By Lisa MarcAurele · · 17 Comments
This simple recipe for keto marinara uses canned plum tomatoes. It's a good low carbmarinara sauce to serve with cheesy keto breadsticks.
Article Index
- How to make keto marinara sauce
- What marinara sauce is keto friendly?
- Carbs per serving
- More homemade sauces
- Recipe
If you are looking for a good homemade sugar-free marinara sauce, you'll be surprised how easy it is to make your own. This recipe is adapted from one found on a can of tomatoes.
The primary change from the original recipe was to eliminate the sugar and use a low carb sweetener instead. But I also found it tastes better with some Italian seasonings sprinkled in too.
You can omit the sweetener if you'd like. I only used ⅛ teaspoon of Pyure All Purpose. The tomatoes already have natural sugar so it's really not needed anyway.
This really is the perfect keto marinara sauce! It goes well with Fathead breadsticks or as a topping for spiralized zucchini.
I'm already planning to use the sauce with some homemade meatballs in the Instant Pot too!
How to make keto marinara sauce
There's only a few simple steps needed to make your own low carb pasta sauce!
- Sauté a few cloves of garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Then stir in a little tomato paste, continuing to cook for another minute.
- Add in a can of peeled plum tomatoes. If the tomatoes aren't already seasoned, you'll want to add in some Italian seasonings along with salt and pepper.
- Add in some fresh basil leaves. Simmer the sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings if needed. Remove the basil leaves and garlic closed then pureé if desired.
That's all there is to making your own red sauce!
What marinara sauce is keto friendly?
As long as the sauce doesn't add sugar, any commercial brand should be acceptable. However, some brands have less carbs than others.
My favorite store bought sauce is Rao's as the carbs tend to be lower than others.
Carbs per serving
For each half cup serving, the total carbs are 5 grams with 1 gram of fiber. That's just 4g net carbs each!
Because of the olive oil, there's also some healthy fat too. I calculate about 7 grams of fat for each serving.
More homemade sauces
Want to make more low carb sauces at home? Check out some of my other recipes:
- Keto Alfredo Sauce is a smooth and creamy white sauce made with parmesan cheese. It's another great low carb pasta sauce.
- Hollandaise Sauce is well known for making eggs Benedict, but it's a delicious topping for vegetables too.
- Low Carb Gravy can be made with egg yolks and gelatin as a thickener. This is great option if you don't care for other thickeners.
- Flourless Cheese Sauce can be served as a dip or used to top vegetables. It's a great way to get kids eating their veggies.
- Low Carb BBQ Sauce is a tasty dipping sauce for chicken nuggets but it's perfect for brushing on meat when grilling too.
Follow us on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and INSTAGRAM for even more tasty keto-friendly recipes!
Recipe
Keto Marinara Sauce
4.60 from 5 votes
This simple recipe uses canned tomatoes for easy prep. It's a good sugar-free marinara sauce to serve with low carb cheese bread.
Prep Time:5 minutes mins
Cook Time:35 minutes mins
Total Time:40 minutes mins
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Italian
Print Pin Review Recipe Save Recipe
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 85
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 tablespoon tomato Paste
- 35 ounces peeled plum Italian style tomatoes with basil canned
- ⅛ teaspoon Pyure All Purpose or ¼ teaspoon Swerve (optional)
- 5 leaves whole basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute
Add the peeled plum tomatoes. Stir to combine and then add salt and black pepper and bring to a boil.
Simmer sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally until thickened and reduced, about 30 minutes. Taste and season again with salt and black pepper if needed. Discard basil and garlic cloves. Puree if desired.
Serve over spaghetti squash or cheese pasta. Top with fresh torn basil leaves and grated fresh Parmesan cheese. Also great to serve with low carb meatballs or cheese bread.
Notes
Italian seasonings can be added for more flavor.
Sweetener isn't needed, but it can be used to preference.
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 85 | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 318mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1080IU | Vitamin C: 17.8mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Additional Info
Net Carbs: 4g | % Carbs: 19.3% | % Protein: 4.8% | % Fat: 75.9% | SmartPoints: 3
Notes on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Copyright
© LowCarbYum.com - Unauthorized use of this material without written permission is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes. Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
First Published: November 24, 2014... Last Updated: March 27, 2020
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Marybeth Conrad
Delicious!Reply
Jeff
I am going to make this for dinner and I am sure it will be as awesome as all of the other meals we have prepared from your 5-ingredient KETO cook book. I am curious though if the 5 basil leaves in this recipe are dried or fresh?
Reply
Lisa MarcAurele
I used fresh leaves, but dried would work too.
Reply
Arion Thompson
I love your website and thank you so much for all your hard work bringing low carb to us in the most yummy way! The one question I have has to do with the carb count. Raos homemade marinara is 3 net carbs per half cup. I have never seen a commercial brand get a lower carb count than homespun ones. What do you think I could tweak on your recipe to get a lower carb count to at least match the Raos? It's so goofy expensive (albeit fantastic in flavor).
Thanks again,
Arion
Best of Both Worlds
bbwsfoodrevolution.comReply
Lisa
The carbs are from the tomatoes so using ones with the least sugar helps and you can also dilute it some with water to reduce the carbs per serving. You'll also want to cut out the tomato paste as it's concentrated tomato which has more carbs. Adding in Parmesan cheese can also up the flavor without adding much if any carbs.
Reply
Rebecca
Am I missing a step? It goes from being tomatoes boiling to sauce? How long do you boil? What about after that? Do the tomatoes and garlic cloves just disintegrate? I would really like to try this, and will most likely puree this, but I'm surprised the directions don't say to do so.Reply
Lisa
If you like it smooth, you can puree. It works either way. And the recipe does say to discard the garlic cloves. However, you can leave them in if you choose to puree.
Reply
Jessica
How much is one serving?Reply
Lisa
About a half cup.
Reply
Scott
Im sorry. I came to check out your LOW CARB marinara. In the nutrition label section I see this recipe has 45g Carbs?????? Please explain where your LOW CARB marinara recipe is...45g of carbs is in no way LOW CARB.Reply
Lisa
That was an error. The data was recalculated and the number is coming up 5g per serving. It's unfair to rate 1 star to a recipe that you haven't tried when you could have easily calculated the data yourself to see it was a mistake so I changed the rating as I'm unable to delete it.
Reply
Margo
Do you know the nutritional breakdown counts?
Reply
Lisa
It's below the recipe.
Reply
Jane
I can not wait to try this. I have a question about sweetener. I know it is trial and error. I was excited when I found pyure at Walmart but I noticed that after using it, it gave me cravings. I am running out of options. Anything with alcohol in it gives cravings as well. I have not tried swerve yet. Do you have any other recommendations? Thank you and love your website.
Reply
Lisa
I rarely use erythritol for that same reason. My sweeteners of choice are concentrated stevia and or monk fruit.
Reply
Linda Scott
I am not on a keto diet but have cut out all the white stuff and gone to whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean protien, and healthy fats. It is similar but not identical to Southbeach diet. This recipe should work out great. Thanks Linda
Reply
Lisa
South Beach is a great diet as well.
Reply
