Easy Low Sodium Pasta Sauce

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This is a low sodium pasta sauce recipe that has no added salt! It still has all the great flavors of an Italian marinara sauce recipe that is great for getting together with friends and family. I promise you will still get the same feels when you walk into the house to the aromatics of a slow simmered marinara sauce. This is an easy recipe, made with fresh herbs, natural ingredients and canned tomatoes.

Ingredients for low sodium pasta sauce:

This is what you need to make this sauce recipe:

• Crushed tomatoes - No salt added or low sodium, I used Italian tomatoes but any kind will work
• Tomato Paste - concentrated flavor that will help enhance the flavor of the tomatoes
• Onion - Sweet vidalia or yellow onions work best because they are sweeter
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Parsley
• Fresh Garlic cloves
• Sugar - added sugars for enhanced sweetness and to offset acidity from the tomatoes
• Olive Oil - Extra-Virgin Olive oil is a popular choice but any olive oil will work
• Italian Seasoning
• Garlic Powder
• Black Pepper

How to make low sodium pasta sauce

I'll be honest, low-sodium pasta sauces never really seemed too appealing. Salt is one of the key ingredients in so many great, and timeless recipes. That has proved to be problematic because it is added to almost everything these days, and not in moderation either.

As anybody in an Italian family will know, salt and sauce are very close, almost synonymous. This recipe hopes to bridge the gap for people that are trying to monitor their salt intake but don't want to give up the flavor.

Begin by cutting the onion into quarters and remove the outer layers. Rough chop the fresh garlic and set aside.

Next, heat all of the olive oil on medium heat in a large pot and add the chopped onion and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Drop the fresh chopped garlic in and simmer for another minute. Add the garlic powder, sugar, Italian seasonings, black pepper and tomato paste. Grab yourself a wooden spoon and stir until the ingredients are distributed evenly.

Dump in the cans of crushed tomatoes, followed by the cans of water. Stir everything together, put in the parsley and half of the basil.

Bring the sauce pot to a boil and then reduce and simmer on low heat, uncovered for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally and keeping an eye on the sauce line. The level of sauce should be 2 or 3 inches below the original line.

This is the traditional slow cooking process that cooks the water level down which brings all of the flavors together of the tomato sauce and the longer it cooks for the thicker sauce will get.

Scoop out the onion, parsley and basil. Throw in the remaining fresh basil leaves and stir.

Enjoy this low sodium marinara sauce recipe any time you get the urge for a pasta night which in my house is at least once a week! You do not have to sacrifice a great homemade taste and can still enjoy this pasta sauce. Doc's always saying I have too much salt in my diet, well this one's for all the doctors out there!

What to serve with this low sodium pasta sauce:

Your favorite pasta!! Mine is Spaghetti and Rigatoni.

Baked Chicken Breast

Meatballs

Peppers and onions

Fresh Italian Bread

Tips for making this recipe:

• Fresh ingredients make for the best sauce. Consider farmers market or homegrown for the freshest.
• San Marzano tomatoes are a well known variety that are great for sauce making.
• Add a can of diced tomatoes with all of the liquid at the same time as the crushed tomatoes for a chunky marinara sauce. Diced tomatoes with no salt added are more and more common at your local grocery store which is great for folks looking to limit sodium intake.
• Fresh tomatoes can also be used but there is a bit more time involved because you need to remove the skins and crush the pulp but definitely worth it if you have the time
• There is not much sodium at all, the canned, crushed tomatoes have about 10mg per serving size which is not added but is not much compared to the American Health Association that recommends less than 2,300 mg of sodium daily value and an ideal limit of 1,500 mg per day.
• I usually stick to small batches that make 2 or 3 jars of sauce at a time but if you would like to make a large batch, double or triple the recipe!
• One jar of sauce is an ideal serving size for 4 people.
• Absolutely add extra salt to your comfort level if you would like - I think up to 1 teaspoon would still be a reasonably low level