Keto Pizza Sauce

Keto pizza sauce is very simple to make and yet is so delicious. Putting it on your pizza gives it a fresh tomato flavor along with some simple spices. It is a good compliment to the pizza rather than have an overpowering flavor that takes away from it.

This recipe is a great alternative to using store-bought pizza sauce that’s loaded with unnecessary sugars and additives. 

Our low carb pizza sauce only has a few ingredients and is a “no-cook” sauce, even though it tastes like it was cooking for hours. With only 3.1 NET Carbs per serving, it’s made from crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and some simple spices of your choice. 

Trust us, it’s the perfect base for a Keto Pizza Crust or Fathead Pizza!

Whatever spices that you use for Keto pizza sauce, they should act as a complement to your pizza rather than so strong that they overpower the taste of the crust and all of its toppings.

What is Pizza Sauce?

If you look into the history of pizza sauce you will see that most people give a man called Raffaello Esposito from Naples, the credit for making the first pizza. However, at the same time there were also street vendors on the streets of Naples who were selling flatbread with different toppings and using sauce.

In 1889 Margherita pizza came to us when Queen Margherita visited Raffaello Esposito who made her a pizza with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil.

Years later, Italians brought the recipe for pizza out of Italy and into other countries and the rest is history….everyone loves pizza!

That’s why we have this recipe to share with you and to show how easy it is to make it. From the very beginning of pizza, it has always been a simple, no-fuss sauce which is what we make.

The Difference Between Pizza Sauce and Pasta Sauce

Pizza sauce and pasta sauce are very similar as far as the ingredients used in each, both only have a few ingredients. The main difference is that pasta sauce is cooked whereas pizza sauce is not, because it cooks on the pizza while in the oven.

When making pasta sauce, if you are going to add garlic or onions, then sauté them first and then add the other ingredients, but when making pizza sauce there is no need to sauce the garlic first and you usually do not add onions because that is a possible toppings on the pizza.

The tomato paste that is in pizza sauce also makes it a little thicker than the spaghetti/marinara sauce. This is a good thing because the pizza sauce being thicker stays on the pizza crust better than spaghetti sauce that tends to run off.

Check out our Keto Spaghetti Tomato Sauce recipe if you are looking for something to put on low carb pasta.

Is Pizza Sauce Low Carb?

The ingredients you use, will also decide if the sauce is low carb or not. Pizza sauce is low carb, as long as you do not add the biggest offender, sugar. 

Store-bought sauces usually have added sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. However, what they do not realize is that it’s not necessary since the pizza sauce is not cooked for hours and therefore doesn’t have a high acidity level.

That’s why making your own homemade low carb pizza sauce is such a good idea. Our recipe only has 3.1 NET Carbs per ¼ cup serving. It’s not exactly a no-carb pizza sauce, but it’s close.

Carbs in Tomatoes

Some people may wonder if tomatoes are high or low in carbs. Tomatoes have a high water content which makes them low carb and generally a good choice for a low carb diet as long as you don’t eat too many.

Here are some examples of carb counts in tomatoes:

• A large tomato has only 5 net carbs
• A medium whole tomato has only 3.3 net carbs
• A small whole tomato has only 2.5 net carbs

Small varieties, like cherry tomatoes, are good to snack on, for only about 4 net carbs for 1 cup.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes are higher in carbs, about 12 net carbs for only ½ cup, which may put you over your carb count for the day so be cautious.

You can use tomatoes to make sauce that is Whole30, Paleo, and Keto-friendly, just to name a few.

What Ingredients are in Low Carb Pizza Sauce?

We like to keep our pizza sauce simple and our recipe only has 6 ingredients.

Crushed Tomatoes – After making this recipe a few times, crushed tomatoes in a can are the perfect choice for this easy keto pizza sauce recipe. They have a great texture, unlike other tomatoes that are too watery or chunky. Use the plain version rather than the one with added flavors. 

Tomato Paste – This is a concentrated form of tomatoes with a rich tomato flavor, used to thicken the low carb pizza sauce. Transfer the unused portion into a plastic container or plastic baggie and freeze it for a future recipe so that it won’t go to waste.

Garlic Powder – A milder form of garlic which won’t overpower the other spices or the tomato flavor of your sauce.

Oregano – A traditional Italian spice that is perfect for pizza, so do not skip this ingredient.

