Making sugar free tomato pasta sauce is simple, with minimal ingredients and big flavor. The magic lies in the technique to make the sauce and using high quality tomatoes.
In this recipe I'm using San Marzano DOP tomatoes. These tomatoes grow in a specific southern Italian region (Agro Sarnese-Nocerino) where the soil is rich in volcanic minerals producing the sweetest, highest quality tomatoes.
I received a complimentary package of San Marzano tomatoes to try with this recipe and I will only buy authentic San Marzano tomatoes going forward because they make a huge difference in the recipe.
I use this homemade tomato sauce weekly to make several of my staple recipes including these Juicy meatballs in the Air Fryer and Gigi Hadid Pasta.
Why you will love this recipe
This sugar free tomato pasta recipe is easy to make, requires little to no prep and it is delicious.
This sugar free marinara recipe has many uses in many Italian dishes. I add it to pretty much all my pastas.
This sauce is vegan friendly and uses natural ingredients that are probably already in your pantry.
Ingredients
The list of ingredients is short, so using high quality and fresh ingredients is a must. The main ingredients that should be high quality are your tomatoes and your olive oil.
- San Marzano Tomatoes: These tomatoes are grown and canned in only 41 towns in Italy that are protected under the DOP, meaning that if the tomatoes are not from those regions, they can't use the San Marzano name. These tomatoes are exquisitely balanced with the right sweetness and tart flavors.
- Olive Oil: use a high quality extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil adds flavor and aroma and it's the base for a sweet sauce without the added sugars.
- Sweet Yellow Onion: We are using the natural sweet flavors in our ingredients to create a naturally sweet sauce. White onion will work too but yellow onions are my first choice in this recipe.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is a must. Stir tear from garlic paste or pre crushed garlic for this recipe.
- Basil: Fresh basil leaves are the final touch for this recipe.
How to cook the sauce
The technique is the most important thing in this recipe. You need to have enough time to cook the sauce so the flavors develop.
Cooking the onions low and slow over 30 minutes, will develop the sweet flavor that we want in our sauce without adding white sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes.
In this recipe we are using high quality San Marzano tomatoes which are naturally sweet, will enhance the natural sweet taste of this sauce.
Once you try this homemade sugar free tomato sauce, you will not go back to store bough sauces loaded with preservatives and sugar.
Storage tips
This recipe makes about 4 cups of sauce, you can easily double it to make a big batch.
I keep my sugar free marinara sauce in the fridge in a mason jar and use it throughout the week in several recipes including spaghetti, pink pasta sauce and I love to add it to my egg white omelettes too.
I have not tried canning the sauce yet, but I will definitely try it in the near future.
Sugar Free Tomato Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 28 ounce cans San Marzano Tomatoes
- 1 Large onion
- 4 Garlic cloves
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Dice the onion and add it to a heavy bottomed pan with the olive oil¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil, 1 Large onion
- Cook the onions in medium heat for about 30 minutes until caramelized
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant4 Garlic cloves
- Add the 2 cans of tomatoes and cook for about 15 minutes until the sauce comes to a gentle boil, add the salt1 teaspoon Salt
- Cool down and use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until smooth.
- Store in a jar and refrigerate
Sam
if you want to add basil to it, when and how much would you add? Thanks
Isabel
A handful (2/3 leaves) torn by hand.