These three pasta sauce recipes are all low in calories, and high in flavor! I make each pasta sauce easy by using ingredients you can find in any store… No weird ingredients!
Making pasta sauce homemade can help you save money and calories. And below you’ll find recipes for Marinara, Alfredo, and Pesto homemade sauces for pasta, pizza, or anything you like really.
Each recipe for pasta sauce will include a shopping list, nutrition, and tips to make it fast and easy.
Below you will learn how to make homemade sauce for pasta… Sauces included are Marinara, Pesto and Creamy Alfredo.
Pasta Sauce Recipes
No matter what your favorite pasta sauce recipe is, we have you covered with healthy, easy to make recipes.
I’ve shed 100’s of calories from each homemade pasta sauce recipe, so you can enjoy your favorite dish without ruining your diet.
Below you will find how to make a pasta sauce healthy, and your favorite recipe for pasta sauce in a printable recipe card!
Here’s what you’ll find in this article:
- Classic Marinara Pasta Sauce Ingredients (shopping list!)
- Printable Marinara Pasta Sauce Recipe Card
- Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce Ingredients (shopping list!)
- Printable Alfredo Pasta Sauce Recipe Card
- Easy Pesto Pasta Sauce Ingredients (shopping list!)
- Printable Pesto Pasta Sauce Recipe Card
Each recipe for pasta sauce comes with nutrition, a shopping list, and a sharable recipe card that you can pin, post, or print. This way you can make your favorite pasta with sauce recipes anytime.
Below you will find 3 recipes for pasta sauce recipe white sauce, green (pesto) and red sauce (marinara)…
Classic Marinara Pasta Sauce Recipe
This easy pasta sauce can be made in the slow cooker, Instant Pot, or on the stove top! I’ve included all the directions for you in the recipe card.
Marinara sauce pasta recipes can be made several ways, but the ingredients always stay the same. Make sure to get the best quality you can afford, as the ingredients are so few.
This is the most traditional pasta in sauce recipe, I prefer to make marinara sauce with basil… However you can use Italian Seasoning if getting fresh basil is difficult.
Marinara Pasta Sauce Shopping List:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Crushed tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
- Italian Seasoning or fresh basil
- Sugar
- Salt and pepper
Below you will find a recipe card for traditional marinara sauce, for more pasta sauces… keep scrolling!
Classic Marinara Pasta Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 onion minced
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Fresh chopped basil or Italian Seasoning
- Pinch of sugar
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of black pepper
Instructions
STOVETOP INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sauté 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, 1 cup water, Italian Seasoning, sugar, and salt. Cook over low heat for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to avoid burning.
INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine the oil and onion in an Instant Pot. Set the pot to sauté on medium heat and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then hit cancel.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, Italian Seasoning, sugar, and salt to the pot, cover, and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
- Transfer the onion and garlic to a slow cooker and add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, Italian Seasoning, sugar, and the salt. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 to 12 hours.
Video
Nutrition
Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce
This white pasta sauce is low in calories, and only 5 ingredients! Instead of using heavy cream for pasta sauce, we use metabolism boosting almond milk, plus a nice bite of parmesan cheese to add flavor.
The milk makes this pasta sauce creamy, without a lot of calories you’re left with a low calorie creamy pasta sauce for only 133 calories!
This Alfredo sauce, also know as pasta sauce white, is simple to make and stores well in the fridge for up to a week. I keep it in a mason jar so all I have to do is give it a good shake before reheating.
Creamy Alfredo Sauce Shopping List:
- Unsalted butter or vegan butter
- Flour (all-purpose or gluten-free)
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Garlic
- Parmesan Cheese
Below in the recipe card you will how to make sauce for pasta Alfredo style…
Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons flour all-purpose or gluten-free
- 3 cups unsweetened almond milk or 1% milk
- 1 garlic clove whole
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese freshly grated or hard vegan cheese
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.
- Whisk in the flour, and cook whisking often until the mixture browns. About 5 minutes.
- Add the milk and garlic, and whisk together.
- Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often.
- Once the sauce coats the spoon, remove the garlic clove and discard.
- Mix in the parmesan cheese and serve over pasta, chicken, even on homemade pizza.
Nutrition
Easy Pesto Pasta Sauce Recipe
Not all pasta sauces recipes have to be creamy or heavy. This light pesto sauce is perfect tossed in hot pasta. You can add 1/4 cup of pasta water to thin it, but I find the thick sauce quickly distributes in the pasta when tossed together.
This pasta with sauce recipe is packed full of basil, which is a natural anti-inflammatory. Make sure you get fresh basil for this recipe as dried will not work.
All of these recipes pasta sauce are low in calories and high in nutrition. But I really love that this basil packed sauce is so good for you!
Pesto Pasta Sauce Shopping List:
- Fresh basil leaves
- Olive oil
- Pine nuts
- Garlic
- Parmesan cheese
This pesto sauce goes great on pasta, on homemade pizza, even on toast! You’ll want to spread it on everything!
Easy Pesto Pasta Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon freshly shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan to a food processor or blender.
- Blend until you reach desired consistency adding 1 teaspoon of water at a time to thin if needed.
Nutrition
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