This AIP, vegan and nightshade-free Classic Nomato Sauce is so similar in taste to tomato sauce, you might even fool your tomato-eating friends and family members.
If you’ve been following the autoimmune paleo protocol for some time now, you’ve probably tried nomato sauce. “No”mato sauce, as the name suggests, is a tomato free marinara sauce. Since nightshades are a no-no on the AIP, the community has gotten really creative in creating substitutes for tomato sauces.
There are tons of nomato recipes on the internet, and I have tried several of them! After about a year of experimenting, I’ve put together this Classic Nomato Sauce recipe to add to the collection. This recipe includes my favourite combinations of veggies and herbs to mimic the taste of tomatoes without tasting like beets. While I’m a big fan of beets, they’re not exactly what I’m in the mood for when re-creating tomato sauce. In fact, too much beet in a nomato sauce recipe can make the end product uncharacteristically sweet and earthy.
How to make your Nomato Sauce
For the base of this recipe, you’ll need chopped onions, garlic, carrots, celery, butternut squash and beets. Dried herbs of thyme, basil, rosemary and oregano lend an Italian flavour, while red wine vinegar offers a classic acidic taste that is balanced by a small amount of honey or maple syrup for a vegan version.
After sautéing the vegetables in olive oil, add your liquids and bring pot to a low boil. Simmer on low heat until all the vegetables have softened. Allow to cool slightly and then transfer to blender and puree to consistency of choice.
This sauce is so similar in taste and looks to tomato sauce, you might even fool your tomato-eating friends and family members. I certainly have 🙂
Recipe FAQs
I don’t like beets, can I omit the beet in this recipe?
In addition to adding the red colour to this sauce, the beet adds a subtle earthy flavour. While some nomato sauce recipes include a lot of beet (which I too can find overwhelming), this recipe only calls for one. I wouldn’t recommend omitting, and I promise the sauce doesn’t taste like beets!
Can I freeze this sauce?
Yes! I almost always freeze this sauce as it makes a pretty big batch. I like to separate it into two or three smaller glass containers or for the ultimate hack, I pour into an ice tray and freeze. This way I can easily pop out a few cubes and use within dishes.
How can I use this sauce?
Use this as you would a classic marinara sauce. This recipe features in a blog reader fave – AIP Sweet Potato Lasagna. Use it in Spaghetti and Meatsauce, as a base for your favourite AIP pizzas, pastas, with gnocchi or as a dip for veggies on grazing boards.
Can I make this in the Instant Pot?
Yes! Per reader recommendations, you can try cooking for about 15 minutes and letting it release for 10 minutes before blending.
If you loved this Nomato Sauce recipe I would appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and short review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram or Facebook by tagging me @healmedelicious and using the hashtag #healmedelicious.
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Classic Nomato Sauce (AIP, paleo, vegan)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This paleo, AIP, vegan and nightshade-free Classic Nomato Sauce is so similar in taste to tomato sauce, you might even fool your tomato-eating friends and family members.
Ingredients
- 1.5 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 cup carrot, diced (about 2 medium sized carrots)
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup butternut squash, cubed
- 1 medium sized beet, finely cubed
- 1 tsp thyme (dried or fresh)
- 1 tsp basil (dried or fresh)
- 1 tsp oregano (dried or fresh)
- 1 tsp rosemary (dried or fresh)
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup for vegan
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, add olive oil and heat on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onion, garlic, carrot, celery and squash and sauté 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a splash of water if necessary to keep from sticking.
- Once onions begin to become translucent, add in beets, salt and dried herbs and sauté 1-2 minutes.
- Next, add in red wine vinegar and cook a couple minutes to allow the vinegar to evaporate.
- Finally, add in water and honey or maple syrup. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and cover.
- Simmer on low for 30 minutes or until carrots, beets and squash are soft.
- Once your veggies are soft, remove from heat and allow everything to cool.
