Nightshade-free ‘nomato’ beetroot marinara

I don’t think I’ve eaten a tomato-based pasta sauce for over a year. I find them highly acidic and I’m often left with acid reflux hours after enjoying a bowl. For me, the aftermath just isn’t worth it.

Don’t get me wrong, you’ll see a few recipes here that do contain nightshades but for the most part, I avoid them. Nightshade vegetables are part of the Solanaceae plant family and include tomatoes, capsicums, potatoes, and eggplants. All of which I loved eating, but when I realised they may be contributing to my joint pain, I consequently lowered the frequency of them in my diet. Other issues that may arise when eating nightshades include, irritable bowel disorders, gastrointestinal issues, heartburn and nerve sensitisation.

There are times I feel as though I can handle nightshades in small amounts – I’ll eat a potato bake or a few tomatoes in a Greek salad and “assume” I have no side effects from the meal but I think that may just be my subconscious trying to convince myself that everything is great haha!

Well a few weeks back, I reached the point where all I wanted was pasta. Having heard it may be possible to make a marinara with beetroot, I started on my recipe testing to make the perfect “nomato”, nightshade-free, beetroot marinara sauce. And I’m convinced this tastes just as good – even better than a regular tomato marinara.

To make the process easier, I would suggest having everything chopped and organised before starting. The first time I made this sauce, the cooking process was well over an hour. But since then, I’ve worked on the process and found I can reduce this significantly if I have all of my ingredients prepped beforehand.

Roasting your beetroot for 20-30 minutes before boiling them, will ensure the marinara resembles the sweetness of a normal tomato marinara.

This marinara can be stored in the fridge for up to one week. Which is perfect for when you have a few meals in mind that may need a delicious marinara sauce.

If you do get a chance to give this beetroot marinara a go, leave a comment/rating below and don’t forget to tag a photo with #live_minimal or @live_minimal on Instagram so I can see how your sauce turns out!

Looking for alternative meals to use this marinara? I’ve used this marinara as a pizza base topping and as a marinara sauce for my spaghetti with black bean meatballs.