Nomato Sauce – Copycat recipe
Make this Nomato Sauce Recipe for an AIP (AutoImmune Protocol) compliant, nightshade vegetables-free tomato sauce substitution. This sauce is also, gluten-free and vegan. Instructions for both stovetop and instant pot preparation are provided.
If you have nightshade intolerance, autoimmune disease, allergies, or a different health issue, you may need to avoid tomatoes. But, what if you or one of your family members loves spaghetti sauce, pizza, a tomato-based chili, and the like? What if a hearty pasta sauce is one of your favorite comfort foods? Then I’ve got good news! Nomato Sauce will be your new best food friend as it is a great substitute for real tomato sauce.
Nomato Sauce is an anti-inflammatory tomato sauce alternative made with vibrantly healthy carrots, beets, pureed pumpkin, celery, onion, and garlic. This medley of root vegetables comes as close to a traditional tomato sauce as I’ve ever tested.
Table of Contents
Bear in mind that each time you make this Nomato Sauce recipe, there may be slight differences in taste, given that your carrots might be sweeter than average or your garlic stronger than usual. Still, all-in-all, this is an excellent alternative for those who need to avoid tomatoes.
I used all red beets for the sauce pictured, so it has a bit of a purple red colour. If you want to get closer to the orange-red of tomatoes, use one yellow beet and one red beet.
And this recipe is really just a jumping-off place for you to experiment. Feel free to add different spices or swap out the pumpkin for butternut squash. I like red wine vinegar to get the tang of tomatoes, but you may prefer balsamic vinegar. I love that you can really make this recipe your own.
Nomato Sauce (Tomato-Free Tomato Sauce)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 4 carrots peeled and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 4 stalks of celery or celery ribs
- 1 15- ounce can of pumpkin puree or butternut squash puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 2 small beets chopped. I used two red, but if you want a color closer to tomato sauce, use one red and one yellow.
- 1 1/2 cups water chicken or bone broth or vegetable broth (plus more as needed to achieve the desired consistency)
- 3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Chop all vegetables roughly, I use my food processor.
- Add carrots, celery, pumpkin, beets, and water to stockpot
- Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20-30 minutes until carrot and beets are soft.
- Either use an immersion blender or add all ingredients to a blender and process until smooth and your desired consistency. Add additional liquid if necessary. I used my Vitamix, which easily processed this sauce to a smooth consistency.
- Stir in red wine vinegar and salt and black pepper to taste.
IF USING AN INSTANT POT:
- Heat olive on sautee setting, add onions and garlic, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Chop all vegetables roughly, I use my food processor.
- Add carrots, celery, pumpkin, beets, and liquid to the instant pot
- Cook on manual setting for 15 minutes, then quick release.
- Carefully remove the lid and when it is cool enough to handle, use your immersion blender or high-speed blender to puree the vegetables, adding the vinegar and salt. I used my Vitamix, which easily processed this sauce to a smooth consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
HOW TO USE NOMATO SAUCE
With this nomato sauce, you and your family can still enjoy pizza or pasta night.
- Add some Italian Seasoning to nomato sauce for a pizza sauce.
- Stir in fresh herbs like oregano and basil or an Italian herb blend for a nightshade-free marinara sauce.
- Add 2 1/2 cups of your Nomato Sauce to a pound of sauteed ground meat like beef, sausage, pork or a combination of both (maybe with a few slices of diced bacon) to make bolognese sauce or meat sauce.
Bookmark this page or pin the following image to refer back to this Nomato Sauce Recipe in the future.
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Thank you so much for a tomato sauce alternative. I have recently been diagnosed with acid reflux and tomatoes are definitely a trigger for me to feeling bad, unfortunately. Ordinarily I do not care for beets but will try this soon. I always have used tomatoes a lot in my meals.
Good Morning Susan,
I’m hopeful you like this Nomato sauce recipe! You can always adjust it to your taste. If you feel it is too ‘beety’, reduce the amount of beets you put in it. Let me know what you think and if you end up adjusting it.
Lynn