Salt – When you use salt in food it enhances the flavors. Having a little salty flavor on your pizza is perfect. Do not overdo it because there is salt in the mozzarella and other toppings like sausage and pepperoni.

Pepper – Black pepper is perfect for adding a slight pizzaz to the pizza. If you really want a kick feel free to use crushed red pepper to spice up your keto pizza sauce.

Best Tomatoes for Sugar-Free Pizza Sauce

When you make sugar-free pizza sauce you can use either canned or fresh tomatoes. Let’s share with you my favorite pick and some information about both choices. 

Canned Tomatoes:

For this keto-friendly pizza sauce recipe I use crushed tomatoes, I like them the best. I feel that they have the perfect texture for making pizza sauce with the least amount of effort.

You can also buy tomatoes in a can that are whole, large diced, and petite diced. There is also tomato paste which is very concentrated and used to thicken your sauce if that’s the way that you want it. 

The best type of canned tomatoes with the most authentic taste is San Marzano. They usually come whole in a light tomato sauce. They are the top choice in Italy. 

San Marzano tomatoes are typically more expensive than other canned tomatoes that you can buy but the flavor is unbeatable. If you can buy them on sale that’s even better. 

You can use any other type of tomatoes that you want that is in your supermarket or that is in your price range. It will still make delicious keto pizza sauce!

Fresh Tomatoes:

If you are looking for real juicy tomatoes get tomatoes on the vine or any other similar type of fresh tomato in the store. Make sure that they are bright red, which means they are ripe, rather than pale in color which means they are not ripe. 

If the fresh tomatoes are ripe then they will make a sweeter sauce with a lot more flavor. If the tomatoes are not ripe enough then the low carb pizza sauce will be tasteless.

Summertime is the best time to use fresh tomatoes, especially if you have a garden. There is nothing like picking tomatoes right in your backyard and coming in the house and making recipes with them. You can’t get any fresher than that, which in turn makes the best tasting keto tomato sauce.

If you use fresh tomatoes to make low carb pasta sauce, they will have to be blanched first to get the skins off, then chopped up, and cook them down until they reach the desired texture which does take more time.

Fresh Plum tomatoes are too dry and will not give you the consistency that you need. They have a firm texture and are better to be used as sliced tomatoes on top of your pizza since they will not make your pizza soggy.

Sweetener Options

In my opinion, sugar does not belong in tomato sauce. Even if I was not counting the carbs that I eat, I would never use sugar in my sauce. 

However, some people do make a sauce with sugar in it, and there are also many jarred sauces on the market that add it too. Make sure to check that you are getting one that is a no sugar pizza sauce if on a Keto diet.

I don’t like a sweet-tasting sauce, but if you do there are some zero carb sweeteners you can add.

• Monk Fruit – a granular version of the sweetener.
• Swerve – Either the granular or powdered version, both are good.
• Carrots – May sound crazy but some people do add a few shredded carrots which will add a slightly sweet taste to sugar free pizza sauce. They do have a few carbs so be careful of how many you use.

How to Make Keto Pizza Sauce from Scratch

Preparing this keto pizza sauce recipe is an easy one to make. Just follow the instructions step by step.

1. The first step is to get a large bowl to mix up your ingredients in.
2. Open your can of crushed tomatoes and pour them into the bowl.
3. Open a can of tomato paste and add 2 Tbsp, blend thoroughly.
4. The last step is to add your spices, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper, and there is no special order to add them to your keto pizza sauce.  Stir well.

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That’s how easy it is to make a practically no-carb pizza sauce.

FAQs and Tips

We know how helpful it can be when you don’t know how to make a recipe and you find some tips from someone who has made it. Here are the most important ones.

• If you find that your sauce is too runny, feel free to add some extra tomato paste, but don’t overdo it if you are counting your carbs.
• While you are making keto pizza sauce, make a double or triple batch so that you will have some leftover to use for another day.
• If you use whole tomatoes in a can, throw them in a food processor or blender to blend them up to a crushed texture.
• You can use fresh herbs or dried, whichever you prefer.
• If you are a cheese lover, feel free to add some romano or parmesan right into the sauce.

Do I Have to Cook Pizza Sauce?

You do not need to cook this keto pizza sauce. In fact, a no-cook sauce is better on your pizza, giving you that true tomato flavor. 

When you bake your pie the keto-friendly pizza sauce will cook in the oven. Just open the can, add the tomato paste and spices, then spoon it out to cover your pizza crust.