- Blend ingredients into a smooth sauce using an immersion blender or carefully transfer to a blender. Season with salt as necessary once blended
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Sauces
Keywords: nomato sauce, tomato-free, nightshade free, marinara sauce, AIP, paleo, vegan
I absolutely love this recipe! It’s my first time making any nomato sauce and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect…WOW how yummy it is! I didn’t have red wine vinegar, but I had white so I substituted white for red. My hubby made chicken Parmesan with it and raved about it. Mine also came out more orange than red, I added more beets but I didn’t want to add to much. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
★★★★★
Hello, I’m excited to try this, as I’m quite new to alternative cooking due to food sensitivity testing. Is there a good substitute for onions? Thanks!
Hi there, I’d just omit them!
Hi 🙂 I am going to try this recipe this weekend. I have acid reflux and was wondering if there was a substitute for the vinegar?
Vinegar gives it that zing so if you omit, it won’t have that acidity tomatoes usually have but otherwise it’ll be okay
So delicious!!
★★★★★
YES! This recipe is amazing!!! I’ve been trying to find a no tomato sauce but almost everything uses tomatoes and/or carrots. This recipe lets you customize it, to a certain extent, which is awesome for me!! 10/10 would recommend.
★★★★★
Excellent recipe, and it’s not my first rodeo as far as nightshade free sauces go. I’m nightshade toxic and I made a double batch so I’d have extra. Tonight I made lasagne and it turned out really nice. I would share a picture if I could figure out how!
★★★★★
Wow!! You are an absolute food wizard! 🤲✨This sauce is sooo good! I added Italian sausage to mine. This is my first attempt at a nomato sauce and I hit the jackpot choosing yours! I was expecting to have something that was “good enough”… this is one of the best marinara sauces I’ve had not just for AIP, and my husband was in shock there’s no tomatoes! 😋🙏
★★★★★
I am brand new to the AIP diet and this sauce was an absolute game changer! I use it as one would a traditional red sauce, I add it to soups, stews, Shepherd’s pie – I don’t think I’ll go back to full-on tomato sauce even when I’m able to… It’s THAT good!
★★★★★
Just made this and I’m amazed! You cannot tell there is no tomato in this sauce. And, more importantly, I cannot taste the beets! This sauce is delicious. I was skeptical as I purchased no mato sauce when I first started AIP…and promptly threw it away because it was awful. I’m so excited that I will be able to enjoy Italian meals again. I forgot to pick up a butternut squash, so I substituted with pumpkin purée. I do have a question though. How long with this keep in the refrigerator?
★★★★★
I had it in the fridge for a week and then had to leave town for a funeral. It is still great – taste, smell appearance. I’m going to use it up today as I don’t want to push my luck, but at least a couple of weeks.
Is this recipe able to be canned?
I don’t know much about that, sorry!
Very good and easy to make, thank you.
I made mine in the Instant pot.
I didn’t have fresh beet but I had slice beets in a jar so I used that instead.
I also added a little bit of Tamarind. You can buy it in a jar or can find it fresh.
Tamarind can give a very nice zesty .tang like tomatoes do. I think adding that enhanced my sauce and gave it the kick I was looking for.
★★★★★
Could you please tell me much is a medium sized beet? ~1cup?
All the other veggies are measured in cups.
Don’t want to put too much or too little.
Thank you
3/4 cup sounds about right!
This is amazing! Hands down the best I have tried! I froze some and forgot to label it and asked my partner to taste it to tell me if it was tomato or nomato and he couldn’t tell 😂🙌🏼 Sooo good! Game changer for nightshade free folks! Thank you!
★★★★★
Delicious! Next time I need to double the recipe because I ate this all myself in a day!
★★★★★
Best nomato sauce I have tried! Simple to make and the whole family liked it.
★★★★★
Hi! I have a very crazy question! I want to make your sauce but I don’t have beets on vine. I have Kirkland Costco beets I think already cooked but soooooo much easier to cut up. I have RA & all the chopping tends to totally inflame my hands/wrists. Can I use this, it’s organic & wonderful.
