Homemade Keto Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

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 sauce.

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.

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, fresh basil, and dried oregano. You could also use red pepper flakes for a little spice.

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 no longer pink and crumbled. Drain most of the fat from the pan, if desired.

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 oregano. Cover with a lid and let simmer for at least an hour.

Top with the keto pasta sauce with fresh basil and serve. I can guarantee you it is better than any low carb pasta sauce from the grocery store.

a pot filled with low carb spaghetti sauce

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

HUNGRY FOR MORE EASY RECIPES? Click here to subscribe to my newsletter and get my 80+ recipe e-cookbook absolutely FREE!

PRINT RECIPE

SAVE TO FAVORITESSaved!
PIN RECIPE

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 111

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Olive oil
2 ounces Salt pork diced
½ cup diced onion
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Pound Ground Beef
56 ounces Whole peeled tomatoes
Big pinch of dried oregano
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
6 Leaves Fresh basil, chopped

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 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 no longer pink and crumbled. Drain most of the fat from the pan, if desired.
Pour the tomatoes in with the ground meat and stir. season with the oregano. Cover with a lid and let simmer for at least an hour. (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.)
Top with the keto pasta sauce with fresh basil and serve.

Jennifer’s tips

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.

Servings: 12