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Nomato sauce is a tomato-free alternative to marinara sauce, for those who need to avoid nightshades or have food sensitivities. It’s the perfect topping for pasta, pizza, and more!
Why You’ll Love It
It tastes amazing. This recipe gets its natural sweetness from carrots, and still has the Italian flavor you love, thanks to the addition of basil and oregano. The red hue comes from beets, but the beet flavor isn’t overpowering, so it still tastes similar to regular marinara sauce.
It’s made without nightshades. Nightshades are a family of plants that can be problematic for some, especially for those dealing with auto-immune conditions. These plants include tomatoes, peppers, paprika, eggplant, potatoes, and more, so this sauce is made without common tomato sauce ingredients, like bell peppers, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes.
It’s great for those following special diets. This sauce is naturally vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free, and it’s also Paleo and AIP friendly. Since it’s mostly comprised of blended vegetables and herbs, it’s a great way to add more nutrients into your life!
Ingredients You’ll Need
The carrots and beet make up the base of this nightshade-free sauce, and the onion, garlic, and herbs will help add the classic tomato sauce flavor. This recipe uses lemon juice instead of vinegar to help add a tangy, acidic flavor that the tomatoes would normally provide.
If you don’t have carrots on hand, you could also use a similar amount of pumpkin puree or butternut squash as the base of this sauce. You can also use extra veggies you have on hand, such as celery or zucchini.
How to Make Nomato Sauce
1. Saute the veggies.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet with a lid. Add in the onion and sauté until it’s soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
Add in the garlic, basil, and oregano and stir until they are fragrant, about 1 more minute.
2. Simmer.
Next, add in the carrots, beets, water, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring the liquid to a boil, then cover the pot and lower the heat, so the veggies can simmer until they are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Blend.
When the vegetables are soft and easily pierced with a fork, transfer them to a high-speed blender, along with all of the liquid in the pan.
Add in the lemon juice, then secure the blender’s lid and blend until the sauce has reached your desired consistency. (You can make it silky-smooth, or a little chunky, depending on your preference.) If you prefer a runnier sauce, you can add water 1 tablespoon at a time, until you are happy with the texture.
Safety Note: When blending hot liquids, be sure to cover the vent in your blender’s lid with a thin towel, so steam can safely escape as you blend, without splattering. Otherwise, the steam pressure may build up as you blend, causing the lid to blow off of your blender– which would be a very hot mess! Bullet-style & individual cup blenders are not ideal for blending hot liquids, since there is no venting option.
4. Enjoy!
Once the soup has been blended, adjust any seasoning to taste. If the beet you used was large, you may need to add more salt (just a 1/2 teaspoon at a time) to help counterbalance the sweetness of the root vegetable.
This AIP nomato sauce recipe makes roughly 4 cups, so you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. (Be sure to leave a little room at the top of your storage container, so it has room to expand as it freezes.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can skip the olive oil in that case and simply add all of the veggies, water, and spices into the pot. (No sauteing required!) Secure the lid and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, then let the pressure naturally release for another 10 minutes. Then move the steam release valve to venting to release any remaining pressure in the pot. When the floating valve in the lid drops, it’s safe to remove the lid. Blend the cooked veggies as directed, and adjust any seasoning to taste from there.
You can use half the amount of red wine vinegar, if you prefer, or any other vinegar that you like. Vinegar tends to taste more pungent than lemon juice, so start with a small amount and add more, to taste.
Sure, you can use bone broth for extra minerals, or any other veggie stock you prefer. Just keep in mind that this may increase the sodium, so you might not need as much salt in that case.
Looking for more pasta sauces? Try Butternut Squash Pasta, Creamy Cajun Pasta, or Pumpkin Pasta Sauce for more delicious ideas.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 yellow onions , chopped (about 2 cups)
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 pound carrots , peeled and chopped
- 1 medium beet , chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a deep skillet (with a lid), heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add in the onion and sauté until it’s soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add in the garlic, basil, and oregano and stir until it’s fragrant, about 1 more minute.
- Add in the carrots, beet, water, and 1 teaspoon of salt, then bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid, and lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until the beets and carrots are fork-tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- When the vegetables are soft, transfer them to a high-speed blender, along with all of the liquid in the pan. Add in the lemon juice, then cover the blender with a lid.Safety Note: Make sure that the steam can safely vent out of the lid, so the steam pressure won’t make the lid pop off during blending. (Cover the vent with a thin dish towel to prevent splattering.)
- Blend until the sauce is smooth, then adjust the seasoning to taste. Depending on how large the beet is that you used, you may need to add more salt. I start with a 1/2 teaspoon at a time (for a large beet you may need to add 1 extra teaspoon of salt in total) to help counterbalance the sweetness from the root veggies.
