Low-Carb Sauce Recipes

Find healthy, delicious low-carb sauce recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Quick Turkey Meat Sauce

Rating: Unrated
3
This lean Bolognese is made with ground turkey instead of ground beef and the result is just as delicious! Plus, finely chopped mushrooms are incorporated into the sauce (undetected!) for an easy way to eat more vegetables. Serve this healthy, hearty sauce with your favorite pasta, or over polenta with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
By Carolyn Casner

Sheet-Pan Sesame Chicken & Broccoli with Scallion-Ginger Sauce

Rating: Unrated
5
In this healthy sheet-pan chicken recipe, meaty bone-in chicken thighs and broccoli florets are tossed with sesame oil and roasted on the same pan for a delicious and easy dinner with minimal cleanup. While the chicken and broccoli cook, whip together the simple scallion-ginger sauce. The sauce would also be wonderful spooned over salmon, tofu or grain bowls; it is easily doubled or tripled!
By Carolyn Casner

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto & Chicken

Rating: Unrated
8
This healthy summer dinner subs zoodles for pasta to help use up your zucchini bounty--as well as slash calories and carbs. Once the spiralized zucchini has time to soak up the herby pesto sauce, this chicken and pesto pasta makes particularly good leftovers.
By Carolyn Casner

White Wine Lemon-Caper Sauce

Rating: Unrated
1
Got leftover white wine to use up? Lucky for you, using white wine for cooking can ramp up the flavor of your dish. Make this mouthwatering lemony sauce that's great for drizzling on roasted chicken, fish, halloumi or tofu. Or, use it as an easy homemade pasta sauce.
By Breana Killeen

Dill Mustard Sauce

Rating: Unrated
1
This tangy mustard-dill sauce recipe is delicious served with smoked salmon, used as a vegetable dip or spread on a sandwich.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chicken with Tomato-Balsamic Pan Sauce

Rating: Unrated
2
Fennel seeds give this tomato and balsamic sauce an extra kick, but if you don't have them on hand, try using cumin or coriander seeds, or 1 teaspoon of a ground herb or spice. Serve this easy chicken breast recipe with whole-wheat spaghetti or crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Save the unused chicken tenders in an airtight container in your freezer for up to 3 months. Once you have enough, thaw them out for another use.
By Julia Clancy

Honey-Soy-Ginger Glaze

Keep this super-simple, versatile glaze on hand and you will be able to elevate any type of grilled or roasted meat, poultry, seafood or vegetable to company fare. Wait until the food has 5 to 10 minutes left to cook before brushing with the glaze. Then turn often, brushing with glaze, to create a glossy crust.
By Robby Melvin

Avocado Pesto

Rating: Unrated
10
Avocados add a silky consistency and cheese-like richness to this dairy-free pesto recipe. Toss it with pasta, spread it on baguette slices to make bruschetta, or use it for a healthy mayo substitute on your sandwich.
By Jason Mraz

Cocoa-Rubbed Chicken Thighs with Orange-Pomegranate Salsa

Rating: Unrated
3
Make a big batch of the cocoa-infused spice rub in this healthy baked chicken thigh recipe and let it be your weeknight secret weapon. It's also great on salmon, steak and tofu. Serve with brown basmati rice or whole-wheat couscous.
By Julia Clancy

Gochujang Stir-Fry Sauce

Rating: Unrated
1
Get Korean street-food flavor with this quick and healthy homemade stir-fry sauce. Use it for stir-fries, as a marinade for chicken, beef or pork or for tossing with Asian noodles.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Thai Chicken

Rating: Unrated
1
A 20-minute entree that's sure to please picky eaters at your table, this Asian-inspired Thai chicken recipe is a great choice for last-minute dinners. If you have a little extra time, pair it with flavored rice and crisp-tender pea pods (see associated recipe) for a complete meal.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Rating: Unrated
11
This recipe for garden-fresh pizza sauce makes a batch large enough to top several pizzas. You can make it right now with fresh tomatoes, but if you have a bumper crop or just want to buy a lot of in-season tomatoes and put them up for another day, canning is not your only option: try freezing them. Just remove the cores and freeze them whole. Then, turn your frozen tomatoes into pizza sauce any time of the year.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Inspiration and Ideas

