A good tomato-free marinara is hard to come by. I know, I’ve tried many. Some nomato recipes are just too complicated, others are too sweet. I wanted something legit. When I had to give up nightshades for health reasons six years ago, the loss of tomatoes in my life was big. I set out to make a really, really good tomato-free marinara. This recipe is well-loved in my best selling cookbook Made Whole.
Table of Contents
Why Publish a Book Recipe Here?
I’m posting it to the blog today because I want to give some older recipe posts a makeover. Like my Nightshade Free Shakshuka and my Pulled Pork Recipe, both require a tomato-free marinara or nomato sauce for short. Instead of having you go out and find one, I thought it was time to bless the blog with one. Why reinvent the wheel, when the perfect Roasted Beet Marinara is in my book Made Whole. A tried and true recipe that people absolutely ADORE!
But Beets Taste like Dirt!
First off beets only taste like dirt when they are old, not peeled, or not cooked right. Secondly, this sauce doesn’t even taste like beets. So no matter if you like beets or not, if you like marinara, you will like this sauce!
Ingredients and Tools
To make this super easy and super delicious beet-based Tomato Free Marinara you will need:
- red beets, about 2 medium (or 1 pound)
- lard or duck fat (ghee if you can tolerate it)
- red wine vinegar (white wine vinegar will work too)
- bone broth (I like Kettle and Fire– code CASTAWAY for 25%off)
- nutritional yeast (Frontier coop has a non-fortified)
- olive oil
- garlic powder, onion powder, and optional black pepper (omit for AIP)
- Tools:
- Sheet pan
- cutting board
- knife
- blender
Step by Step for Tomato Free Marinara
Let’s get cooking! you’re going to love using this Tomato Free Marinara for your meatballs and noodles, for dunking, and making soups!
1. Slice beets into 1/4 inch rounds 2. Roast with fat and vinegar 
3. Remove when caramelized 4. Add remaining ingredients to the bleder 5. Add roasted beets 6. Blend on high until smooth 7. Like this! 8. Store in the fridge. 9. Use in place of tomato sauce in recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I won’t be AIP compliant, but those fats will work well. Not coconut oil though, it will skew the flavor.
Yes, as long as it’s some that has a little sweetness to it.
Fish sauce! 1 tablespoon.
Yes! Freeze it in cubes and pop them in a sauce pot to thaw and heat.
Soups, pizza, pasta! Anything you would use regular marinara for!
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Tomato Free Marinara (Roasted Beet Nomato)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Category: sauce
- Method: roast
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
An incredibly convincing marinara sauce made without nightshades. Tomato free marinara safe for those on the autoimmune protocol.
Ingredients
- 2 medium beets (about 1 pound)
- 1 tablespoon lard, duck fat or tallow
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup bone broth
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons dried Italian Herb Blend
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (omit for AIP)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Peel and slice beets into 1/4 inch slices. Toss with lard and 2 tablespoon vinegar and lay flat on a sheet pan. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until caramelized and tender. They should be a little sticky and sweet and dark around the edges.
- Scrape the beets and all the goodness from the sheet pan into a blender. Add the remaining ingredients and blend on high until smooth.
- If it’s too thick for your liking add more broth, if you want it thicker, simmer it stove top until it reaches desired consistency.
- Store in the fridge in a mason jar for up to 10 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 45
- Fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 2.3g
Cindy Pearson says
I love this recipe. My family loves this recipe and they have no idea how good it is for them. I don’t want to mess with perfection, but have you ever used “Love Beets” instead of roasting fresh beets? Just trying to save some time when in a pinch.
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
I have, but I roast them too! If you don’t the sauce tastes too much like beets and the color is a lighter pink 🙂
Michelle L. says
This is the BEST minato sauce. I keep some of this in the freezer at all times.
Cristina says
Thank you!!!
Steph says
This is now my favorite nomato sauce! Such a great flavor combo. I used ACV for my histamine-senstive husband and we enjoyed it on pork meatballs and zoodles. Even my preschooler like it!
Cristina says
Wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing Steph!
Roberta says
I have the book (great resource to prepare food for the whole family, even if others aren’t following any particular “diet”, and always inspirational to create my own adaptated recipes when I cannot consume some foods in the ingredients list), and already tested this appealing alterantive marinara… I can’t have tomatoes because they cause me itches everywhere (in the most embarassing sides of the body too!), other than being too carby for my diabetes; unfortunately I understood that beets are not accepted by my digestive tract and by my BG neither 🙁 But my dad loved this sauce so much he asked me to rpepare him again, something to be proud about considering how picky he is 😉