This Italian Meat Sauce is a hearty and incredibly flavorful classic tomato sauce, with no added sugar, that is quick and easy to make. Serve this restaurant-quality sauce over your favorite Keto pasta substitute or use in your favorite Italian casseroles.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Keto Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

• Classic Italian tomato-based sauce
• With hearty ground beef and savory Italian sausage
• Simmered until thick and rich, with restaurant-quality flavor
• Serve over your favorite low carb pasta substitute
• Quick and easy to make

If you like Italian food, this is a great recipe to have in your back pocket! With this easy Keto spaghetti sauce recipe, you will never want to buy the stuff in the jar again! This easy to follow recipe will help you avoid common mistakes that make homemade keto sauces taste bland, with pro tips for rich, restaurant-quality flavor.

You can serve this sauce over zucchini noodles and in low carb lasagna. Like most authentic Italian meat sauce recipes, using a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage creates phenomenal layers of flavor. Enjoy with Palmini noodles, which makes a great Low Carb pasta substitute!

You’ll want to make a double batch of this amazing homemade Keto spaghetti sauce, so you can freeze the leftovers to enjoy another time! Scroll own to see a few creatives ways to use this Keto meat sauce beyond a pasta substitute.

🛒 Ingredients for Homemade Meat Sauce

• Ground Beef
• Sweet Italian Sausage
• Crushed Tomatoes
• Basil
• Garlic
• White Wine
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Water

*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.

🥣 Recommended Tools

• Dutch oven or braiser

🔪 How to Make Keto Italian Meat Sauce

Start by adding the ground beef and sausage to a braiser or Dutch oven. Break up the meat with a spatula and cook over medium heat until browned. Make sure you get some good color, this will help give the sauce great flavor.

Be sure to cook the meat until the juices have reabsorbed back into the meat. This will help keep the meat flavorful and juicy, not dried out.

Remove the meat and set it aside.

Next, add in the olive oil and garlic. Sauté the garlic for 20 to 30 seconds being very careful not to burn it.

Once the garlic is sautéed, deglaze the bottom of the pot with the wine, scraping up all those delicious little brown bits. Allow the wine to reduce by half.

Next goes in the tomatoes, water, basil, salt and pepper. Stir really well to make sure everything is incorporated.

Finally, just add the meat back into the pot and simmer covered on low for 30 minutes.

You will want to stir the sauce occasionally making sure to scrape down the sides.

Serve over your favorite low carb pasta like zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash or palmini.

Are Palmini Noodles Keto Friendly?

Absolutely! Palmini pasta is not actually pasta at all. It’s harvested from the heart of palm trees. And because it is made from a low carb vegetable and does not contain ANY grains, like traditional pasta, Palmini makes the perfect noodle substitution.

☑️ Storage Instructions

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up 3-4 days or freeze.

🍴 Ways to Use Italian Meat Sauce

You can serve this Keto meat sauce over your favorite low carb pasta, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash or palmini noodles. Or you can use it in dishes such as:

• Zucchini Rollatini
• Spaghetti Squash Casserole
• Zucchini Lasagna
• Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini Boats

💡 Tips for Making the Best Low Carb Spaghetti Sauce

• Brown the ground beef and sausage long enough until the juices are reabsorbed, instead of just draining it off. This will keep the meat juicy and not dried out.
• Don’t overcook the garlic, you don’t want it to brown in the slightest, otherwise it will be bitter and ruin your sauce.
• Deglaze the pan using the white wine on medium-high heat, rather than low, as this will help lift the delicious brown bits of flavor (fond) off the bottom of the pot. Doing this will give your sauce tremendous flavor. Anyone who wipes out the pot is throwing away free flavor, don’t do it!
• Before I add the water to the sauce, I pour it into the empty can from the crushed tomatoes and mix it around to grab any sauce left in the can.

🔄 Substitutions and Additions

• For an extra hearty low carb pasta sauce, you can add mushrooms. You can even use different types of mushrooms for added texture. Just sauté them after you brown the meat and before you add in the garlic.
• If you want a vegetarian sauce, you can just leave out the meat and use mushrooms, grated celery and carrots for a meatless bolognese.
• To add a little kick, add red pepper flakes. Easy does it though, a little goes a long way.
• This recipe calls for crushed tomatoes but you can use canned whole tomatoes and crush them yourself. If you do this, you’ll want to add in a little tomato paste and some water to make the sauce more saucy.
• If you’re a fan of bell pepper, you can add some in just be sure to sauté them right before adding in the garlic. Orange, yellow and red bell peppers have a milder flavor than green and will not overpower the sauce.

Are There Carbs in Tomato Sauce?

The amount of carbs in tomato sauce varies based on the brand. Because many companies add sugar to their tomato sauce, it’s always best to use canned tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes) so that you can control what ingredients you use.

This low carb Italian meat sauce recipe only has approximately 4 net carbs per serving! The carbs come from natural sugar found in the tomatoes, not from added sugar.

Is meat sauce keto friendly?

Absolutely! You’ll want to get the lowest carb tomato sauce that you can find, just to keep the carbs and sugar low, but it’s perfectly fine for a Keto diet.

What is the best spaghetti sauce for keto?

This is a matter of personal preference. You can go with a traditional Marinara Sauce or make this meat sauce to add more heartiness. I like to use the two difference sauces for different dishes.

What is the difference between spaghetti meat sauce and bolognese?

Spaghetti meat sauce, like this recipe, ground meat and an emphasis on tomato, using a marinara base. Bolognese has the same, but also uses a soffritto (finely diced carrots, celery and onions) with less emphasis on the tomatoes.

What Italian dishes are keto friendly?

I have so many Italian recipes to choose from, but these are a few of my favorites:

• Chicken Caprese
• Italian Beef Braciole
• Chicken Piccata
• Italian Spaghetti Squash Casserole
• Chicken Cacciatore

*Originally published on July 20, 2018, updated on July 29, 2026 with improvements to the recipe, new photos, new recipe information and helpful tips.