Pork Medallions with Cranberry-Onion Relish

Pork Medallions with Cranberry-Onion Relish

Ready in just 30 minutes, this pork tenderloin dish will please the whole family!
Garden Tomato Sauce

Garden Tomato Sauce

Rating: Unrated
1
This garden-fresh tomato sauce is a delicious way to use summer-ripe tomatoes. Or freeze whole tomatoes and make this sauce later on in the winter. Just remove the cores and freeze them whole. Then, turn your frozen tomatoes into a garden-fresh sauce any time of the year. For pizza sauce: In Step 2, cook until thickened to about the consistency of pizza sauce, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from the heat, transfer to a blender, add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and blend until smooth.
Chicken with Lemon-Caper Pan Sauce

Chicken with Lemon-Caper Pan Sauce

Rating: Unrated
1
Cajun Salmon with Greek Yogurt Remoulade

Cajun Salmon with Greek Yogurt Remoulade

Rating: Unrated
1
Pickled Garlic Cloves

Pickled Garlic Cloves

Homemade Hot Sauce

Homemade Hot Sauce

Rating: Unrated
5

Jason Mraz's Guacamole

In this easy guacamole recipe, musician Mraz prefers California Hass or Reed avocados because they are the creamiest. Adjust the heat, tang or other flavorings to suit your tastes.

All Low-Carb Sauce Recipes

Flank Steak with Chimichurri, Asparagus & Cauliflower Rice

This elegant steak dinner for two features asparagus drizzled with a bright chimichurri sauce. A bed of cauliflower rice sops all the extra juices, but you could stir the herby sauce into the rice for extra flavor. This dish is easy enough for a weeknight dinner but delicious enough for date night or a dinner party.
By Carolyn Casner

Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Sauce

This quick and simple recipe pairs grilled salmon with a sweet and nutritious blueberry sauce. Serve it with steamed snap peas for a colorful and great-tasting meal.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Peanut Dressing

Rating: Unrated
1
This creamy peanut dressing is as versatile as it is flavorful. Use it to dress kale or noodle salads, to jazz up hearty grain bowls with roasted tofu or chicken, or as a dip for spring rolls or fresh vegetables. If you prefer a thinner dressing, whisk in more water a teaspoon at a time.
By Carolyn A. Hodges, R.D.

Avocado Mayo

Creamy avocado becomes an amazing burger or sandwich spread when mixed with a touch of mayo in this healthy condiment recipe. It's particularly good on a BLT.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Cream Cheese Frosting

Rating: Unrated
2
This healthy and easy cream cheese frosting recipe is ready in just five minutes and makes enough to frost the top and sides of one 9-by-13-inch sheet cake. We made this frosting healthy, with less saturated fat and calories than traditional versions, by using reduced-fat cream cheese instead of full-fat cream cheese, using Greek yogurt in place of butter and keeping sugar to a minimum.
By Katie Webster

Provençal Fish Fillets

These fork-tender fish fillets reflect the cooking style of the Provence region of France. Dishes from the area often include olive oil, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and olives--and you'll find all of those in this 25-minute entree.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Ginger-Garlic Dipping Sauce

Rating: Unrated
1
In addition to being a delicious dipping sauce for dumplings, this can be used as a marinade for chicken, pork or tofu.
By Ying Chang Compestine

Soy Sauce Eggs

Rating: Unrated
2
Try this salty-sweet hard-boiled egg recipe as a swap for deviled eggs at your next party or as a midday snack. Or serve on top of your next ramen noodle bowl.
By Kathy Gunst

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Turn your food processor into a nut-butter-making machine with this easy recipe for homemade chocolate peanut butter. Try it on toast, spread on a banana or for a treat right off the spoon.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Cilantro Chutney (Kothmiri Chatni)

Rating: Unrated
1
Indian chutneys (or chatnis) are savory, vibrant and exploding with flavor, with a thin, saucy consistency. In this green chutney recipe, cilantro creates the basic sauce that serves as a condiment for many Indian snacks, street foods and sandwiches. The serrano chile gives it quite a blast of heat, so use less if you like a tamer sauce. Try this chutney in place of your favorite hot sauce.
By Shefaly Ravula & Amee Meghani