- Transfer the sauce to an airtight jar with a lid, and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. This sauce makes an excellent alternative to marinara sauce, so you can use it over pasta, pizza, in lasagna, and more. The sauce will keep well in the fridge for up to a week, but you can also freeze it for up to 3 months. (Just be sure to leave some extra room at the top of the jar, to allow for the sauce to expand as it freezes.)
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Nutrition
Whether you require a nightshade-free marinara sauce, or are just looking to change up a recipe in your weekly dinner rotation, I hope you’ll enjoy this nomato sauce recipe! Be sure to leave a comment and star rating below if you give it a try.
I am INCREDIBLY happy I came across this recipe! My dad is allergic to tomatoes (well not allergic, but he has extreme joint pain when he consumes them), and he’s been avoiding tomato ever since!
I’m so excited to try out this recipe 🙂
I just made this and it’s delish! Served it with paleo turkey meatballs over zucchini pasta. Yum!
Made this tonight with gluten-free pasta.. and I LOVED it. I’ll probably add more spices next time but the kids didn’t even notice a difference! Thank you so much for your creation! This will be a regular staple in our dinners!
It’s similar to the ketchup my wife makes and this one tastes great. Not as messy as the ketchup recipe. Now to tackle mustard without paprika.
Did you find a recipe for paprika-free mustard that tastes good? How about mayonnaise?
I added some anchovie paste (wild caught with only olive oil, salt and anchovies as ingredients so AIP friendly) and some pastured pork lard and it turned out great! Keep the AIP friendly recipes coming please!!! :D:D
So tasty! I like this better than the tomato version. I added a ton of garlic, onion, italian, oregano, and basil seasonings. I also used chicken broth in place of water, added ground turkey and topped with fresh parmesan. Holy yum!
What a wonderful wife you are! I wish your husband all the best in his healing!
My husband cannot have tomatoes or lemon (citrus). I wondered why the lemon is in the recipe. What does it do? What could I replace it with or would it work without the lemon? I appreciate any feedback. We are very excited to find this! Thank you!
The lemon replaces the acidity that tomatoes usually give to marinara sauce. You could add a splash of vinegar instead, for a similar flavor.
Oh rats – we can’t do vinegar either , because of the acidity. I’ll play around with it and see what I can do. I appreciate your response!
Just wondering why you can’t do lemon? lemon while it is an acidic fruit actually becomes alkaline in the body when we injest it. just thought I’d share.
Thank you Kristen for the insight. Simply going by what the doctor told us to avoid. There is a long list of foods to avoid for Interstitial Cystitis (IC) and “citrus fruits” is one of them. We will try it as soon as we can get his pain to go away. Right now he wouldn’t want to risk it. He’s at a 1-3 on the pain scale so we’re making improvements. Hoping it will just a take a bit for the body to heal.
Heather, i have IC as well. I make a similar “no-mato” sauce that does not have any added acids and it comes out great. I roast the carrots, beets, and red bell pepper (they are not an issue for me) and add basil, oregano, and fennel. Other people I know with IC have used a little pear juice, but that does make it a bit sweeter.
My wife Brittany as IC. When she needs to substituent for acidic flavors like vinegar and citrus, she uses these liquid herbs called Terrain. She mainly uses the Scared Herbs flavor, but they also ones made with garlic, turmeric and oregano that she uses to make sauces like this. We use them in place of vinegar or lemon juice in any recipe. You can buy them here:
http://brittanyvail.mybeyondorganic.com/
Heather, Buy your hubby some Prelief or put 1/4 tsp, of baking soda in the sauce to lower the acidity. Also check the ICDiet site. I have IC also. not fun.
My husband has IC, and I am going to try this recipe with lemon essential oil. He has no reactions to the oils but they help add the flavor you are looking for:)
Thank you for this! We have been avoiding Tomato sauce and lemon juice with my 13 month old son b/c of them causing a facial rash. He has just decided to get picky on me and not being able to make him spaghetti is frustrating me!
Try using sumac instead of lemon. It has a lemony flavor that might balance it out and provide the tart taste you are looking for.
I am also sensitive to lemon and vinegar. I’m going to try using 1/4 cup (or maybe less) of pomegranate juice in my next batch for the tartness.
Just made it for dinner. Was really surprised at how good it tasted. In fact, the smell of it resembles a delicious, authentic bolagnaise sauce!
I added oregano, parsley and time for extra flavour!
Amazing!
I may be able to consume tomatoes but that won’t stop me from trying out this sauce! Looks amazing!