This homemade keto spaghetti sauce recipe is a great alternative to store-bought sauces that are expensive, or have added sugar. This one uses simple ingredients, but is so full of flavor. Serve over your favorite low-carb noodles for a complete keto meal.
When you want to make a keto friendly spaghetti sauce recipe, you have to really consider what tomatoes you're going to use in order to make the carbs as low as possible.
Don't get me wrong, tomatoes are extremely nutritious and have a lot of vitamins, but there are different types of canned tomatoes and their carb counts vary quite a bit. From tomato puree and whole tomatoes to tomato paste!
You're in luck because I have done all of the research for you and I have found what tomato product to use for the least amount of carbs and the best keto spaghetti sauce recipe.
Ingredients
This easy low carb spaghetti sauce recipe uses simple ingredients, but I provide great options incase you want to make this recipe your own. The full printable recipe card with exact measurements is toward the bottom of the page.
Tomatoes: Let's talk about canned tomatoes for our keto pasta sauce. There are a few notable types we want to avoid and they are: crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, and tomato sauce. They all have too many carbs and the net carbs for the sauce would be over 10.
A great way to lower the carb count is to use whole peeled tomatoes. That would be canned or fresh tomatoes. Canned whole peeled tomatoes have on average 1 net carb per ounce, whereas crushed tomatoes have 50% more per ounce. As you can see, the whole tomatoes are the better option for the keto diet.
Salt pork: This is a traditional pasta sauce addition and for good reason. It really adds so much flavor to this keto friendly sauce. You can buy it at most large grocery stores and then you can freeze the leftovers for later use. You could also use bacon or pancetta, but if you just don't want to use it, just leave it out.
Ground beef: I don't know about you, but when I think of spaghetti sauce, I think of meat sauce. This recipe calls for ground beef, but you could easily use Italian sausage or ground turkey, or you could leave the meat out entirely.
The remaining ingredients needed are olive oil, onion, fresh garlic, a little sweetener, fresh basil (or dried), and dried oregano. You could also use red pepper flakes for a little spice.
Noodles: My favorite noodles to use for pasta sauce are spaghetti squash noodles. In fact, I used this sauce recently in my Italian Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Boats and they were amazing!
How to make homemade keto spaghetti sauce
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the salt pork and cook until the fat is rendered. Remove the salt pork from the pan and discard, reserving the oil. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and sauté until translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
Add in the ground beef and cook until the meat is crumbled and no longer pink. Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste.
Pro tip:
- If you would like to not have a chunky sauce, transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl and puree them with an immersion blender or puree them in the blender.
Pour the tomatoes in with the ground meat and stir. Season with the sweetener, oregano and basil if using dried. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with a lid and let simmer for at least an hour.
Top the keto pasta sauce with fresh basil (if using fresh) and serve. I can guarantee you it is better than any low carb pasta sauce from the grocery store.
Serving and storage for low carb spaghetti sauce
Serve the homemade sauce with zucchini noodles, roasted spaghetti squash (my favorite), shirataki noodles, or my keto meatballs.
Your keto spaghetti sauce will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 4 days. It also freezes really well for up to 3 months.
More favorite recipes
Homemade Keto Spaghetti Sauce Recipe - 2 Net Carbs
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 2 ounces Salt pork, diced
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 Cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Pound Lean Ground Beef
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 56 ounces canned whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon sugar free granulated sweetener (see my favorite on Amazon)
- Big pinch of dried oregano
- 6 Leaves Fresh basil, chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the salt pork and cook until the fat is rendered. Remove the salt pork from the pan with a slotted spoon and discard, reserving the oil. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and sauté until translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add in the ground beef and cook until the meat is crumbled and no longer pink. I leave the fat because it adds so much flavor. You can discard it if you like. Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste.
- Note: (If you would like to not have a chunky sauce, transfer the whole tomatoes to a large bowl and puree them with an immersion blender or puree them in the blender). Pour the tomatoes in with the ground meat and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the sweetener, oregano and basil (if using dried basil). Cover with a lid and let simmer for at least an hour.
- Top the keto pasta sauce with fresh basil and serve.
Notes
- Salt pork: This is a traditional pasta sauce addition and for good reason. It really adds so much flavor to this keto friendly sauce. You can buy it at most large grocery stores and then you can freeze the leftovers for later use. You could also use bacon or pancetta, but if you just don't want to use it, just leave it out.
- Ground beef: I don't know about you, but when I think of spaghetti sauce, I think of meat sauce. This recipe calls for lean ground beef, but you could easily use Italian sausage or ground turkey, or you could leave the meat out entirely.
- Nutrition: calculated using 90/10 ground beef and includes the rendered fat from the salt pork. One serving equals approximately ½ cup or 130 grams.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy only. Please re-calculate on your own with the ingredients and amounts you used for the most accurate data.
LAURA says
Fantastic recipe! I made this the other night and my husband and I absolutely loved it! I followed the recipe exactly, besides adding 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 4 ounces of pancetta instead of 2. I wanted to get accurate nutrition fact calculations with my additions, which would add about .66 carbs per serving (8 carbs/12 servings). I entered the ingredients exactly in to 2 different recipe calculators and I'm not getting anywhere near 3 net carbs per 1/2 cup serving. How do I calculate the carbs, dietary fiber, fat, protein and calories in a recipe (net carbs most importantly)? I'm really in love with this sauce but I need to make sure I'm not going over my daily allowances. Thank you!!
George says
I'm curious if this can be canned as the recipe is, and want else is needed.
Jennifer Banz says
I don't see why not as long as you follow canning guidelines
Robert says
Salt pork is a great tip.
I've gotten lazy using Rao's, esp arrabbiata.
A couple well-browned and seasoned country-style ribs for long simmering, too.