I love a hearty plate of spaghetti. Unfortunately so many commercial spaghetti sauces are loaded with sodium. Even many recipes for homemade spaghetti sauce call for massive amounts of salt, and this is on top of ingredients that may already contain sodium. But we have a great alternative to getting flavor without all the sodium – red wine vinegar.
This recipe for low sodium spaghetti sauce is one of my favorites and is very easy to make. I love to use a nice lean ground beef for the meat but you can certainly make this without meat of you choose to do so. 1 lb of extra lean ground beef is the perfect amount. A good 90/10 or 93/7 mix is perfect without adding a lot or fat. As always, be sure to drain any fat off after cooking the ground beef in a pan.
For extra flavor we’ll use a ½ of chopped onion, 3 cloves of fresh minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano, in addition to some dry Italian seasoning. By using the fresh onion, garlic and oregano, the flavors become very prominent and make up for the lack of sodium.
The ingredients are all easy to find at most supermarkets. One thing to note regarding tomato paste – regular tomato paste and no-salt added tomato paste are the same thing. Tomato paste naturally is very low in sodium. If you can’t find the no-salt added version, just look at the sodium content on a regular can of tomato paste. It should be 15-20mg per serving.
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Low-Sodium Spaghetti Sauce
Description
Meat sauce for spaghetti that’s full of flavor and very low on sodium.
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 28oz can of no-salt added diced tomatoes
- 1 14oz can no-salt added tomato sauce
- 1 6oz can of no-salt added tomato paste
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (salt free)
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add onion, garlic and ground beef to a pan over medium heat. Stir and brown meat for about 5 minutes.
- After ground beef is cooked and fat drained, add all remaining ingredients to pan and stir over low/medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over cooked pasta
Notes
Approximately 120mg Sodium per ½ cup serving
Nutrition
- Sodium: 120mg
Thanks…for the low sodium recipes……would like nutritional info..on a very strict diet..thanks again.
Hi Carolyn, as a CHF survivor, this was one of my “goto” low sodium recipes. I will be adding sodium content amounts to the site very soon. Please check back!
I made this tonight and it was really good! Watching my sodium intake because of my blood pressure so I am very happy to stumble upon this recipe and this site. I thought 1 can of tomato paste was a lot but I am so glad I followed the recipe. Everything mixed together made a harmonious dish. Hubby is very happy with dinner tonight. He is also watching his sodium intake.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
I’m so glad you both liked it! Tomato paste is indeed one of the surprise low sodium foods. Very happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Can this be frozen?
Hi Bonnie. It sure can be.
Tried this recipe tonight. I am taking this no/low sodium journey and your recipes are helping my family down this road.
I really enjoyed making and eating this dish tonight very easy and the sauce had plenty of flavor.
I am trying the meatloaf next and the pickles (I miss pickles so much).
Thanks for the feedback, Ricky! And a quick note… I’m redesigning the site soon and will be adding several more recipes. So stay tuned! And good luck on your journey with low-sodium eating. It will be easier than you think.
Can I make this without the beef? I just wanted a low sodium sauce.
Yes indeed you can.
Hi!
I’m a CHF survivor and always looking for recipes. Will the follow us button connect me to your site? Thanks.
Tammy
Hello…..Can I make this without the beef? I just wanted a low sodium sauce.
Yes indeed
I made this tonight. Wonderful! I decided to cut the recipe in half, just to get a taste. This was easy and very tasty. Better than anything you’ll find in a (sodium-packed) jar at the grocery store. The sauce was a perfect consistency, not too thick nor too thin. And the spices and vinegar really add some zing to it. Thanks for the great recipe from someone who is watching her high blood pressure drop a lot by cutting back sodium. Too much in everything!
I’m glad you liked it Linda! The whole site is getting an overhaul soon. Check back soon for more recipes and big changes!
Stumbled upon this recipe on pinterest. Made it for dinner. Very tasty and lifestyle change/diet friendly!