Also don’t have red wine vinegar. What to substitute? Your recipe is the first that has asked for that 😉
Thanks soooo much!! Love your site but wish had more recipes to use crockpot. I am a dud when trying to convert. Sorry I’m a baker not a cook 🤣
Happy New Year!! All the best for 2022! Stay safe everyone!
Liz
This sauce is just delectable! I’ve made other Nomato sauces in the past and I honestly haven’t been a fan and found the beetroot overpowering. This recipe however is spot on! I’d happily use this in place of tomato sauce, AIP diet or not. Thank you!
★★★★★
absoooluuutely fan of this sauce. first time making it tonight and it tasted delicious straight out of the pot.
but mines pink??? did I not add enough of something? I followed the recipe to a T
★★★★★
Mine is pink too. What did I do wrong?
★★★★
did you use canned beets? also, sometimes when you cook beets for too long they lose their bright color
This recipe is amazing! Thank you! I can’t have nightshades due to an autoimmune condition. I grew up on Italian food at least once a week and have been missing it greatly. Now, if I could find a rice pasta that was equally great. Unfortunately, so many GF pastas are made with potato or corn, which I also can’t have.
★★★★★
Thanks Christi! Have you tried the Jovial brand of cassava pasta?
Hi there. I really like the tinkayada brand of brown rice pastas. They hold up really well when cooked and don’t have that woody texture like some other non-wheat varieties. You can find it on well.ca for sure.
Even though you suggest not substituting the beets in this recipe, I currently have to stay away from beets from a food sensitivity test, while also trying to follow an AIP paleo diet for 30 days. Is there something that you can think of that I could use in place of the beets that would still make this sauce delicious??
Thanks!
Hi Emily, the sauce won’t be red without the beets but won’t be too different taste wise. i’d suggest adding a bit more vinegar.
I have done sauce with strawberries for a bbq nomato… perhaps that could work with this one?
I wouldn’t substitute strawberries here but I have a bbq sauce in my pulled pork recipe that you can try: https://healmedelicious.com/instant-pot-bbq-pulled-pork/
We absolutely loved this nomato sauce! My husband is very picky and he loved it when I made spaghetti with it. I am going to try to add different spices and make chili next.
OMG! Tastes like tomato sauce – no it’s even better than tomato sauce!!! I am so excited. The only thing I did different was use balsamic vinegar because I didn’t have red wine vinegar. As it was cooking the house smelled like tomato sauce. I am so happy with how it came out & I froze 4 extra servings!
★★★★★
I became allergic to tomatoes almost 8 yrs ago. After searching thru a multitude of Nomato recipes, I chose this one after reading the reviews. I had no celery so I used celery salt. Adjusted the herbs to my liking and used water. It is the closest thing to real tomato sauce pasta sauce that I have found. I can’t wait to make a lasagna and Eggplant Parmesan. Bless you for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
Is there any way to substitute the carrots? My son cannot do tomatoes or carrots.
You could try subbing the carrots with more of the squash!
I haven’t had any tomato product in 10 years since having an anaphylactic reaction to tomatoes. I missed spaghetti and lasagna and all those other delicious dishes so much! Then my daughter came across your recipe and we decided to give it a try. I wanted to cry!!! It’s so delicious and tasted like tomato sauce. I’ve made spaghetti and zucchini parmigiana and cannot wait to make a pizza and lasagna! Thank you so much for bringing those dishes back into my life!❤️
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear this Priscilla! Thanks for taking time to leave a review.
1st time making a nomato sauce, picked this sauce after looking at loads of different recipes online. Made a fantastic, versatile marinara style sauce. I used brown & red onions and cooked up a large batch, freezing some & to use later. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
We made this tonight and we loved it. My husband is a very picky eater and his bowl was clean after he was done. My teenager even had seconds! Has anyone pressure canned this?
Just made this sauce, its so yummy. I did mine in the Instant Pot. Easy peasy! The only changes I made was I only added half the water since it was in the pressure cooker, and I also did not have any butternut squash so I just used some crown pumpkin. I have just made a meat sauce with it for your AIP lasagna. Wow its good. I only made the single amount and I still have 2 jars left. I am looking forward to trying the lasagna tonight! Thanks for this!
