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Easy Keto Marinara Sauce Recipe

It is full of antioxidants and lycopene plus it is delicious as well!

It is my Easy Keto Marinara Sauce!

Once you see how amazingly easy it is to make your own fresh low carb marinara sauce you will only purchase store-bought marinara sauce if you are in a pinch!

Let me show you how quick and simple it is to make homemade keto marinara sauce in the slow cooker or electric pressure cooker.

It will be perfect with any Italian recipe that calls for low-carb marinara sauce and will fit into any ketogenic diet.

It truly has become my favorite recipe I turn to when I need a sugar free recipe for red sauce to use in my Italian dishes.

You can of course add meat to it after it is done and have a meat sauce, or use it for a pizza sauce, or even straight up as a spaghetti sauce over some steamed cauliflower!

The simple ingredients you will need to make this homemade marinara sauce.

• One large can of crushed tomatoes
• One large can of whole tomatoes
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 whole carrot
• Olive Oil or avocado oil
• Onion Powder
• Basil (dried or fresh basil)
• Oregano (dried or fresh oregano)
• Garlic Powder(or minced fresh garlic)
• Black Pepper
• Sea Salt
• You can substitute Italian Seasoning for the basil & oregano if you wish

Which method should I use to cook this delicious keto marinara sauce?

You have three choices on how you can make this low carb friendly marinara sauce.

1. Break out your dutch oven and let it simmer on the stove for 4 hours stirring occasionally.
2. Get out your slow cooker and let it cook on LOW for 4 hours.
3. Use your electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot or equivalent and cook on HIGH pressure for 18 minutes with a 15 minute natural pressure release.

I have made my own keto marinara sauce for quite some time now and have tried each method.

Each method has its pluses and minuses.

I prefer the electric pressure cooker method for its speed.

If I forget to make some for dinner, or I need something quick for dinner I can have dinner made and ready in 30 minutes this way.

I just make the sauce in the Instant Pot and then the pasta or zucchini noodles on the stove top.

I also go ahead and prepare some seasoned and browned ground beef to stir into the sauce as well.

If I have thought ahead and start it early, I will go with the slow cooker method.

It is simple and makes the house smell amazing!

This way I just brown and crumble the meat then add in after its cooked for the 4 hours.

I can also keep it on a warm setting so it is ready to go when dinnertime arrives and serve it straight from the crockpot!

Another way to cook it is in the dutch oven or pot.

Although this works in a pinch, I do not like that it bubbles all over my stove top.

If for some reason you have to go this route because you do not have a slow cooker or electric pressure cooker it will still be delicious.

You will need to stir it every so often to make sure the bottom doesn’t get scorched.

Make sure you also put a lid on it because the popping bubbles that arise will make a mess if not covered.

You could also use a splatter screen to prevent the bubbles from popping all over the stove top.

What about using fresh tomatoes instead of canned?

You most certainly can use fresh tomatoes instead of canned.

You will need to blanch the tomatoes in boiling water and then plunge into an ice water bath to remove the skins.

This is the best way to get the same consistency without having tough skins in the sauce.

You can alternately blend the tomatoes up in a blender, then the skins will be so small that you will not notice them.

The best tomatoes to use are san marzano tomatoes, roma tomatoes or plum tomatoes as they are not mealy like larger tomatoes can be.

They will have a lot more juice in them versus a canned tomato so you need to leave out the additional water called for in the recipe.

What are the ways that I can use this marinara sauce?

I use this keto marinara sauce in many recipes of mine.

My most favorite way to use this sauce is over some noodles.

My whole family eats gluten free so I will make some brown rice pasta for them and steam some cauliflower for myself.

There are also shirataki noodles you can find that are perfect for a keto lifestyle as they are low carb and mimic regular pasta.

Go ahead and try my Keto Meatballs recipe to use this with!

I also use this marinara sauce on my Keto Pizza.

Since this sauce is more of a chunky sauce, I will use my immersion blender to blend it up into a smooth sauce.

This helps to reduce any watery consistency that may result from baking.

You can also make some keto breadsticks out of my Keto Pizza dough and use it as a dipping sauce.

I also have a Keto Chicken Parmesan recipe in my 2nd cookbook “Chaffles, Cast Iron and The Crock” that would pair beautifully with this sauce.

This recipe plus many more keto-friendly recipes are in both of my my cookbooks you can find in my shop link at the top of my site menu.

You can purchase a hardcopy or an e-book in pdf form that you can print out.

How do I preserve any leftover sauce?

You will want it to cool completely before storing it at all.

Once it is cooled, you can take many different approaches to saving it.

I always make sure it is in an airtight container.

You can choose plastic, but I recommend using glass.

I put my sauce in a glass jar and keep it in the fridge up to 5 days.

You can also put it in a quart freezer bag and freeze flat.

Once it is frozen, you can store it upright to save space in your freezer versus a bunch of containers.

• You will want to make a double batch and freeze some in a freezer-safe container once it is cooled.
• Since this simple recipe calls for canned tomatoes, splurge and get some high quality tomatoes! I love ones that say “From Italy” on the label.
• Stir in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil at the end to preserve the delicate flavor of the oil.
• If you must go with a low carb tomato sauce from the local grocery store, choose Rao’s Marinara Sauce. This marinara sauce has 0 grams of sugar added and has a great taste. It is the best sauce to use in place of this keto pasta sauce.
• There are many different brands to choose from so make sure you read the label and get one without soybean oil, and no added sugar.
• Put in a pinch of red pepper flakes when you add in the spices to add a medium heat to the sauce.
• If you want a little sweetness, use any sugar substitutes you may have on hand like a teaspoon of monkfruit or allulose to keep this marinara sauce keto-friendly.
• Take your own sauce you have made and give them as gifts! I know I would love to get a jar of the best keto marinara sauce as a gift that I did not have to make myself!

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