Tomato-Free ?Marinara? Sauce

This is such a cool recipe! I have not made it in a few years, in fact I forgot about until I made a post and referenced a disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE). Sam used to have a playmate with EE and I got the opportunity to play around with different combinations of foods that never would have occurred to me in a million years! Several recipes would have made my stomach churn just by reading the ingredients and this is one of them!

It was trick-or-treat night in 2005 and Sam and his little buddy we’re going out for the first “real” time to beg for goodies (I say “real” time because I took him out the first time when he was 18 days old, but I don’t think that counts! ). We wanted to make a little party of it and pizza sounded like a great idea, never mind the fact that this little boy could not have tomatoes, dairy, beef, pork, mushrooms… you name it. If it was a “classic” pizza topping, it was pretty much off limits. Of course, I was too stubborn to just give up there! I made the following sauce and we made pizza with just the sauce and added chopped black olives, no cheese or anything else and it was really good! Think Bruschetta on a pizza crust.

Nothing warms my heart more than to see little sets of eyes light up, especially when those eyes belong to little ones that battle such serious medical issues. Children such as these, who have been through more in one short lifetime than most adults ever go through in 40+ years, remind me of the pure and true joy in life. To make a child a pizza that consists of the following ingredients and to get a reaction greater than if you had bought them the latest “it” toy, is priceless.

I don’t remember where I originally found this recipe but Living Without Magazine has it on their website here. One of the reasons I am making it again is not because I need to stay away from nightshades, but it is a really great way to “sneak” some very powerful vegetables in my family’s diet. While I love pumpkin, beets are another thing altogether! When I see a beet, especially those from a can, all I can think of is going to MCL Cafeteria (Ohio), as a kid with my parents and seeing all the “mature” patrons eating pickled beets with eggs. UFTA!

Please forgive me if you love pickled beets, I am not picking on anyone. It’s funny to me how an experience from childhood can still have such a powerful impact on your acceptance of a food! Or even how our food memories of childhood can make a later-in-life celiac diagnosis all the harder to accept (especially if you are “asymptomatic,” like I was, and are not motivated by pain to make the necessary dietary change). I have even tried roasting fresh beets and they still make me think of pickled beets… they (pickled beets) smell like sour dirt to me, plain and simple. Regular beets just smell like regular dirt though. Never one to give up, and trying to practice what I preach to my kids, “eat them, they are good for you!” I am now applying the same rule to myself. Before, when they would ask why I didn’t eat certain foods that I made them eat, I would just say, “I am done growing so I don’t need (“insert yucky vegetable here“). But now that Sam is 6, he is on to me. I think I actually use the Deceptively Delicious cookbook more for me than my kids! I need to hide certain flavors and smells in order to get them down. This is one of those types of recipes, if you can get past opening the can of beets (think clothespin on your nose).

Tomato-Free Marinara Sauce

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped, (optional) (I used 2 cloves of garlic)

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tbs. Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar (in the end, I ended up adding a little more, maybe a tsp.)

1 (8-ounce) can Beets*, drained (reserve the liquid) (Get your clothespin or hold your breath! )

1 (14-15 ounce) can Pumpkin Puree (make sure it is not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2-3/4 cups gluten-free Chicken or Vegetable broth (I used Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock)

1 tsp. Coarse Salt

24 grinds Fresh Black Pepper

1/3-1/2 cup Chopped Fresh Basil (I used 1/4 cup dried Basil, plus I added a couple of Tbs. dried Oregano)

1 ½ tsp. Cornstarch or Arrowroot, moistened with 2 Tbs. reserved beet juice

Sautee onion and garlic in oil until onion is translucent and slightly brown.


Add lemon juice and vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes.


Puree beets until very smooth. (I did this in my food processor, but a blender would be fine too. You will a little liquid to help the pureeing process: use some beet juice or water, maybe 1/4 cup or so)


Add pureed beets, pumpkin puree, salt, pepper and basil to pan. Stir until combined.


Whisk in the broth. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Do not over-cook; beets discolor with prolonged cooking. If sauce is too thick, add a little more broth to thin.


Whisk in the moistened cornstarch (or arrowroot). Cook for 1 more minute. Taste and adjust seasoning.

*TIP: If you prefer, you can use fresh beets. Roast them in the oven until soft and puree them in a food blender before adding to recipe.

TIP: If the sauce seems too acidic, add a teaspoon or two of sugar. (I added about a tsp. of Agave Nectar instead of sugar)

This is really good, all my guys liked it too, and could not guess what was actually in it! WOO-HOO! I am going to use this sauce for a couple of things this weekend and will hopefully get the recipes up next week!

I found some really interesting stuff on Nightshade allergies, so if you are interested, check out this.