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.
Nomato Sauce (Tomato-less Marinara)
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.)
Video
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.
Just what I needed!
Is this sweet? Just wondering because of the carrots and beets…thank you 🙂
I don’t consider it sweet tasting! The salt and lemon juice tone down the sweetness you’d expect from carrots and beets – my whole family thinks it just tastes like regular marinara sauce.
I now have a nightshade sensitivity all of a sudden well, just becoming aware of it I should say. To never eat a eggplant, tomatoes and peppers and like a nut I keep trying saying oh just a little and paying for it later. My body just doesn’t like it. I’m sick for a few days afterwards. I’m so happy to see someone created a tomato-free sauce, I can’t wait to try it. Farmers market is coming this weekend 🙂
I have been nightshade sensitive since i had a very obvious issue with eggplant in my early 20’s. I managed to make it through the next decade in almost complete denial (I euphemistically called potatoes ‘indigestibles’ for many of those years)because I didn’t know what was wrong.Now, although I do miss some things, I accept that this is just the way it is and my partner helps me monitor my diet. The elimination of nightshade has made a huge difference. It is recipes like this that help me get over cravings and explore other, better options (like nightshade free chili OMG). Also, I don’t wake up looking like Elvis anymore.
I had no idea that nightshade sensitivity was even an issue! Thanks for posting. I definitely know some people to share this post with. Although, don’t think I could give them up myself…..love all those veggies on the list.
Confession time, I love making the Olive Garden sauce that I found somewhere on Pinterest, it’s the real deal, tastes almost identical to theirs, alot cheaper and instead of pasta, I can use spaghetti squash. All winners here.
This post is so timely for me. I just met with a nutritionist and we discussed the very real possiblity/probability that I can no longer eat foods in the nightshade family because I feel so ill afterwards. Ugh. Unfortunately, I cannot offer any suggestions for recipes because this revelation is new. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you! I have been hunting for night shade free, SIBO friendly (the onions are not so great,but can work around them) recipes. It seems paleo and grain free diets rely heavily on the nightshade family as well as eggs – which I also can not eat. Do you have any information on spinach, strawberries and bananas – I can’t eat any of those either. It is great not to feel so isolated as a foodie who has such a limited repertoire. I am so thankful for your website, great find!
Hi Nadine, I as well have a nightshade problem, and bananas and strawberries. among other things that have since been discovered. You might consider going on a “latex fruit allergy syndrome diet” for even just three days or a week, and see if your body feels any different. Even if you don’t like that idea, that’s cool. Check out my blog – michellebeetslyme.blogspot.com
My mom had sibo, and a naturopathic doctor cured her and her food allergies with rifaximin for several months.
Take care.
Anyways, I love this recipe idea! I’m going to use golden beets instead of carrots, olive oil instead of butter, rice vinegar instead of lemon, and add basil! I’ll report back if I remember to.
I tried this today was honestly shocked at how good the taste is, like everybody thinks it has tomato in it. It is fabulous. Thank you for this because like many others who have posted I can’t do nightshade foods. I did a mango pasta sauce some time ago and it was really goid but it wasn’t marinara sauce. I am really happy for this. Thank you
Nadine, I don’t know how old your post is, but in case you’re still hunting for answers, you may want to look into histamine intolerance.
Can’t wait to try this. I am nightshade sensitive but I love my tomato style dishes. Let’s hope this keeps my staple dishes alive and agrees with my body.
Wow, this looks like the real thing! What a great recipe for those with allergies. 🙂 I’ll definitely be checking into that produce box as well, that sounds like a great deal!
Thank you! I’m always up for a new nightshade free recipe, and I’ve been craving sauce lately. Nightshades cause me joint pain, even the tiniest amounts. Thank goodness for sweet potatoes and recipes like this 🙂
Hi Suzanne! I also realized some years back I had joint pain everytime I ate nightshades. I drank tea made from burdock root for approximately 6 months and I no longer have sensitivity to nightshades or tropical fruits! It’s been amazing. I encourage anyone with these sensitivities to give burdock root a try.
Yahoo! We just started eating paleo and found out that my son has nightshades sensitivities so this is a God-send! I cannot wait to try it!
Amazing! Love your substitutions and alternative recipes, especially that they look the same as “the real thing”. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh em gee the nutrition nerd in me is squealing with delight with this post!!! Love everything about this and how incredibly tasty this looks.
My husband has lupus and tried giving up night shades for awhile and didn’t notice any difference. We too were happy about that since we like a lot of those foods. He has improved giving up gluten, dairy, and refined sugar (oddly easier than the night shades) I would still like to try this recipe though since tomatoes are going out of season here and carrots, beets, and onions are about to be in abundance! Great seasonally minded recipe, especially over spaghetti squash!
Oh my gosh! My sister linked me to this post because I can’t eat nightshades…they irritate my gut & give me eczema! I cut them out of my diet nearly 2 years ago. I can’t wait to try out this recipe as I miss having a marinara sauce!
Thank you for this! My mother and I both cannot eat nightshades, I cannot wait to try this!!
