It took me months to even attempt a low histamine pizza sauce, because I was so sure I’d only disappoint myself. Yet after a few experiments, I finally sorted out what makes a good pizza sauce without tomatoes and with loads of flavor. Hint: it’s the spices & the high temps!
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About this recipe
Low Histamine Sauce: I’ve replaced only the high histamine ingredients to make this red pepper sauce low in histamine and still delicious of eaters of all ages.
Antihistamine Powerhouse: Beyond the antihistamine properties of the garlic & capers, the olive oil, camu camu, and even the oregano in this recipe offer a bevy of heart-healthy fats and healthy plant chemicals.
High in Vitamin C: Camu camu powder is really the star of this show; a secret ingredient, if you will. Since you can’t really get the tartness of tomato paste from a fresh bell pepper, this fruit-based source of vitamin C (the reason for its tartness) is a safe, low histamine way to mimic some of the properties of tomato sauce.
Ingredients
Red Bell Peppers (Capsicum): considering how commonly bell peppers are used as a replacement for tomatoes, they are unsurprisingly the base of this recipe. These fresh low histamine veggies form a thick base for this ‘nomato’ sauce, making for a hearty replacement.
Raw Garlic: using raw garlic adds an umami element to the sauce that really complements meats and root vegetables.
Fresh Oregano: this is the main pizza-associated herb in this recipe, but it’s also a great antihistamine herb and I highly recommend using the fresh version in this sauce, if possible.
Camu Camu Powder: once a relatively unknown ingredient, this powder is a great low histamine source of vitamin C as well as a souring agent to replace the tart taste of tomato paste.
Smoked Paprika: this is an optional ingredient, but if you’re going to use anything that adds to your histamine bucket, this is going to be the best bang for your buck. It adds great complexity to the flavor of the sauce in just half a teaspoon.
How to make low histamine pizza sauce: step-by-step instructions
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 450°F/230°C. Wash your hot & bell peppers carefully, then cut each in half and remove the seeds (keep the seeds in the hot peppers if you want to make your sauce very spicy— not recommended, as heat irritates the stomach, causing inflammation).
Step 2. Arrange the pepper halves & garlic cloves on your baking tray, cut sides up, and drizzle everything with the high-heat oil or ghee (I don’t recommend using coconut oil). If you’re using smoked paprika, sprinkle it onto the peppers before they go into the oven.
Pro-Tip: I tried to flash-roast the bell peppers on the burner’s open flame, but that was an utter disaster, so I highly recommend sticking with a high-temp oven roast that keeps histamines low.
Step 3. Once the oven is preheated, roast the peppers in the oven for 30 minutes, turning the halves over and taking out the garlic after the first 15 minutes. While your peppers are roasting, measure out the capers, oregano, camu camu, salt, and pepper (if using). This is also a good time to take out or prepare your pizza dough, or even clean the kitchen!
Step 4. After the peppers are roasted, allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes and then cut them into 1-inch pieces, if they’re not softened enough for the food processor.
Step 5. Add one pepper half to the food processor, then add in the capers, oregano, camu camu, salt, and pepper, and blend it all together until a smooth paste. Add one more pepper half if the mixture won’t smooth out. Once you have all the spices in a paste, add in the rest of your peppers, garlic, and any oil left on the tray to your food processor, then blend until smooth or a little chunky, depending on how you like your sauce. Your pizza sauce is now all ready to be added to a pizza and baked a bit further!
Recipe notes & tips
Garlic: Someone commented that they believe garlic is a common histamine trigger, but most people tolerate garlic just fine; feel free to leave it out if you know it’s an issue for you. The same goes for the jalapenos & black pepper, as is noted in the recipe.
Spice Level. The first time I made this it was WAY too spicy, but adding 1 part pesto sauce to 1 part pizza sauce made for a delicious topping for each chicken and chickpea pasta, and it made the spice level bearable. So even if you accidentally make this too spicy, I highly recommend cutting it with pesto!
Adding Meat. If you can find and enjoy eating ground lamb, a half pound of lamb would go well in this recipe to make a ground meat nomato sauce for either pizza or pasta. Try adding in fresh basil for a real kick!
Easy to Freeze. Just like my pecan pesto recipe, you can freeze this pizza sauce in single servings in ice cube trays, and then transfer them to a glass container for long-term storage.
What to do with red pepper sauce
- put it on a low histamine pizza dough
- add it to your next bowl of pasta
- mix it into freshly-made grains
- replace the tomatoes in a Spanish omelette
Low Histamine Pizza Sauce FAQ
This pizza sauce can keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 year.
You can use any neutral high-heat oil, such as ghee.
Homemade Low Histamine Pizza Sauce Recipe Card
As always, if you like the recipe, I really appreciate a review or comment!
Low Histamine Red Pepper Sauce Recipe
A slightly acidic, umami-rich sauce perfect for pizza, pasta, and dips! Spice level is adjustable.
Ingredients
- 4 Organic Red Bell Peppers (Capsicum)
- 1-2 Organic Hot Peppers*
- 6-8 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. Organic Capers
- 3-4 tbsp. Organic Olive Oil (or Ghee)
- 1 tsp. Fresh Oregano
- 1/4 tsp. Camu Camu Powder
- 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. Smoked Paprika (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°F/230°C.
- Wash your hot & bell peppers carefully, then cut each in half and remove the seeds (keep the seeds in the hot peppers if you want to make your sauce very spicy).
- Arrange the pepper halves & garlic cloves on your baking tray, cut sides up, and drizzle everything with the olive oil or ghee (I don't recommend using coconut oil). If you're using smoked paprika, sprinkle it onto the peppers before they go into the oven. I tried to flash-roast the bell peppers on the burner's open flame, but that was an utter disaster, so I highly recommend sticking with a high-temp oven roast that keeps histamines low.
