Homemade Low Carb Marinara

This low carb marinara is easy to whip up and you can be sure of the ingredients and the sugar content because you made it yourself. It’s better than store-bought sauce spaghetti sauce and can be used for so many different things.

» Use this marinara on easy keto turkey meatballs or with oven-roasted spaghetti squash for a low-carb meal.

The difficult thing about store-bought marinara is that it’s often not appropriate for a low-carb or keto diet, because it’s packed with added sugars. Making your own at home is an easy way to avoid that.

This low-carb marinara doesn’t contain all the added sugar and preservatives most store-bought sauces have, which makes it delightfully low carb, but still super tasty.

Since tomatoes themselves have some carbs, it’s imperative not to add any extra sugar. This recipe has absolutely no added sugar, and it’s incredibly tasty.

Ingredients You Need

With just 4 ingredients, this is probably the easiest marinara you’ve ever made. I’ve seen recipes that include 10 or more ingredients, but I really don’t think that’s necessary.

• Chopped tomatoes with no added sugar – use whatever brand you like best
• Italian seasoning – this is generally a blend of oregano, thyme, sage, and basil
• Salt
• Garlic powder

The real key to great sauce is in the amount of time it has to cook. Marinara can be mixed together in minutes, but if it’s not cooked on the stovetop for at least 15 minutes, it’s just not going to have the same flavor and intensity, no matter how many ingredients you add.

How to Make Low Carb Marinara

• If you want a smooth sauce, puree the chopped tomatoes in a blender or with a handheld stick blender. With the stick blender, you can blend them directly in the pot where they’ll be cooked, saving on time and dishes to clean
• Add the pureed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and garlic powder to a small saucepan. Set it over medium heat.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until slightly reduced and thickened.

Puree the Sauce or Not?

One consideration you’ll need to make is whether to puree the tomatoes or leave them in chunks. The sauce will be a bit chunky when using chopped tomatoes in the can.

If you prefer smooth sauce, you can use canned tomato puree instead of chopped tomatoes or puree it quickly in the pot with an immersion blender.

What to Use Marinara For

There are so many uses for this sauce. It will brighten up a number of low carb dishes without adding a lot of extra carbs to the dish.

You can pour this sauce over any low-carb noodles or zucchini noodles. Use it as a sauce for your low-carb pizza. I like to make meatballs and pour this sauce and some mozzarella over the top for a low carb lunch.

Here are a few of our favorite recipes that use marinara:

• Spaghetti Squash With Marinara Meat Sauce
• Turkey Meatballs with Marinara
• Low Carb Cabbage Rolls

Questions About Low-Carb Marinara

How many carbs are in this marinara sauce?

There are 4 net grams of carbs in one serving of this sauce. It’s relatively high because tomatoes are high in carbs and lower in fiber, which marginally offsets the carbs. Be sure to watch your serving size if you’re wanting to keep your carbs to a specific level.

Does store-bought marinara have carbs?

A store-bought marinara has at least as many, oftentimes many more, carbs than our low-carb version because they often include sugar. Depending on the amount of sugar used, there can be as many as 15 net grams of carbs per serving in store-bought marinara.

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10/23/2023