Recommendations for jar spaghetti sauce

kennygang

My family loves meatballs and spaghetti and I wanted to have just the meatballs with sauce but was not sure if anyone had any suggestions for best sauce that is low carb and low sugar and taste good. We usually use Prego but not sure of the ingredients. Thanks so much

tcunbeliever

I usually just get a big can of crushed tomatoes and then add my own salt, pepper, garlic, basil (lots of basil), and italian seasoning to make it spaghetti sauce - it's very difficult to find a sauce without a bunch of sugar added.

Gallowmere1984

Rao's tomato basil is legit, but it's more a marinara sauce.

cstehansen

I would be interested in this also. Even the jarred alfredo sauces out there have more carbs than I would like. I have started making my own alfredo sauce, which is much easier than I thought it would be. However, if there is a good jarred option out there, it sure would come in handy. Prego was our brand of choice, but it does not fit my macros. Their traditional has 13g carbs with 10 of those being sugar. And what they call one serving is not very much. Some of their other varieties have even more sugar.

Rainqueen77

Frank's all natural is the lowest carb jar sauce I've found. My daughter doesn't like it though. Too chunky for her. Fixed that up quick with my stick blender though.

williams969

I know you're looking for prepared sauce, but hear me out. Making your own is so easy. I know, since I can do it, and I despise fussy cooking, lol.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015987-classic-marinara-sauce

Seriously simple. 6g net carbs, 4g sugar per ~1/2 cup serving. And it cooks in the time it takes to boil water, prepare pasta or make zoodles, and cook some meat to go with it.

BT_rescuemom

I used Rao's "sensitive" marinara for a low carb lasagna last week. It doesn't have onions or garlic. I thought it was decent, and I think 4 carbs per 1/2 cup.

redimock

We also use Rao's. There's no added sugar, and I really like the taste better than other brands (now anyway ). It can be pricey though - $9 for a jar at my grocery store. I snap it up when it's on sale.

missippibelle

I use crushed tomatoes and spice mine up myself too.

Sunny_Bunny_

I found this brand last week and made meatballs with porkrind crumbs, eggs, mozzarella cheese, Italian sausage and ground beef. My family loved it on their zucchini noodles.
I got to have a decent amount of sauce too since it was so low carb.


It's in my diary for Thursday Nov 3 if you want to check it out further.

kiwiapplepear

I third the opening a can of tomatoes and adding your own spices/herbs... Its really easy and super cheap...

ladipoet

https://www.amazon.com/Bella-Vita-Tomato-Basil-Pasta/dp/B0079OQEX2

It comes in 3-4 flavors.

canadjineh

I like the Classico sauces when I'm feeling lazy. There's a few with only 5 or 6 carbs in 1/2 cup. Spicy Red Pepper, Florentine Spinach & Cheese, and some other good ones.
https://caloriecount.com/classico-nutrition-m1178

mbonacci12

I use Sclafani marinara, 4 carbs 1/2 cup. Very good.

mandycat223

Even before my LC days, I avoided commercial pasta sauces. The alfredo sauces were disgusting and the marinara sauces are so sugar-laden they're halfway to ice cream toppings. Even if you're an unenthusiastic cook, making a big batch of tomato sauce and freezing it in individual serving sizes isn't a huge chore.

kennygang

Thank you all for all your wonderful suggestion, I will try some of them. Rao was very expensive at $7 a jar so that was out of price range. I may even try can of crushed tomato and add my own spices...

RowdysLady

I make my own marinara and Alfredo sauces. Both are easy but take time and patience. When I'm back at my pc versus the phone I'll add my recipes

anglyn1

Rao and Mezzetta are the brands of marinara I buy. Neither has added sugar. They are around 4-5 carbs a serving.

RowdysLady

Everything I do I do to taste so ingredients tend to vary:

Marinara sauce

• Can of crushed tomatoes
• Can of tomato paste (the small one)
• Couple of fresh tomatoes peeled and seeded (peeling tomatoes is easy - boil water, drop in the 'mater, wait til the skin breaks, pull out, cool in water, slip out of it's skin.)