I cooked dinner for a special group of my coaching clients 2 weeks ago, and 3 out of 10 had noticed a sensitivity to nightshades! Awesome recipe, I’ll definitely try this!
I have given up most nightshades for the past 15 years. I do miss the occasional tomato on a sandwich out (I usually substitute cucumber slices), jalapenos in my queso, or baked potato slathered with butter from time to time. As you can see I’m not that strict with some of the things ppl are avoiding around this blog. Moderation works for me. So I love this recipe for giving some variety.
I don’t notice any ill effects from these rare lapses, probably because they are maybe 1x month.
I gave up nightshades, not for autoimmune challenges, but because I follow the Blood Type diet and these are avoided by Type As (and some for Bs). I will say, that when I eat multiple non-A foods at a meal, or in a day, I have noticed symptoms around my small intestine meridian (ex. tops of shoulders next to my neck)–horrible spasms.
It was explained to me that there is an immune response happening in my small intestine when the non-blood type food gets absorbed into the bloodstream. The molecules are attacked as “not similar enough to become part of me.” When this chronically happens (like at every meal), then the small intestine meridian becomes too stimulated; it runs alongside the neck at the shoulders. That’s the way I understand it happens for me anyway.
This has happened consistently enough that I don’t doubt it at this point. Ppl might want to check it out and see if it helps. I found I didn’t notice much symptoms except this and fatigue after non-type meals, and only after being pretty strict with it for at least a month.
http://www.4yourtype.com It has the food lists for each type there.
The books are best for the full explanations of the theory.
I too follow the blood type diet and my son is blood type A and I was looking for an alternative for tomato sauce. This is awesome. I have found there is nothing better. I will eat this way forever and change recipes when I need to
My SO went on a nightshade-free diet a few months ago to treat his psoriasis, and it seems to have been helping his symptoms. I’ve found the exclusion of the nightshades from my cooking to be REALLY frustrating at times (tomato products and potatoes are just SO good — and USEFUL — in so many dishes!), and I was JUST lamenting about needing to come up with a tomato-free pasta sauce. Now I don’t have to! In your pics, the sauce looks identical to tomato-based ones; amazing!
This looks great! Any recommendations on a substitute for the beets? More carrots? I realize this would make it less sweet but beets are a big no.
Yes, I’d just replace the beet with more carrots.
Thank you for this recipe, my son has many intolerances including nightshades and I really do struggle cooking for him sometimes. I made this dish last night, and used balsamic instead of lemon. My son loved it. Will definitely be cooking this again.
I was disappointed with the flavor of the Marinara Sauce. It was very bland. I put more garlic and basil plus fresh oregano. What can I do? Why would this happen? I’m hoping it will pick up flavor over time. Any suggestion? Thanks, Linda
I think I will try it with with some nutritional yeast and vegan parmesan. If you’re not vegan you might try and add a parmesan rind while the sauce simmers. Also, the longer you let a marinara simmer, the more the flavors will permeate. When I made traditional marinaras, I’d put a small handful of basil, a tablespoon of dried oregano, maybe a teaspoon each or so of dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried marjoram and dried fennel, salt and pepper to taste, and let a parmesan rind simmer in the pot. I’d add more freshly grated parmesan at the end. You can also add some crushed red pepper flakes if you can tolerate a little spice. Hopefully that’ll help!
If you want to give this more of an Italian flavor like a real pasta sauce, use a tablespoon or so of Italian seasoning along with fresh garlic and simmer for an hour, continue to add more water if needed. I usually use two cans of 16oz carrots one can of beats rather than fresh. I blend them up in a blender or food processor. Drain the justice off first. Then I chop up an onion garlic and simmer in olive oil then I add the beets and carrot mixture and add in one tablespoon of Italian seasoning and red some wine vinegar.
I had just begun researching ‘no-mato’ sauce and since I love your blog I was thrilled to see you made this! I made it tonight, adding basil, oregano and lots of extra garlic (we love garlic!). It is so delicious!! Not exactly like tomato sauce (well there aren’t any tomatoes so….lol!), but we LOVE it!! Using it in lasagna right now. Thank you so much!
I may be able to consume tomatoes but that won’t stop me from trying out this sauce! Looks amazing!
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!
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.
What a wonderful wife you are! I wish your husband all the best in his healing!
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!
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
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?
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!
I just made this and it’s delish! Served it with paleo turkey meatballs over zucchini pasta. Yum!
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 🙂
Thank you for posting this My young son and i want to make this, but we are omitting the oil..do you foresee any problem with the end result and its incumbent taste?
Michelle, how did the altered recipe go? I cannot have carrots (too much sugar) and was wanting to try that recipe. Thanks for the original post!
Thank you- This could possibly be a life saver for us. Found out yesterday that my daughter has developed an allergy to tomatoes. There is a possibility eggplant also. I appreciate that you have taken the time to make this. I was going to experiment and decided to google first. Pizza is her first love and she was really thinking that she could eat just a little. I hope this works for her. She is definitely a headstrong teen.