Can I Use Tomato Sauce Instead of Pizza Sauce?

While it is possible to use a regular tomato sauce on pizza, I don’t recommend it.

Pizza sauce is thicker than a marinara or tomato sauce which makes it the best for your pizza crust because of the thicker texture. That way it keeps your crust from getting soggy.

Even though you can use tomato sauce in a pinch, pizza sauce is a better choice, hence the name.

Can I Use Tomato Paste Instead of Pizza Sauce?

Tomato paste is too thick to use by itself on pizza, and if you use water to thin it out a bit, you may end up with too much liquid. 

Tomato paste also has more carbs so if you were to use it by itself, it would be too high for a Keto or low carb diet.

In my opinion, it’s better to use tomato paste as an ingredient in your pizza sauce along with crushed tomatoes than trying to make it the base for a low carb pizza sauce recipe.

Should Pizza Sauce Be Thick?

A good pizza sauce should be thick enough so that it doesn’t run off the crust and you want to have enough sauce that you can taste it. You want your keto pizza sauce to be thick enough that it hugs your crust and not runny which will make it soggy.

You don’t want too much sauce on the pizza so that is all you taste but it is one of the main flavors of pizza. 

My son who lives in Italy says that if the sauce is good then your whole pizza will be good.  There is nothing worse than using a marinara sauce that is too thin and it makes your nice crispy pizza crust soggy from the moisture in your sauce.

Why Is My Pizza Sauce Watery?

If your pizza sauce is too watery then it may be you used too many tomatoes or they were too juicy.

Remember that tomatoes have a lot of water in them, which makes them very juicy, especially if you are using fresh tomatoes, or canned tomatoes in puree. 

If you feel that the sauce is runny at all, especially when using fresh tomatoes, the main thing that you need to do to rectify the problem is to drain the tomatoes in a colander so that the excess water comes out.

How Do You Thicken Pizza Sauce?

If your low carb pizza sauce is too thin there are 3 things you can do to thicken it: 

• Drain the tomatoes, so that any excess water from the tomatoes drains off.
• Add more tomato paste, but be careful not to add too much if you are counting your carbs. Since tomato sauce is so concentrated it has more carbs.
• Cooking the sauce will also thicken it. Put the heat on low and let it simmer without a lid on it, stirring it so that the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Making Pizza Sauce Chunky

You may prefer to make your no-sugar pizza sauce a bit more chunky and if so it’s an easy fix. Instead of using crushed tomatoes, use either whole canned plum tomatoes, diced tomatoes, or even fresh ones. 

They are a bit more firm and since we are not cooking our keto-friendly pizza sauce they will remain chunky.

What Can I Do With Pizza Sauce?

The most obvious thing to use pizza sauce for is making pizza. It goes with almost any flavors and toppings you want.  

However, don’t let its name fool you, just because it’s called low carb pizza sauce, doesn’t mean that there aren’t other foods to eat it with besides pizza.  Let’s look at all the options.

Low Carb Pizzas

Here are 4 varieties of low carb pizzas you can use this sauce with:

• Keto Pizza – This crust is a combo of cheese, spices, and almond flour.
• Cauliflower Pizza – Once you rice the cauliflower and dry it out it’s a perfect base for a low-carb pizza crust. 
• Fathead Pizza – Cheese is the main ingredient in this crust…a perfect keto treat. 
• Crustless Pizza – This pizza is a winner, it’s like a casserole. Just throw some cheese and any toppings that you want and bake it in the oven. It’s so quick and easy!

Pizza Alternatives

Pizza sauce is not only good for pizza but could also be used for other snacks or meals. It can be used in Keto Lasagna, Low Carb Chicken Parmesan, or on top of Zoodles and Shirataki Noodles, just to name a few examples.

It is good for dipping these low carb things into:

• Keto Flat Bread
• Keto Fried Eggplant
• Keto Fried Zucchini
• Low Carb Fried Shrimp
• Keto Mozzarella Sticks

Different Variations of Pizza Sauce

When you make sugar free pizza sauce you can vary from the original simple recipe just by adding other spices. Besides the ones that we used in our keto pizza recipe, here are a few good ones to try:

• Parsley
• Basil
• Italian Seasoning
• Onion Powder
• Rosemary
• Marjoram

You can also add some Olive Oil, that’s what the Italians do in Italy!

By using Fire Roasted Tomatoes instead it will give your pizza sauce a little spicy kick. 