Put all that in a pot. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook on low while you:

• 1 Onion, diced
• Fresh Basil leaves chiffonade. I like lots myself.
• Dried oregano to taste
• Lots of garlic cloves, crushed
• Half bell pepper, diced
• Celery stalk diced small
• Shrooms diced small (usually two whole if they are small)
• and sometimes I add other veggies diced really small - broccoli, cauli, etc.

Saute above in butter with salt and pepper to taste. Add to tomatoes and cook on low as long as you like but at least an hour (this is the patience part) - you can do this in a crock pot if you like.

As it cooks I taste and add something to cut the acidic taste of the 'maters. Used to be sugar, but now it's a sweetener or sometimes a splash of cooking wine. Add water or broth as needed if it's too thick. Add more paste if too thin.

Alfredo Sauce

• 1 Onion diced
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lemon Juice
• Nutmeg to taste
• Butter
• Fresh shredded Parm or other cheese that melts nicely

Saute in LOTS of butter like a stick of it - you want to build a roux from this. So once the onion is sauteed, remove from pan, put pan on low and add more butter. For every tablespoon of butter you have (or think you have) add a thickener such a coconut flour or carbquik. Whisk like crazy until thick and no lumps. Slowly add a liquid - usually milk but I've started using coconut milk and chicken broth. Whisk like crazy. Add cheese you like and put onion back in. O Once melted add more of the ingredients to taste until you are happy. (personally I don't use nutmeg in mine)

You will have to measure to determine cals/carbs/etc based on what you actually use. I never make mine exactly the same, ever. I just find the very best options carb wise for tomatoes in a can.

KnitOrMiss

@RowdysLady - did you know that baking soda is commonly used to cut the acidic taste of tomatoes? And once it neutralizes the acid, it doesn't taste salty. Worth a try.

KnitOrMiss

eatfatlosefatblog.com/keto-low-carb-alfredo-sauce-recipe/

This is one of the "base" recipes I use to make alfredo. Cream will thicken on it's own as it simmers, no need for a flour, roux, or thickener.

Also, I really dislike the taste of nutmeg, passionately, but in this recipe, it elevates the umami or savory perfection side of a real alfredo sauce... Definitely worth trying if you haven...

RowdysLady

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

@RowdysLady - did you know that baking soda is commonly used to cut the acidic taste of tomatoes? And once it neutralizes the acid, it doesn't taste salty. Worth a try.

I did not know that - do you know approx how much per how much to use? Awesome info!

KnitOrMiss

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda. Expect to see slight bubbling as the baking soda neutralizes the acid. Stir the sauce until the bubbling stops. - but it doesn't give amounts on the homemade tomato sauce.

Another thread said: I've done this, a little trade secret I learned from my aunt-in-law in Italy. I use the tiniest pinch, and then taste. You don't want to remove all the acid. I also use a little tiny pinch of sugar, or I add a raisin or two to the sauce while it's cooking for sweetness.

Other comments said sofrito as the base or using celery (Finally, I can recommend one ingredient in my tomato sauce that I never missed until I forgot it once: chopped celery. I find it too cuts the acidity and fills out the flavor. If you're not already using it, give it a try and see if you like the results!)...

Most of the stuff says, depending on batch size, start with a pinch to a teaspoon, sprinkle it on top, wait for the bubbling to stop, then do again. "Yes, baking soda works. About a teaspoon for every 20 tomatoes"

Other recommendations are caramelize the onions, stick in a cut potato (or peeled one) to remove at the end (old Italian trick, supposedly), use shredded or chunk carrots (remove at end if preferred), etc.

"Small amounts of pickling lime (calcium hydroxide) can be used to raise the pH, like sodium bicarbonate. Unlike bicarb, it doesn't leave your tomato sauce with a fizzy, oversalted flavor."

"An interesting way to cut acid in almost anything is to add a bit (1/3 tsp or less) of ground cinnamon (no sugar or anything) to it. I learned this from my grandmother who is Lebanese and it has always worked out well for me. If you search a bit you can probably find this tip on some other websites as well."

RowdysLady

You can't make marinara without celery! Sheesh... I always sweat the onions. Carmelized is too sweet for me. I used to add carrots but stopped due to the sugar in them and didn't put it in the recipe above because of that.

Thanks for all that info @KnitOrMiss

KnitOrMiss

@RowdysLady - You are most welcome. As your experiments continue, please let us know when you hit upon the perfect formula! LOL