When my son began his elimination diet several weeks ago (gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and a lot of other things “free”), I was wracking my brains trying to figure out what to feed him.

One of the things I landed on was gluten-free pasta with meat sauce. We don’t usually eat pasta, but I know he likes it, so I thought it would be easy.

Did you know they put soy or soybean oil or some sort of soy something in almost everything? Even my favorite go-to Organic Marinara sauce from Trader Joe’s has soybean oil in it. 😣

The more I research soybean oil, the more I realize it just isn’t good. I’ll save that for another post.

So, what’s a mom to do? I decided to see if I could make my own quick pasta sauce. This is not your grandmother’s Sunday sauce. This is the “I have 15 minutes to make dinner” version of pasta sauce.

I looked in my pantry:

No salt added tomato sauce. ✅ (I like to add my own salt so I can control it)

Italian seasoning. ✅

Onion powder ✅

Garlic powder ✅

Salt & Pepper ✅

Game on.

I browned my ground beef and drained off the fat. Then I added the tomato sauce (1 14oz can plus 1 8oz can) and seasonings. I stirred it together and adjusted as needed.

Verdict? He love it. He said it reminded him of the pasta I made when we were in Iceland last year. We all LOVED that pasta, so I took that review to the bank. (Side note: there wasn’t anything special about it other than I didn’t make pasta on the regular.)

So, I’m not buying store bought marinara sauce again.

Why?

Because no one needs the extra junk they throw in for fun: sugar, salt, soybean oil, preservatives, and other additives to name a few.

Because it’s actually cheaper to make it this way and just as tasty.

Because I can control what it’s in it and feel good about what my kids are eating.

Maybe one day I’ll be the person who makes Sunday sauce from scratch, but today is not that day. I’m guessing it’s not your day either.

Grab the recipe below and let me know what you think in the comments!

PS If you like my cute spice jars, you can grab them here. https://amzn.to/49lhNsX (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

DIY Pasta Sauce

Print Recipe

Ditch the junk and make your own sauce in 5 minutes

Cook Time:10

Total Time:10

Equipment

1 pan
1 can opener
1 kitchen spoon

Ingredients

2 15oz cans no salt added tomato sauce I prefer Muir Glen Organic
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning adjust as needed
1 tsp onion powder adjust as needed
1 tsp garlic powder adjust as needed
1/2 tsp salt adjust as needed
1/2 tsp pepper adjust as needed

Instructions

If making meat sauce, brown meat in pan and drain off excess fat.
Return meat to stove and add tomato sauce and seasonings.
Stir to combine and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
If you are not making meat sauce, combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to simmer and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Notes

This recipe makes enough sauce for about 2 lbs of ground beef (or protein of your choice). If you like your sauce thicker or have less ground beef, you could use 1 15 oz can and 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce. Basically, I’m using a 1/2 can of tomato sauce (~7-8 oz) per 1/2 pound of ground beef. You can adjust to your own preferences.

Course: Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: gluten fee, gluten-free, low carb, low sugar, no added salt, no added sugar, soy-free

Servings: 5

Calories: 76kcal

Make Your Own Quick and Easy Soy-Free Pasta Sauce