If you are a real Cheese lover, then you can add some grated parmesan or romano into the low carb pizza sauce.

Traditional Pizza Sauce Alternatives

If you want an alternative low carb sauce for your pizza here are a few suggestions:

• Olive Oil/Garlic – A favorite for many, and one of my favorite toppings with this is clams and bacon.
• Keto BBQ Sauce – A low carb sauce with added chicken on top is a favorite at many pizza restaurants.
• Pesto – Fresh basil is a favorite in this sauce along with olive oil, pine nuts, and cheese.
• Blue Cheese – Chicken is a good combo with this sauce.
• Alfredo Sauce – This creamy, cheesy sauce is a favorite with chicken and shrimp.
• Caesar Dressing – A light caesar dressing is a perfect topping on pizza with any kind of meat, sausage, meatball, pepperoni. Also good with veggies like mushrooms, onions, and peppers.

Other Diets This Recipe is Good For

• Paleo -This is a delicious low carb pizza sauce to put on many things.
• Vegan – This easy pizza sauce does not have any meat or meat products.
• Vegetarian – Just tomatoes and spices in this low carb pizza sauce.
• Gluten-free – No worries, no gluten in the best pizza sauce.
• Sugar-free – There is no sugar in keto pizza sauce.
• Nut-free – No worries about any nuts in this recipe.
• Whole-30 – Our low carb pizza sauce is made out of pure acceptable ingredients.

Make Ahead and Storing Options

It’s always great to be ahead of things and plan our several meals at once. Since sugar free pizza sauce is easy to make, and it lasts for a few days, it’s a good idea to make some ahead of time if you have a few minutes. 

That way you will save time when you make your keto pizza, and dinner will be ready sooner. 

Making a double or triple batch is just as easy as making one batch so you may as well. If you are not going to use it all in the same week, then you can always freeze the unused portion.

Does Pizza Sauce Go Bad?

After a certain amount of days, pizza sauce will go bad, especially if it is not stored properly or if you leave it too long in the refrigerator.

Pizza sauce, like all foods, has a shelf life even when refrigerated. If you do not use it all in 5-6 days you should freeze it.

Does Pizza Sauce Need to Be Refrigerated?

Leftover Pizza sauce needs to be refrigerated no matter if you are using a store-bought one in a jar, or if you make it homemade. It’s best to refrigerate the leftover sauce so that it stays fresh longer.

How Long Does Pizza Sauce Last in the Fridge?

Pizza sauce will last about 5-6 days in the refrigerator, if you place it in an airtight container or glass jar to preserve its freshness.

Freezing Pizza Sauce

Can You Freeze Pizza Sauce in Jars?

Pizza sauce can be frozen in glass jars, but make sure that you leave some air space in the jar to allow for expansion. The sauce in the jar will expand when frozen and can cause the jar to crack or break if the jar is full. 

My suggestion would be to also put the jar in a ziploc bag so that if the jar were to crack the sauce won’t make a mess in your freezer.

How Long Does Homemade Pizza Sauce Last in the Freezer?

When you freeze your keto friendly pizza sauce it will last about 6 months as long as you freeze it properly so that the air does not get into the container. 

When it’s time to thaw out the pizza sauce, take it out the night before and slowly thaw it out in the refrigerator, or if you are in a hurry to use it just stick the frozen sauce in a pot on the stove and thaw it out on low heat, stirring so that it does not stick.

Tools to Use

• Bowl – for blending the sauce together.
• Spoon – For mixing the keto pizza sauce.
• Measuring spoons – for measuring the spices.

Best Store-bought Keto Pizza Sauces

Of course, making your own homemade pizza sauce is best, because it tastes better and is cheaper to make than jarred sauce. However, if you are in a hurry it is nice to have a couple jars of sauce on hand as a backup for a real quick dinner.

Here are a few different brands that are low carb pizza sauces *(Each portion size is ¼ cup.)

• Rao’s Pizza Sauce – 3 net carbs
• Victoria’s Sauce – 2.5 net carbs
• Mezzett’s Sauce – 2.5 net carbs
• Godfather’s Pizza Sauce – 5 net carbs

Our Low Carb Pizza Recipes

Once you have learned how to make a Keto pizza sauce, try using it as the base for any of the following low carb pizzas:

• Keto Pizza Crust
• Fathead Pizza
• Crustless Pizza
• Cauliflower Pizza

They all are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will be a hit with your family and friends!

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