★★★★★
Really good and not beet-y. I’ve tried several sauces and this actually really reminded me of tomato… although admittedly I haven’t had tomato in almost 20 years haha. My hubby said it tasted like tomato and I used it as pizza sauce for him. I didn’t have celery so I subbed a peeled zucchini and celery salt for the salt (I’ve successfully reintroduced celery seed), and your recipes are always successful so i doubled it. I later added (to leftovers) about 1/2 tbsp of tamarind paste and tsp of anchovy paste for extra umami. Thank you for all the work you put into these fabulous recipes!!
★★★★★
ooh i love those additions Christina! Thank you for taking time to leave a review!
Absolutely delicious. I have been missing tomato sauce so much. I made the base sauce and added grass fed ground beef. My picky dad even complemented it. Thank you so much.
Very surprised with this. I made it without squash and celery. Still tastes like the real thing.
This was fantastic. I tweeted it a bit I used canned pumpkin instead of squash, balsamic vinegar, and homemade beef bone broth. This is my new favorite AIP recipe
★★★★★
Best no-mato sauce (tried a lot).
Based on other comments put everything in (only 1/2 the liquid) the instapot per other suggestion. Then used food processor to blend until smooth.
Used 1/2 the liquid and used chicken bone broth instead of water.
The balance of veggies, vinegar and maple syrup made for the perfect (taste and color) sauce!!
Thanks for another winner Nicole!!
★★★★★
Thank you Kelsey! So glad you enjoyed it.
I am new to nomato sauce and delighted at this recipe! I tripled it up in order to freeze a large portion and I’m excited to have it on hand for future recipes. Tonight I used the sauce for Sweet Potato Lasagna: https://healmedelicious.com/sweet-potato-lasagna-aip/ and it was fantastic!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it!
We had this for dinner tonight with spaghetti squash and chicken meatballs and it was so good! We aren’t fully AIP here, but my daughter is currently supposed to be eating an anti-inflammatory diet, and I’m finding that AIP recipes are super helpful as I’m trying to figure out how to avoid certain foods. I’m so glad to have been directed to your blog!
PS – I agree, it definitely doesn’t taste like beets!
★★★★★
This is hands down the best nightshade free Nomato sauce recipe out there. I love tomato sauce and salsa but now they are on my foods to avoid list. I substituted fennel for celery as celery is also a NoNo for me. This is an easy recipe and would you never know that there are no tomatoes! Thank you for sharing this will be a staple in my home.
★★★★★
Thank you so much Jeanne! Glad you enjoyed <3
As someone who cannot have even a hint of tomatoes without a reaction I really enjoy this sauce. After years of limiting my diet, it’s been beyond great to finally enjoy so many recipes that use tomato sauce again thanks to this recipe. I was wondering what you would suggest I could use as a substitute for the celery. My son has been told he has a celery allergy and I can’t use this recipe in family meals. Cabbage, zucchini, cauliflower and apple are internet recommendations, but I’m not sure how well any of them will work.
I’m open to any suggestions. Thanks for your amazing recipe! ♡♡♡♡
I need to avoid celery so I used fennel, it was great!
I just made this for the first time. I’m new to AIP and I already wasn’t doing nightshades so I’ve been looking for options. This tastes so good. I also hate beets and I can’t taste it. I think I could fool a few people with this one. Thanks for the recipe!!
I have made a variety of nomato sauces over the years and this is honestly the best I’ve made.
The colour was closer to tomato sauce and it has the perfect acidity. The only difference is that I did this is the instant pot for 15 mins and let release for
10 and it turned out perfect. I think this will be my go to nomato sauce for now on.
Thanks so much Shannon! I’m so glad you enjoy and thanks for sharing your Instant pot timing!