I tried the cauliflower crust and the beet + carrot alternative sauce ^_^ it came out perfect and the sauce was delicious ^_^ I also made a wheat crust with the sauce and I liked it because it was thin and crunchy, the cauliflower crust was spongy but it stayed together and everything ^_^
You can see pictures and everything here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.175900572803379.1073741837.100011503124847&type=3
Thank you so much, I became deathly allergic to tomatoes last year after 45 years of eating them and growing them , I have been lost …. alot of stuff have powder, paste, something tomato. I will try this and keep looking for more on here.
I just made this today and I’m amazed how good and close to regular Marinera in taste and color it comes out to be. I adjusted the spices but it still came out great and I’m so pleased with the fact that it’s so healthy and easy?. Thank you for this recipe.
Very excited to try your delicious looking tomato free sauce fr my tomato loving intolerant family member so we may all enjoy Italian together. Thinking of also using it for beanless chili w a slight change in seasoning and ground turkey.
I made this tonight and it was great! I was hesitant because I really dislike beets, but was pleasantly surprised with the results. I used olive oil instead of coconut and added Italian herbs. In addition to the lemon juice, I also added apple cider vinegar to taste. I didn’t find that the lemon alone created enough acidity for the dish to mimic tomato. I added ground, grass fed beef to the sauce and served it over sweet potato starch noodles. I ate a modest potion and felt STUFFED – much fuller than I would feel with the same amount of marinara over wheat noodles.
We have really loved this recipe and I wanted to share that we’ve used it as a pizza sauce and now to make a nightshade-free chili that looks and tastes like regular chili! I’d love to share the chili recipe since I have been a bit disappointed in the other nightshade-free “chili” recipes out on the internet. Thanks for the great sauce! I think this recipe will continue to be a work horse in our kitchen!
I’m so glad to hear that it’s working so well for you. Thanks for sharing!!
Please share the chili recipe. Thank you!
Please share your chili recipe.
Thanks
How well do you think this would hold up in a crock-pot if I were to make it for meatballs?
Hi,
Great recipe but in addition to the nightshade vegetables I cannot have onion or garlic. This allergy is killing me, literally. Everything has onion and garlic in it. Do you have any suggestions for substitutes of onion and garlic? It seems there’s a substitute for everything else but not these two super savory spices. Thanks for any suggestions, I’m desperate!
I was having a lot of food sensitivities and was given the book “The Plant Paradox” and have been following that as well as I could and started getting foods back I need my diet. It’s probably your gut is so damaged food is making you sick. Try the diet and see if you get better. Took me a couple of months to get onion and garlic back and I can only eat them cooked but I went 2 years without until I started on this diet. Two months later I’m eating some normal foods again. Good luck.
Hi- I can’t eat onions either, but I have found that I can tolerate the green tops of onions if cooked well in a recipe. That may be an option for you as well. I grow them in my garden and just harvest part of the tops from each bulb. New tops keep growing and so just a handful of onions lasts me all year.
My subs aren’t similar in flavor, but I have found they work well. I consistently use fennel bulb for onion, and it adds a nice depth of flavor like onion does and it has a similar texture (doesn’t matter in this recipe, but i use it regularly.) And for garlic I substitute ginger. Totally different, but it works well in this recipe for adding to the “zing”.
I’m on a fodmap diet and can’t handle too much garlic and onion. I use hing asafoetida as a substitute. It doesn’t smell great on its own but no issue once mixed in and creates a similar taste to onion and garlic.
My jaw dropped when I saw this recipe. I get really sick if I eat tomatoes. I was sad, I was thinking no more spaghetti and meatballs or steak and chicken stew. I’am so amazed and thrilled with this recipe. I cant wait to try it. Thanks a million!
I will be saving this website to my favorites for sure!
Excited to try this recipe! I want to make this for a family member, but they can’t do onions. Any suggestions for a substitute? Add more of something else?
Thank you so much for this recipe! We’ve tried another similar recipe in the past but it doesn’t even compare to this. My husband has a nightshade allergy and we were craving spaghetti and I stumbled upon your recipe. It is absolutely incredible, we made it last week and are making it again tonight! We ended up using canned beets and shredding the carrots in our food processor to make for easier/faster cooking, and adding some balsamic vinegar. Other than that we kept just as you wrote it.
Could this recipe be used in other dishes besides Italian ones? For example, could I use this instead of tomato puree when making curries or enchilada sauce?
Oh my. I made this and it’s delicious. I don’t think the kids will even know the difference. My hubbys tummy will thank me. I added lots of fresh basil and even kale and spinach. Yesssss. So excit d. Thank you sooo much.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I have been dealing with GERD for over 20 years. Some days are better than others. I am working with a Naturopath now, but tomatoes continue to be the bane of my existence. This recipe was perfect and kid approved.I put in some Red Wine Vinegar and a little bit of lemon juice. Next time I will use the full amount of lemon juice because I put the sauce in a lasagna and the sweetness was still quite noticeable. Thank you!
Is this with raw beets, or do you use roasted ones? Thanks, finding good nightshade free recipes is so hard!
I peeled and chopped up a raw beet for this recipe.
I am not allowed any citrus on my AIP diet. Would it be ok without?
I would try to compensate with extra salt– the citrus gives it the same acidity as tomatoes, so salt will help if you can’t have that.