The Best Ever Low-Carb Marinara Sauce
Martina Slajerova- Ready in 5m
- 2.6 g net carbs
- 112 kcal
- Serves 5
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Marinara sauce is one of the many low-carb ingredients I use on a regular basis. I always have a jar in the fridge and use it to dress my zucchini noodles, cauli-rice, fish, steak and even in soups and stews. This marinara is also perfect with eggs and quick skillet meals.
It works just like pizza sauce and you can use it on any low-carb pizza as topping, with zoodles or as a dip with homemade Keto Breadsticks.
This Italian sauce is a keto staple. Once you make your own pizza sauce, you will never go back to store bought!
Step-by-step
Wash and drain the tomatoes and fresh basil. Peel the onion and garlic.
Place most of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. You may need to dice the onion and mash the garlic before to make sure there are no large pieces left.
If you prefer a chunky texture, leave some tomatoes and basil aside, dice and add to the smooth sauce. When done, place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week. To keep it fresh for longer, pour a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil on top and store for up to 2 weeks.
Marinara sauce is perfect as topping on low-carb pizza!
Recipe
The Best Ever Low-Carb Marinara Sauce
★★★★★4.8This easy marinara sauce is packed with flavor and healthy fats. Once you make your own pizza sauce, you will ...
- Hands on
- 5m
- Overall
- 5m
- Servings
- 5
- 2.6 g
- Net carbs
- 0.7 g
- Protein
- 10.9 g
- Fat
- 112
- kcal
Ingredients makes about 1 1/4 cups/ 300 ml
Instructions
Wash and drain the tomatoes and fresh basil. Peel the onion and garlic.
Place most of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. You may need to dice the onion and mash the garlic before to make sure there are no large pieces left.
If you prefer a chunky texture, leave some tomatoes and basil aside, dice and add to the smooth sauce. When done, place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week. To keep it fresh for longer, pour a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil on top and store for up to 2 weeks.
Marinara sauce is perfect as topping on low-carb pizza!
Nutrition per serving, about ¼ cup, 60 ml
Carbs 9%Protein 2%Fat 89% of calories
- Net carbs
- 2.6 g
- Total carbs
- 3.5 g
- Fiber
- 0.9 g
- Sugars
- 1.6 g
- Protein
- 0.7 g
- Fat
- 10.9 g
- Saturated fat
- 1.5 g
- Calories
- 112 kcal
- Sodium
- 123 mg · 5.35% RDA
- Magnesium
- 5 mg · 1.33% RDA
- Potassium
- 153 mg · 7.64% EMR
Nutrition by ingredient
| Per about 1/4 cup, 60 ml | Net carbs | Protein | Fat | kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes, cherry, fresh, all varieties | 0.5 g | 0.2 g | 0.1 g | 5 |
| Basil, fresh | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Garlic, fresh | 0.4 g | 0.1 g | 0 g | 2 |
| Shallot, fresh | 0.8 g | 0.2 g | 0 g | 4 |
| Tomato purée (paste, unsweetened) | 0.8 g | 0.2 g | 0 g | 5 |
| Olive oil, extra virgin | 0 g | 0 g | 10.8 g | 95 |
| Salt, sea salt | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Pepper, black, spices | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Total | 2.6 g | 0.7 g | 10.9 g | 112 |
Serving size about 1/4 cup, 60 ml
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Nut free
- Pork free
- Avocado free
- Coconut free
- Fish free
- Shellfish free
- Beef free
- Pescatarian
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
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Comments & ratings (25)
Hi Martina, I'm going to make this to go with your Vegetarian Lasagna. It looks so good though that I was wondering if you think this would freeze well if I made a big batch. Thanks.
Thank you BC! I did freeze it in an ice cube tray once and it was fine. Also a great way to add to any meals without having to defrost it (just add straight to the saucepan).
Hi ya, this sauce is great, but it doesn’t seem to allow you to add to planner.
Thanks
Sandra
Hi Sandra, this recipe is also in the KetoDiet Meals section of our app. You can also find it in the food database and add it directly yo recipes when creating Custom Meals. I hope this helps!
Just made this today. So delicious and easy to make!!
So yummy, and so easy! Now for the Pizza!
Thank you Diane!
Thank you for the recipe...I've just made some and it's delish!
This was so easy and delicious! The second time I made it, I had half-a-box of defrosted frozen spinach from something else made at the same time, so I added it in the marinara for a "spinach marinara" sauce and I think I liked it even more. Thank you for this go-to recipe (and all your recipes)!
Hi Martina,
Thank you for your awesome vegetarian recipes. In the above Marinara sauce, using olive oil; can we alternate it with coconut oil or butter or ghee? I ask this as olive oil, being a monosaturated oil, when heated ( as the sauce would be used in cooking at higher temperatures ) would lead to free radicals formation.
Hi Maha, I don't think coconut oil would be a good alternative but I think that melted ghee would work really well. Keep in mind that you can use olive oil for light cooking - it can be added at the end of the cooking process. You should ideally avoid using it for high-heat and prolonged cooking.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Martina. Your recipes are so good and this one saved me. I've been faithfully followin a keto diet for three months and have lost 17 lbs. But today I really struggled. I wanted Chinese food and french fries and a milk shake and . . . But I made this for dinner with the Italian meatballs. I was so happy. I did. It was one of the best things I've even eaten. I think you've earned your angel wings with all the recipes and information you've shared on your blog and app. I couldn't have made it this far without you.
Thank you so much for your kind words!!
I just made this. It's absolutely delicious!! Now let's hope my vegetarian keto lasagna turns out as well 😊
Thank you Rosanna, I hope it did! 😊
This was excellent! So easy and so flavorful! Thank you!
Thank you Amy!
Do you think the carb count would change much if I were to simmer all of the ingredients first? I know cooking onion and garlic real eases some sugar.
Hi Lis, I don't think so and even if it does, it won't be significant - the macros will be the same, just the amount may change (less water).
Thank you for this recipe! I have a very picky four-year-old and he has been boycotting just about every food you can think of aside from fruit and cereals. Well, since the start of the 90-Day Challenge, I have been transitioning my family onto a healthier, low-carb diet and working them toward keto, too.
I put my ingredients through my NutriBullet and that worked very well. It wasn’t chunky like yours. It was smooth, similar to guacamole. Either way, it would have been fine, haha. The NutriBullet is just crazy fast.
My son LOVED it on top of boiled Shirataki noodles. He loves spicy things, so I added a few squirts of hot sauce. I am just ecstatic my picky, PICKY son was actually going, “Mmm! It’s delicious!” We also made your breadsticks, so this was a very yummy and successful dinner. Thank you, again!
Brittney that's amazing! I'm so happy to hear that you all liked my recipes! 😊
Hi, Usually when I make a sauce with raw onions, all you can taste is that. Would it be the same for this?
Hi Jessica, I don't think the onion taste is too strong in this sauce - I only use a small onion 😊
Why Cherry tomatoes? They're delicious of course. But are they lower carb than their full sized counterparts?
Hi, no they are not, you can use "regular". I just use them because they have a more distinctive flavour 😊