This keto spaghetti sauce comes together with just a few simple ingredients and adds herbaceous zest to whatever you’re serving for dinner–cover your veggies, pasta, or keto meatballs in this luscious, sugar and perservative free sauce, or use it to make eggplant lasagna. Promise you won’t regret it!
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Is Spaghetti Sauce Keto?
Traditional spaghetti sauce typically contains added sugar to tame the acidity of the tomatoes. There are a few store bought keto pasta sauce options, as well as recipes that don’t contain added sugar.
Ingredients + Additions
This super simple keto spaghetti sauce can be adjusted to your liking–from diced vegetables to herbs, maybe some meat? Here’s how to adjust this recipe to your taste:
- Veggies – Onions and garlic are all I add, feel free to mix in other low carb vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, or spinach.
- Heat – No heat here. But feel free to crank it up with red pepper flakes.
- Meat – I love mixing fully cooked and browned Italian sausage and beef into this pasta sauce. Similar to my keto bolognese, with fewer ingredients.
- Herbs – Fresh basil, rosemary, or even oregano would be an incredible addition.
- Cheese – How about some freshly grated parmesan? Maybe mozzarella? (Or just make my keto alfredo sauce).
How to Make Keto Spaghetti Sauce
Making keto spaghetti sauce is really easy and really straightforward. Here’s how:
- Saute the aromatics – this allows them to soften and increases their natural flavors.
- Simmer the sauce – to marry everything together. Since we’re simmering without the lid, it’ll reduce and thicken our keto marinara.
- Taste + tweak – More salt, more herbs, maybe a dash of cheese? (More ideas below!)
What to Serve with Keto Marinara
If traditional pasta is no longer on the menu, don’t let that restrict you. There are dozens of pasta alternatives, as well as meats and casseroles to enjoy with keto spaghetti sauce:
Keto Pasta Options
Most low carb pastas are veggie-based alternatives. There are also store bought products, typically made from beans or almond flour.
- Spaghetti squash. My favorite veggie noodle, spaghetti squash is easy to prep in the microwave or oven depending on the season.
- Zucchini noodles are super versatile and can be sliced into spaghetti, linguini, or even lasagna.
- Butternut squash noodles. Slightly sweet and higher in carbs than most other alternatives. But easy to make and totally delish.
- Almond flour pasta. Try my homemade version (which can’t be used to make spaghetti noodles), or find a store bought product.
- Keto gnocchi. Check out my version for another almond flour-based recipe. Or use your favorite variation like broccoli or cauliflower gnocchi.
While I absolutely love shirataki noodles for stir-fries and ramen, I don’t love them as an Italian pasta substitute and don’t recommend them with this sauce
Vegetables + Meat
Serve your next veggie side with keto spaghetti sauce as a dip, or poured on top. Some of my favorites for this are oven roasted zucchini or roasted broccoli. You can even pour this herbaceous sauce over an entire sheet pan of roasted vegetables, chicken, or shrimp.
Casseroles (Lasagnas, etc.)
This sugar free sauce is the perfect way to keep carbs down when throwing together a veggie based lasagna or pasta casserole. Some of my favorites are:
- Cauliflower lasagna
- Spaghetti squash casserole
- Cabbage lasagna
- Cauliflower baked ziti
- Zucchini lasagna
Storing and Freezing Keto Pasta Sauce
Keto pasta sauce is one of my favorite recipes to make in bulk and store in the freezer for meals in a pinch. You can store it in the fridge for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for a few months.
- To reheat: do so in the microwave with a damp paper towel on top.
- To freeze: place in a freezer container, and leave a little room on top (liquids expand in the freezer).
- To defrost: place in the fridge the night before.
Which (Store bought) Spaghetti Sauce Has the Least Carbs?
Sometimes it’s just easier to grab a jar of spaghetti sauce. Read labels carefully, as selections are always changing, and new products are frequently coming on the market. Some safe bets include:
- Rao’s
- Primal Kitchen
- Prego – their traditional jar does contain added sugar, however, they now make a sugar free product.
- Ragu, Traditional
Looking for More Keto Pasta Ideas?
- Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
- Keto Shrimp Scampi
- Keto Chicken Noodle Soup
- Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash
- Zucchini Spaghetti
Keto Spaghetti Sauce
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Onion diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 (28 Ounce Can) Peeled and Diced Tomatoes
- 1 (6 Ounce Can) Tomato Paste
- 1 Tablespoon dried basil
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the diced onion and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and continue to saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and continue to cook until it has thickened to your liking, about 15 minutes.
- Serve warm over your favorite low carb noodles, veggies, or meat, and enjoy!
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Lindsey’s Tips
- Nutritional information will vary depending on how much liquid you cook out of the sauce. I was able to make 4 cups of sauce using this recipe, making each serving ½ cup.
