Easy Keto Pizza Sauce Recipe (2024)

Looking for a keto pizza sauce for your low carb fathead dough or cauliflower pizza crust? This easy 15-minute recipe has a fraction of the sugar found in store bought sauces. Make it while your keto crust bakes and it will be ready when your crust is. You’ll want to make this delicious sauce again and again.

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Easy Keto Pizza Sauce Recipe (1)

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Great Keto Pizza is Possible on Your Low Carb Diet!

Following a low-carb or keto diet is easier than ever when you can enjoy great low carb pizza. The most popular keto friendly pizzas start with fathead dough, chicken pizza crust or a crispy cauliflower crust. All are great choices, so choosing a favorite depends on your preferred flavor and texture.

You'll be surprised to learn that the while today's keto pizza crusts are ultra low carb, it's the sauces and toppings you'll have to pay attention to. They may contain hidden sugars so make sure to read labels.

Carbs in Tomatoes

Tomatoes contain natural sugars and have a net carb count of 0.67 g per raw ounce. Tomato products, especially those which concentrate and thicken pureed tomatoes, are typically high in carbs. It’s common for popular canned/jarred tomato sauces and pizza sauce to add extra sugar to their recipes.

These hidden sugars often contribute to carb creep, causing stalls and weight gain for those on low carb keto diets. Luckily, my low carb sauce is so good you won’t even miss your old stand-by.

Easy Keto Pizza Sauce Recipe (2)

Keto Pizza Sauce

Several keto friendly pizza sauce recipes call for cooking-down fresh or canned whole tomatoes. And while I do that for pasta sauce, this method requires too much cooking time to make a quick pizza sauce.

Conversely, no-cook keto pizza sauce recipes mix a few dried seasonings with tomato paste and water. Yes, they are easy, but they lack the flavor of a cooked sauce.

My recipe takes the best parts of both methods, is easy and tastes great. While it's not ultra thick like store bought brands (Pizza Quick), it has less carbs and better ingredients. Here's how to make it:

  1. In a small pot, saute fresh chopped garlic in olive oil until softened and the raw smell cooks out.
  2. Add an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce to the pan and simmer with...
  3. Fresh chopped parsley, onion powder, dried basil, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes.
  4. Add a little sweetener because canned tomatoes are very acidic.
  5. Simmer about 5 minutes or until the sauce darkens a little and no longer smells raw.

Feel free to add chopped onion, fresh rosemary, dried marjoram, red pepper flakes or Parmesan cheese to make it your own.

NOTE: I had Contadina tomato sauce in the pantry but use your favorite brand. Just make sure that it doesn’t contain added sugars.

Easy Keto Pizza Sauce Recipe (3)

Other Keto Friendly Pizza Sauce Options

Some people can’t handle the acid in a tomato-based sauce anymore.* Still others want a new and exciting keto pizza flavor. Here are a few great keto pizza sauce options that will keep you loving your low carb pizza.

  • Alfredo sauce
  • Blue cheese dressing
  • Caesar dressing
  • Enchilada Sauce
  • Garlic and olive oil
  • Keto Barbecue Sauce
  • Pesto
  • Ranch dressing

TIP: Add a little baking soda to your tomato sauce to neutralize the acid. The amount of baking soda depends on the amount of sauce you make. Add ¼ teaspoon at a time until you notice the sauce is more mellow and no longer "bites". You can do this with your morning coffee, too. I add a pinch of baking soda to my coffee every morning!

What Can You Make with Sugar Free Pizza Sauce?

Spoon sugar free pizza over eggs for a quick-and-dirty Shakshuka (eggs-in-hell) recipe. It makes a great dipping sauce for cheesy keto breadsticks, mozzarella sticks or crispy fried eggplant . One of my favorite ways to use this sauce is for keto bagel pizzas. My kids love them as a snack!

Conclusion

It’s easy to make your own keto pizza sauce for your favorite low carb pizza crusts. It only takes a few minutes, you control the ingredients and it tastes great.

Easy Keto Pizza Sauce Recipe (4)

Easy Keto Pizza Sauce

An easy keto pizza sauce recipe made with tomato sauce, herbs, and spices. A quick cook enhances flavors. Great as a low carb dip, too.

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Condiments, Dressings and Sauces

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Low Carb Keto Pizza

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 14kcal

Author: Kim Hardesty

Equipment

  • Can opener

  • Small sauce pan

Ingredients

  • 8 oz Contadina tomato sauce
  • 1 med clove garlic, pressed
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoon low carb sugar (Sukrin, Swerve, Lakanto, Besti)
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley (or ½ teaspoon dried)
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon dreid basil
  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

  • Measure the onion powder, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes into a small bowl. Chop the parsley and add it to the bowl. Open the can of tomato sauce.

  • Pour the olive oil into a small sauce pan and add the pressed garlic. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the garlic is fragrant and loses its raw smell.

  • Pour the tomato sauce into the pan and add the chopped parsley and dried seasonings. Add half of the sweetener and taste, adding the rest if needed. Simmer about 5 minutes or until the sauce darkens slightly and no longer smells raw.

  • Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze until needed. Thaw in the refrigerator.