This nomato sauce is amazing! My son, who can eat regular sauce, really likes this sauce too. I used Shannon’s instant pot method. This will definitely be my go-to for a marinara sauce.
★★★★★
Can you make this in the instant pot? How long would you cook it in the instant pot?
Hi Cathy, I’m sure that would be fine, it all gets pureed so it’s impossible to overcook.
Going into an AIP journey is not for the faint of heart!! Especially if you are like me and tomatoe sauce is your absolute favourite and your body craves it often. Learning I had to give it up made me feel defeated. But I had hope! I made a beet nomato sauce I found online once and I literally cried,it was horrible. Thankfully I came across this recipe and all I can say is, I aslo cried!!? tears of happiness! This recipe was beyond my expectation and ny whole house smelled like spaghetti sauce. Guilt free, healing, nutrition,full of flavour and just like real sauce. Im so grateful for all the recipes she makes. Especially this one❤️
★★★★★
Thanks so much for leaving this review. I’m so so happy you enjoyed it <3
Could I use a can of butternut squash purée in place of the cubes? If so, do I add it at the same time?
Hi Mallory, that should be fine and timing won’t matter too much.
This sauce is really good! I don’t fully eat AIP, so I do eat tomato sauce occasionally, but it tends to give me heart burn. This sauce is a nice alternative for when I don’t want to suffer after. It’s a bit time consuming, but totally worth it.
★★★★★
I’ve made other nomato sauce recipes. This one tops them all. I think it’s the red wine vinegar. I didn’t purée it. I did brown some ground beef and mushrooms, added it to the sauce and put it over cassava noodles. So satisfying. Thanks for another great recipe.
Nancy
Thanks so much Nancy!
This sauce is legit! This was my first foray into a nomato sauce and I had reviewed a few recipes before settling on this one. I liked the addition of butternut squash rather than a heavy reliance on carrots. I had zero expectations for this actually tasting anything close to tomato sauce. I’m making a few AIP recipes this week (including chicken cacciatore and zucchini enchiladas) that call for a nomato sauce so I really figured this would do the trick and the flavors in the rest of the dish wouldn’t make me miss the real tomato sauce.
After it was done, though, oh my stars. I tasted a spoonful to see how it came and out this sauce blew my mind! It has the color and texture of tomato sauce! My husband tried it and was equally surprised! He noted more of the sweeter butternut squash tones but said that was a great sauce tomatoes, or no! I tossed it with some cassava noodles for lunch and immediately started a second batch to ensure I had enough for my meal prep this week and froze some for later!
★★★★★
This is surprisingly easy and so fantastic. I’ve made it a number of times and its great to keep some always on hand frozen!!! This site is my go to for AIP recipes!
★★★★★
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, Barb. So glad you enjoyed and I totally agree re:keeping some on hand. It’s my #1 AIP hack!
Any suggestions on what I can use instead of red wine vinegar? Thank you!
Hello! You can try Apple cider vinegar instead
I’m searching for a vegan nomato sauce recipe and clicked this one because the title says “vegan”, but honey isn’t vegan.
Hi Danielle – I made it with maple syrup and it was delicious! I highly recommend this recipe.
★★★★★
the best nomato sauce i’ve made!
★★★★★
Thanks so much ?
Hello, I am loving your recipes. Two questions:
1-Could I make this with another squash? My daughter is allergic to butternut squash.
2-Could I use garlic infused olive oil? I am sensitive to too much garlic.
Hi Katie! Thanks so much. Yes and yes! Acorn squash, delicata squash and even sugar pumpkin would work well in this recipe 🙂
Would it still work without the vinegar? I have a another autoimmune disease that effects my bladder and I can’t eat anything acidic (like vinegar).
Hey Laura, the vinegar is what gives it the taste of tomatoes due to the acidity but it still tastes delicious without it!
As a first time “nomato” maker, I was deeply skeptical of a beet masquerading as a tomato. But this was so good!! The sweetness of the honey and the sourness of the vinegar is really well balanced and is a very good replacement for marinara sauce. Highly recommend.
★★★★★