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 low histamine spices & the high temps!
For other sauces that go great on pasta, also try my beet pasta sauce and my creamy coconut milk pasta sauce.
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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, sumac, and even the oregano in this recipe offer a bevy of heart-healthy fats and healthy plant chemicals.
High in Vitamin C: 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.
Carrots: whether you use 1 or 2, these both bulk up the sauce and add some extra sweetness.
Fresh Onion: this roasts up quite sweet and adds a beautiful roasted undertone to this nomato sauce.
Raw Garlic: using raw garlic adds an umami element to the sauce that really complements meats and root vegetables.
Oregano: this is the main pizza-associated herb in this recipe, but it's also a great antihistamine herb and I can recommend using either the dried or fresh version in this sauce, if possible.
Capers: I use these preserved berries as a way of adding complexity and a touch of vinegar flavor to the red sauce, though you can leave them out if not tolerated.
Sumac Powder: once a relatively unknown ingredient, this powder is a great source of antioxidants as well as a souring agent to replace the tart taste of tomato paste. Camu camu is a great alternative.
How to make low histamine pizza sauce: step-by-step instructions
Step 1. Wash your bell peppers and carrots carefully, then cut each pepper into quarters and remove the seeds, and peel the carrots and cut them in half. Peel the garlic and onion, and cut the onion into 3 or 4 chunks.
Step 2. Arrange the pepper pieces, carrots, onion & garlic cloves in your air fryer and drizzle or baste everything with the olive oil or ghee (I don't recommend using coconut oil), cooking them in 2 batches if needed.
Step 3. No need to preheat the air fryer, but just put everything in and set it to 380°F (195°C) and roast for 15 minutes, taking out the garlic after the first 8-10 minutes, once it’s fully browned.
Pro-Tip: I tried to flash-roast the bell peppers on the burner's open flame and then to cook everything in my oven on convection, but that was an utter disaster, so I highly recommend sticking with the air fryer.
Step 4. While your vegetables are roasting, measure out the capers, oregano, sumac, salt, and fresh basil. You’ll want to wash the basil leaves before pulling them off. This is also a good time to take out or prepare your pizza dough, or even clean the kitchen!
Step 5. 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 6. Add one or two pepper pieces to the food processor, then add in the capers, oregano, sumac, salt, and basil, and blend it all together until a smooth paste. Add one more pepper piece if the mixture won't smooth out.
Step 7. Once you have your paste, add in the rest of your peppers, carrots, onion, garlic, and any olive oil left in the air fryer to your food processor, then blend until smooth or a little chunky, depending on how you like your nomato sauce. Your pizza sauce is now all ready to be added to pasta or 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. Try using garlic-infused oil, if you still want that garlicky flavor.
Adding Meat: If you can find and enjoy eating lamb, a half pound of lamb would go well in this recipe to make a ground meat nomato sauce for either pizza or pasta. Ground it yourself, if you're worried about store-bought versions.
Crust Options: if you don't want to use my pizza crust recipe, try Capello’s grain-free pizza crust or a homemade Simple Mills almond flour crust to make a pizza, topped with fresh mozzarella and chopped basil. I also like to add pea sprouts for a touch of healthier indulgence.
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
- mix it into freshly-made grains
- replace the tomatoes in a Spanish omelette
- add it to your next bowl of pasta
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.
As always, if you like the recipe, I really appreciate a review or comment!
📖 Recipe
Red Pepper Nomato Sauce for Pizza
Ingredients
- 4 Organic Red Bell Peppers Capsicum
- 1-2 medium carrots more is less sweet
- 1 small onion
- 6-8 cloves garlic
- 3-4 tbsp. Organic Olive Oil or Ghee
- 1 sprig fresh basil 6-8 large leaves
- 1 tsp. Organic Capers
- 1 tsp. Dried Oregano
- ½ tsp. Sumac alt. Camu Camu
- ½ tsp. Sea Salt
Instructions
- Wash your bell peppers and carrots carefully, then cut each pepper into quarters and remove the seeds, and peel the carrots and cut them in half. Peel the garlic and onion, and cut the onion into 3 or 4 chunks.
- Arrange the pepper pieces, carrots, onion & garlic cloves in your air fryer and drizzle or baste everything with the olive oil or ghee (I don't recommend using coconut oil), cooking them in 2 batches if needed. I tried to flash-roast the bell peppers on the burner's open flame, and then to cook everything in my oven on convection, but that was an utter disaster, so I highly recommend sticking with an air fryer.
- No need to preheat the air fryer, but just put everything in and set it to 380°F (195°C) and roast for 15 minutes, taking out the garlic after the first 8-10 minutes, once it’s fully browned.
- While your vegetables are roasting, measure out the capers, oregano, sumac, salt, and fresh basil. You’ll want to wash the basil leaves before pulling them off. 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 or two pepper pieces to the food processor, then add in the capers, oregano, sumac, salt, and basil, and blend it all together until a smooth paste. Add one more pepper piece if the mixture won't smooth out.
- Once you have your paste, add in the rest of your peppers, carrots, onion, garlic, and any olive oil left in the air fryer to your food processor, then blend until smooth or a little chunky, depending on how you like your nomato sauce. Your pizza sauce is now all ready to be added to pasta or a pizza and baked a bit further!
Notes
Nutrition
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Shreya says
Can I leave out capers and sumac and camu camu
Max says
Yes, though you'll probably want some other souring ingredient, like amchur
Wendy says
Hi!
Just want to say thanks for making my life easier with all of your delicious recipes and valuable information. You are inspirational.
Big hug,
Wendy from Canada
Max says
Awww you are such a sweetheart, Wendy! Thank you for your kind comment, and have a great week!!
Sara says
How are jalapeño peppers low histamine?
lowhistamineeats says
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 says
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. 🙏💗
lowhistamineeats says
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! 💗
Justine Melisande says
@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!
Max says
That sounds delicious! I've never tried the zucchini, but many people use beets instead of artichoke hearts, and if you could find them fresh that sounds like it would be a game-changer. Sweet potatoes + amchur could also be a good base to reflect some of the flavor tones of tomatoes. I'm sorry you're having trouble with lectins; I know of that list and refer people to it often! Two years after posting this recipe, I'm actually eliminating nightshades for a period to see if it helps with my current inflammation, so I'm sticking with pesto sauces on pizza. Please let me know how your experiment goes, Justine!
Katie says
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 says
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 says
Good recipe! Thanks!
lowhistamineeats says
You're very welcome! Glad you liked it. 🙂