  • Makes 1 cup of sauce with 8, 2-tbsp servings at 1.25 NET CARBS PER SERVING.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoon | Calories: 14kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.75g | Protein: 0.52g | Fat: 0.58g | Sodium: 130mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 0.56g | Vitamin A: 1162IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 20mg

Easy Keto Pizza Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What pizza sauce is best for keto? ›

Here are some of the best low carb pizza sauces you can try out:
  1. Tomato Paste-Based Red Sauce. ...
  2. Heavy Cream and Cheese-Based White Sauce. ...
  3. Cream Cheese or Mascarpone Frosting.
May 8, 2023

What is the best substitute for pizza sauce? ›

Some popular pizza sauce alternatives include the following:
  • Pesto.
  • Ricotta Cheese.
  • Barbecue Sauce.
  • Ranch Dressing.
  • Tapenade.
  • Olive Oil and Garlic.
  • Sweet Chili Sauce.
  • Chimichurri Sauce.

Will one slice of pizza take you out of ketosis? ›

Regular Crust

This type of pizza crust can have up to 33g of carbs without any added sauce or cheese. If you're limiting your carbs to 20-50 grams per day, one slice of this type of crust will likely kick you out of ketosis.

How do you make pizza sauce thicker without tomato paste? ›

Another quick fix is to add cheese: freshly grated Parmesan will add umami and thicken the sauce. Cream cheese is one of our favorite secret ingredients and will thicken a tomato sauce quickly.

What kind of sauce is keto friendly? ›

Keto practitioners incorporate a variety of different condiments into their diets, including hot sauce, low-carb BBQ sauce, sugar-free ketchup, mustard, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, guacamole, soy sauce, sour cream, and more.

What kind of pizza can you eat on keto? ›

Cauliflower pizza crust

This is probably one of the most popular types of keto pizza bases. The base is made from riced cauliflower. Fresh cauliflower is steamed until it is tender then grated or ground with a food processor. While you can purchase cauliflower flour from a grocery store, it is better not to.

What can I use for pizza sauce instead of tomato? ›

If you don't have tomato sauce, however, you can substitute tomato paste (and go ahead and put some ketchup in it for less thick sauce). I've also added fresh tomato slices or cubed fresh tomatoes to the top of the crust. This remedy won't help the base of the pizza, but it will add flavor. Enjoy!

What other sauces can you use for pizza? ›

A Quick Guide to Different Types of Pizza Sauces
  • Marinara Sauce. Marinara is one of the more versatile pizza sauces that you have to choose from. ...
  • Spicy Red Sauce. ...
  • BBQ Sauce. ...
  • Buffalo Sauce. ...
  • Alfredo Sauce. ...
  • Pesto Sauce. ...
  • Chocolate Sauce. ...
  • Become a Wood-fired Pizza Expert Overnight.

What happens if you eat too many carbs on keto? ›

“If you have too many carbohydrates, you're going to build up your glycogen stores, and it's going to be very hard for you to get back into ketosis,” she says. She says to think about your glycogen stores, which are your body's supply of stored carbohydrates, as a gas tank.

Can you do keto 5 days on 2 days off? ›

Some people eat keto 5 days out of the week, and then take the weekends off. Other people might do keto for a few weeks out of the month, then take a break. Some proponents of this approach tout this as an effective way to build muscle, lose weight, and more.

How many carbs ruin ketosis? ›

Eating more than 50 grams of carbs may disrupt ketosis.

With keto diets, however, carb restrictions vary from person to person. Some people can eat more and still stay in ketosis, whereas others may need to restrict their carb intake more in order to stay in ketosis.

What are the best canned tomatoes for pizza sauce? ›

The Best Tomatoes for Pizza Sauce

For the classic Margherita and Marinara pizzas, the standard in Naples is San Marzano canned tomatoes. They are oblong, bright, red tomatoes that grow in a specific area not too far from Salerno (about one hour south of Naples).

Can you use spaghetti sauce as pizza sauce? ›

You can substitute pizza sauce with pasta sauce, pesto, white garlic sauce, Buffalo sauce, Hummus, and more. The right recipe can make any sauce usable as a pizza base. However, make sure you're well aware of the flavor profiles of your toppings with your base sauce.

Can you use ketchup as pizza sauce? ›

Ketchup is best utilized as a substitute in recipes that already have some sweetness. In most cases, start with a ½:1 swap and add more American Garden's ketchup as needed to adjust the flavor. Do you crave pizza but don't have any pizza sauce? Don't worry, you can get great results using American Garden's ketchup.

Which Rao's sauce is keto friendly? ›

In fact, we love using Rao's marinara sauce for making recipes like our easy keto ravioli, Italian casserole, and stuffed peppers – it's amazing and gives it the real Italian flavor!

What sauce can you use on pizza besides tomato? ›

5 Pizza Sauce Alternatives
  • Other tomato-based sauces. Traditional pizza sauce is made using canned tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, onion, and herbs like basil and oregano but there are so many other tomato sauce options that offer different flavour profiles. ...
  • Pesto. ...
  • Alfredo. ...
  • Tapenade. ...
  • Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.

Does Papa John's offer keto pizza? ›

A Papa Bowl is a takeout container served with all of your favorite parts of pizza: the veggies, the meats, the tantalizing cheese, and even the signature sauces. The only thing missing is the carbs. Papa John's crustless pizza bowls come in three flavors to satisfy all sorts of cravings.

Can I eat pizza on keto if I don't eat the crust? ›

Ever wondered why a crustless pizza is popular on a keto diet? It has barely any carbs! If you use certain vegetables or smoked meats, it can increase the carb count, but made as written, it's virtually carb-free. Made in just one skillet.

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