Skinny Guacamole

Rating: Unrated
2
This delicious guacamole recipe replaces half the amount of high-calorie avocado in a traditional guacamole recipe with a stealth, low-calorie vegetable--zucchini--to cut 100 calories and 6 grams of fat so we can eat more guacamole with fewer calories. We use the microwave to cook the zucchini until it's very tender, but you can steam it on the stovetop if you prefer.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Quick Cherry Sauce

Rating: Unrated
2
Frozen pitted cherries make this luscious sauce a snap to make. Try substituting frozen raspberries if you prefer.
By Katie Webster

Basil-Cream Sauce

Like an Alfredo sauce with a little added pizazz, this easy sauce recipe is great over pasta with chicken or even to top steak and green beans. Grate your own Parmesan instead of buying pre-grated--the cheese will melt better for a silkier sauce.
By Marianne Williams

No-Nut Butter

Rating: Unrated
1
If you have a nut allergy or need to pack nut-free lunches, try this easy recipe for homemade no-nut butter. For the best flavor, don't skip toasting the seeds.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Mexican Pickled Carrots

Rating: Unrated
5
This Mexican-style pickled carrot recipe is great for topping tacos, tostadas and/or quesadillas or as a side to any South-of-the-border entrée. These spicy carrots are also delicious added to a bowl of soup or tossed with spring greens, feta cheese and just a drizzle of olive oil.
By April McGreger

Coconut Shrimp with Creamy Dipping Sauce

Rating: Unrated
2
Our creamy, slightly spicy sauce pairs perfectly with this crispy coconut shrimp. The unsweetened coconut flakes get crunchy in the oven for the fried taste you love without the oily mess, plus they're better for you, too.
By Carolyn Casner

Double-Tahini Hummus

Rating: Unrated
1
You'll look like an expert with this easy hummus recipe that produces the lightest, silkiest hummus you've ever had. Chilling the cooked chickpeas ensures that when they're blended with the oil and cold tahini the hummus will come out creamy rather than oily. In a pinch, you can use the quick-soak technique (see Step 1), reduce the chilling time and still get great hummus.
By Michael Solomonov

New Mexican Red Chile Sauce

Rating: Unrated
4
This earthy chile sauce is super simple to make and is delicious on enchiladas or burritos. Or use it as the braising liquid for chunks of pork shoulder.
By Cheryl & Bill Jamison

Open-Face Barbecue Tilapia Sandwiches

Grilled fish nestled on a bed of crunchy coleslaw and capped off with a drizzle of barbecue sauce makes these diabetic-friendly sandwiches sure to please.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Huli Huli Chicken with Pineapple-Ginger Sauce

"Huli" is a Hawaiian word that means to turn over. Traditional versions of this dish are grilled, constantly turning the chicken back and forth as a rotisserie would. This easy recipe is made in the oven to save you time and elbow grease. Recipe adapted from Chef Greg Harrison, Pacific'O Restaurant.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Ragù alla Bolognese (Classic Bolognese Meat Sauce)

Rating: Unrated
5
This is a version of the famous meat sauce of Emilia Romagna, of which Bologna is the capital. Giuliano Hazan's family is from Emilia Romagna, and he learned to make Bolognese sauce from his mother, Marcella, who learned it from her grandmother, Mary. Its classic pairing is with homemade tagliatelle or pappardelle but it's also very good with rigatoni, shells or any substantial pasta shape, preferably one with ridges, that has nooks and cavities to trap the sauce. Adapted from How to Cook Italian by Giuliano Hazan; Scribner, 2005.
By Giuliano Hazan

Steak & Vegetables with Chimichurri Sauce

Rating: Unrated
1
Originally from Uruguay and Argentina, chimichurri is a sauce or marinade with the main ingredients being fresh parsley and garlic. In this recipe it is paired with grilled steak, zucchini and tomato skewers.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Tomato Salsa

You might want to double this recipe so you have extra for snacking. If using less-than-perfect tomatoes, consider adding a pinch of sugar to make up for the lack of natural sweetness.
By Ken Haedrich

Basic Basil Pesto

Rating: Unrated
5
Simplicity reigns in this traditional sauce--just basil, garlic, cheese and olive oil. Our one modification? We like omega-3-laden walnuts in the mix for their crunch and delicate flavor, but pine nuts, almonds, pecans or even pistachios may be substituted for the walnuts.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen
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