- Once the oven is preheated, roast the peppers in the oven for 30 minutes, turning the halves over and taking out the garlic after the first 15 minutes.
- While your peppers are roasting, measure out the capers, oregano, camu camu, salt, and pepper. This is also a good time to take out or prepare your pizza dough, or even clean the kitchen!
- After the peppers are roasted, allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes and then cut them into 1-inch pieces if they're not softened enough for the food processor.
- Add one pepper half to the food processor, then add in the capers, oregano, camu camu, salt, and pepper, and blend it all together until a smooth paste. Add one more pepper half if the mixture won't smooth out.
- Once you have your paste, add in the rest of your peppers, garlic, and any olive oil left on the tray to your food processor, then blend until smooth or a little chunky, depending on how you like your tomato sauce. Your pizza sauce is now all ready to be added to a pizza and baked a bit further!
Notes
SPICE: The first time I made this it was WAY too spicy, but adding 1 part pesto sauce to 1 part pizza sauce made for a delicious topping for each chicken and chickpea pasta, and it made the spice level bearable. So even if you accidentally make this too spicy, I highly recommend cutting it with pesto!
GARLIC: someone commented that they believe garlic is a common histamine trigger, but most people tolerate garlic just fine; feel free to leave it out if you know it's an issue for you. The same goes for the jalapenos & black pepper, as is noted in the recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 269.67kcalTotal Fat: 22.22ggSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 68gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 518.31mgmgCarbohydrates: 17.66ggFiber: 4gSugar: 8.38ggProtein: 3.13gg
Nutrition data is primarily accumulated from online calculators for convenience and courtesy only, and can vary depending on factors such as measurements, brands, and so on. We encourage you to double-check and make your own calculations.
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Sara
Wednesday 18th of May 2022
How are jalapeño peppers low histamine?
lowhistamineeats
Wednesday 18th of May 2022
The peppers themselves are low histamine, but the capsaicin in them can be irritating, so as long as you don't have issues with nightshades, you can have jalapeños in moderation-- you're right that there should be an asterisk there due to the capsaicin content.
Nikola
Saturday 18th of December 2021
Oh my! Mouth watering so bad! But I wanted to drop a note-I also have lupus and get severe gut and joint pain when I eat bell peppers and other similar Foods in the nightshade family. Tomatoes kick my butt of course too so I have tried making a sauce with pureed vegetables like carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, but no such luck yet. I always have camu camu on hand so I will have to continue experimenting.
But do you have any recommendations for those of us who want pizza or pasta sauce but can't have any nightshades? I was hoping to pick that amazingly inventive brain of yours. I just finally got gluten-free lasagna noodles, they were out of stock over a year and half for me! Can't wait to get my Italian on.
Thank you for everything you do for our community, it means so much.
Finally, I can let myself dream of pizza. 🙏💗
Justine Melisande
Sunday 20th of November 2022
@lowhistamineeats, Nightshades are high in lectins. As are many other low histamine foods sadly! Lectins are often the cause of joint pain I have found. Mast cell 360 website has a great list of low histamine, low lectin foods. Even more overwhelming though! I too will try my hand a finding a sauce for pizza and add it here if successful! Maybe even deciding to do a pizza sauce, but not make it like tomato 🍅 sauce might be the key. I was thinking if roasting carrots, zucchini (high in lectins too though), onion, garlic, basil, salt, and artichoke hearts and purée them all. More of a white sauce but likely yummy in pizza none the less!
lowhistamineeats
Monday 20th of December 2021
Hi, Nikola! I hear you on the tomatoes, and I sympathize with your loss of bell peppers. I'd never heard of joint pain as being connected to a food allergy, but I'm honestly not sure why I hadn't thought of it before... I've been having mild/moderate joint pain for the last several months, even as my histamine symptoms/bucket remains low, so I'll have to think about eliminating nightshades to see if there's a connection there.
As for the pizza sauce conundrum, I assume you've tried beet- and carrot-based "no-mato" sauce recipes and the results have been unimpressive. So while I haven't tried any recipes like this in my own kitchen quite yet, here are my thoughts: what we mainly need to do is recreate the many complex characteristics of the tomato. If you think about tomato sauce's flavors, they're sweet and umami with a hint of bitterness, as well as tangy and acidic without being sour. There's mild bitterness and generally a lot of herbs (oregano, thyme, etc.), as well as onions and garlic. To replace everything that the tomato brings you need something sweet, savory, a bit sour, and chunky but soft. I'd start off by pureeing roasted beets & carrots with some par-boiled cauliflower and adding chunks of granny smith apple until the mixture tastes sweet enough. From there you can experiment with varying amounts of pomegranate juice, camu camu, and sumac for the acidity/tang.
I don't have the mental bandwidth to work on any recipes this month, but this is a good project to take on in the new year. Thank you for your comment, Nikola, and I hope you enjoy some lasagna (& pizza) very soon! 💗
Katie
Wednesday 29th of September 2021
Is it okay to omit the Camu Camu? Or is there a substitution? Also, love the idea of mixing this sauce with a pesto! Thanks so much for all the recipe ideas - having histamine intolerance is definitely overwhelming.
lowhistamineeats
Thursday 30th of September 2021
Hi, Katie! You can certainly omit the camu camu, though it adds a bit of tangy bitterness that makes the sauce a little more complex. If you have it, sumac is a good substitution, but it's also fine to omit altogether. I hope you enjoy the sauce, and thank you for visiting the site-- HIT is waaaaaay overwhelming, for sure!
Foro Huerto
Friday 14th of May 2021
Good recipe! Thanks!
lowhistamineeats
Friday 14th of May 2021
You're very welcome! Glad you liked it. :)