic-heavy sauce.
• Freshness: Homemade sauce made with fresh, high-quality ingredients simply tastes better than store-bought alternatives.
• Cost-Effective: This low carb tomato sauce recipe is incredibly affordable and makes the most of tomatoes during peak season.

Key Ingredients for Keto Tomato Sauce

The key to a delicious keto tomato sauce is to start with the best quality tomatoes. This low-carb tomato sauce recipe is so simple to prepare and leaves you ample room to riff, whether you prefer making use of fresh tomatoes at peak season (and please do) or choosing a canned variety.

• Tomatoes: Choose bright red tomatoes that are at their ripest. San Marzano tomatoes are preferable because they are meaty and do not have as many seeds. Roma tomatoes will also work in this recipe. You can prepare this low-carb marinara sauce with fresh whole tomatoes or with canned tomatoes. Since the tomatoes are the main ingredient, make sure they're good ones!
• Onion and Garlic: Sautéing the onions first will bring out the sweetness, making it unnecessary to add sugar to the sauce. For a slightly sweeter sauce, you can use a sweet yellow onion. A red onion will also provide a slightly different flavor profile.
• Olive Oil: Olive oil is a healthy fat that adds richness and flavor to the sauce.
• Herbs and Spices: The dried herbs can be substituted with dried Italian seasoning. You can play with the spices a little bit and use fresh basil leaves, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley if you desire in place of the dried Italian seasoning.
• Optional Ingredients: Dry red wine and Beef broth: this is the liquid used in this sauce. While I strongly urge you to use the red wine, if you need to omit it use extra beef broth in its place. If you find the sauce to be too acidic, you can add a pinch of baking soda.

Easy No-Cook Keto Marinara Sauce Recipe

This recipe makes a chunky marinara sauce. If you want it smoother, process it in the blender until it reaches the desired consistency. I do heat up this keto marinara sauce before eating it in a recipe, but I usually make it without simmering it at all beforehand. I find that the longer you cook a simple meatless tomato sauce like this one, the more flavor you lose. My usual marinara sauce recipe contains a lot of onions and garlic, which can really bust your net carb budget for the day. So I’m giving you this super easy, and much lower in carbs, “no chop” keto marinara sauce that you can literally make in five minutes.

Read also: What Tomato Frogs Eat

Ingredients:

• Best quality tomatoes. We always use certified San Marzano (the brand doesn’t matter) tomatoes, and it makes a world of difference.

Instructions:

1. Step 2: Add onion and cook for 4 minutes.
2. Step 4: Bring to a boil.

Homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe

This Homemade Tomato Sauce is made with fresh San Marzano Tomatoes and tastes much better than any jarred marinara sauce! Today, I am going to teach you how to take fresh San Marzano Tomatoes and a handful of other ingredients and make the most amazing homemade Tomato Sauce! This recipe is very simple, an amazing way to use fresh garden vegetables, and happens to be sugar-free! You do not need any hard to find ingredients or special skills to make this sauce. Simply roast and blend for a delightfully simple tomato sauce that is great on just about anything!

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds fresh San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 white onion peeled and quartered
• 2 heads garlic peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• Optional: to cut acidity and make creamier, add 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Add the fresh San Marzano tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and Italian seasoning.
3. Roast for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and stir.
4. Roast an additional 20-30 minutes until it resembles the photos in the pictures and most of the liquid has evaporated.
5. Remove from the oven and allow the mixture to cool 10 minutes.
6. Transfer the ingredients to a blender add the red wine and beef broth.
7. This recipe makes approximately 3 cups of sauce.

Simple Low-Carb Tomato Sauce Recipe

This low-carb tomato sauce recipe takes only minutes to prep- the rest of the time is spent allowing the sauce to simmer into rich, flavorful goodness.

Ingredients:

• 3-½ cups fresh tomatoes, diced OR 28 oz.
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Chopped onions
• Minced garlic
• Tomato paste
• Basil
• Oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons of butter (vegan butter or more olive oil works well too)

Instructions:

1. Set a medium saucepan on the stovetop over medium-high heat and warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Add the chopped onions and cook for about 5 minutes to allow them to soften.
3. Stir in the minced garlic and cook another minute.
4. Add in the diced tomatoes (with their juices), tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for about 35-30 minutes (if using fresh tomatoes, it may need to simmer for up to 45 minutes to reduce). Stir occasionally and use your spoon to break down any large tomato chunks.
6. Remove the sauce from the heat and swirl in 2 tablespoons of butter (vegan butter or more olive oil works well too). Taste and adjust, adding more salt if needed.
7. Optional: Transfer half the sauce to a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times until it is smooth. Pour it back into the pan with the other half batch of sauce. The small amount of butter or olive oil added at the end will help cut through the acidity of the tomato sauce and give it a really rich and balanced flavor.

Tips for the Perfect Keto Tomato Sauce

• Use High-Quality Tomatoes: Since tomatoes are the star of the sauce, choose the best ones you can find.
• Adjust Sweetness and Acidity: If the sauce tastes a bit acidic (this can vary based on your tomato ripeness and variety), a small amount of liquid monk fruit sweetener, stevia, or even a powdered keto-friendly sweetener will cut through that acidic taste and still keep this a sugar-free tomato sauce. Baking soda is another ingredient that can help cut through the acidity of tomato sauce. Stir in ¼ teaspoon and increase as needed.
• Simmer for Flavor: Simmering the sauce allows the flavors to meld and deepen.
• Blend for Smoothness: Depending on your preference, you can blend the sauce to make it a lot more smooth. I usually blend half the batch, then stir it back into the rest of the sauce.
• Store Properly: Transfer the sauce a glass jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. To freeze, transfer ½ cup - ¾ cup portions into freezer-safe bags.

Serving Suggestions

This versatile keto tomato sauce can be used in a variety of dishes, including:

• Use your fave marinara to make these stuffed bell pepper lasagna boats!
• As a pasta sauce
• As a pizza sauce
• As a dipping sauce
• Keto Tuscan soup with beef and vegetables! A one-pot meal that's hearty and packed with flavor.
• Turkish eggplant casserole, a low-carb and vegan casserole recipe that's loaded with spices.
• Simple cauliflower risotto, made with crisp asparagus pieces and salty bacon.

Other Keto-Friendly Sauce Options

• This 5-minute keto ranch dressing recipe. It's creamy, zesty and completely dairy free.
• Sunflower cashew ricotta, a low carb and vegan take on creamy ricotta cheese.

Read also: Delicious Tomato Sandwiches Recipe

Read also: Benefits of Tomato Soup Liquid Diet

tags: #tomato #sauce #keto