Best Vegan Spaghetti Sauce (NO OIL)

Name: Best Vegan Spaghetti Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: two 28-oz. weight cans crushed tomatoes; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning; 1 1/2 Tbsp Simple Homemade Date Syrup; 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste; salt to taste

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The best vegan spaghetti sauce makes a beautifully simple bowl of pasta. This delicious one-pot, five-ingredient sauce is gluten-free, oil-free, soy-free, and nut-free.

side view of vegan spaghetti sauce with pasta in a white bowl topped with fresh chopped parsley

This spaghetti sauce recipe has 5 key ingredients:

Crushed tomatoes
Italian Seasoning blend
Garlic
Simple Homemade Date Syrup
Crushed red peppers

top view of key ingredients for spaghetti sauce: crushed tomatoes, italian seasoning blend, garlic, date syrup and crushed red peppers — key ingredients: crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, Simple Homemade Date Syrup, garlic, crushed red peppers

The crushed red peppers and date syrup provide a wonderful balance in flavors to the pungent garlic and Italian seasoning. Salt is to taste, and I added about ½ teaspoon to the pot for my liking.

Even though we have a wonderful Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce recipe, I've used this vegan spaghetti sauce as a pizza sauce and just added a sprinkle of fennel seeds and a diced sundried tomato. It's so yummy!

In addition to spaghetti and pizza, this sauce provides a wonderful base for making Lasagna.

How to make this pasta sauce

Add crushed red tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper to a large pot. Stir well to combine.
Turn on heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil.
Partially cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes for a typical spaghetti sauce consistency, or for 60 minutes if you want it thicker.
Finally, stir in Simple Homemade Date Syrup and turn off the heat. Let it hang out uncovered for another 5 minutes before serving.

top view of the spaghetti sauce added to the pot on the stove with garlic and seasonings before cooking — Add crushed tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning and crushed red peppers to a large pot. Stir to combine.

side top view of partially covered pot on a stovetop — Simmer partially covered for 45 minutes.

top view of spaghetti sauce in the pot on the stove with a wooden spoon coated with the sauce after it's cooked — After cooking for 45 minutes, turn off heat and stir in Simple Homemade Date Syrup.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I thicken spaghetti sauce?

The short answer to thickening the sauce is to cook it longer. As the sauce cooks with the lid partially ajar, the water in the sauce slowly evaporates, leaving a thicker concentrated sauce. I find that 45 minutes is the right amount of time for the consistency I like with my spaghetti pasta. Another way to thicken spaghetti sauce is to add tomato paste. While I'm always for saving time, I find allowing the sauce to simmer is best because the other flavors from the garlic and spices combine beautifully with time.

What should I add to my spaghetti?

Keeping it simple with this sauce and fresh herbs is totally fine. However, it's also fantastic with grilled vegetables, cannellini beans, or vegan magic meatballs. Another tasty addition is olives and capers for a spaghetti alla puttanesca dish. Yum!! A sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese is also lovely topping in any event.

Can I use spaghetti sauce for pizza sauce?

While we have an Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce recipe, this spaghetti sauce can easily be substituted for a pizza sauce. We recommend adding diced sundried tomatoes and fennel seeds to this spaghetti sauce for optimal flavor as a pizza sauce. However, no worries if you don't have these on hand because this sauce is still tasty on pizza.

How do I store leftovers?

This vegan spaghetti sauce stores well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to four months. To reheat from frozen, thaw the sauce in the refrigerator and then warm it up on the stove. Alternatively, microwave at reduced power in a microwave safe container.

Do you add sauce to the pasta or pasta to the sauce?

There's no right or wrong way to serve up this spaghetti sauce. It's a matter of personal preference. The restaurants and chefs on cooking shows tend to cook the pasta with the sauce, but you do you. Lol!

So, enjoy this healthy, delicious sauce on top of your favorite al dente whole wheat, gluten-free whole grain spaghetti, or another pasta noodle, and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley or basil.

side view close up of vegan spaghetti in a white bowl with a fork holding a bite of spaghetti — adding the sauce to the pasta when plating

But if you like your spaghetti sauce absorbed into the pasta noodle instead of on top, then add partially cooked pasta to the sauce and continue cooking it for about 5 to 6 minutes. It'll come out looking like this:

side top view of a bowl of spaghetti topped with fresh chopped basil and a fork sticking out of it — when spaghetti finishes cooking in the sauce, the pasta will absorb the sauce

We hope you love this vegan spaghetti sauce. Please rate and leave a comment below. Be sure to share a picture on Instagram and tag us @danielsplaterecipes so we can see your creation!