Traditional Low FODMAP Spaghetti Sauce (Ragù)

Traditional Italian Ragù

A low FODMAP spaghetti sauce that promises flavor without wine, onions, garlic, celery, and tomato? This is perfect low FODMAP spaghetti sauce because it’s easy to make and has tons of flavor without all the pesky FODMAPs. 

I’m sharing a traditional Italian low FODMAP spaghetti sauce recipe, which ready made pasta sauces are low FODMAP and low FODMAP pasta noodle options to choose from in this post:

Sit back, relax and let’s learn how to make this low FODMAP spaghetti sauce or low FODMAP ragu.

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Why This Low FODMAP Spaghetti Sauce Is Different

This low FODMAP spaghetti sauce is different from other low FODMAP sauce recipes because we’ve removed any ingredients that could cause any irritation. That means no wine, onion, garlic, or celery. 

Celery is low FODMAP at 10g servings (which personally is such a small serving, it might as well not be eaten) and according to Monash University, sparkling, red, and white wines are low FODMAP in 150 ml or 1 glass servings. 

Other dessert wines like sherry or port should be avoided as they have a high amount of fructose. 

When it comes to low FODMAP pasta recipes, I think that portion control is healthy but sometimes you want a large bowl of pasta without worrying about pesky FODMAPs

So, this sauce is made out of minced meat, a homemade low FODMAP bone broth, carrots, bay leaves, and a hint of tomato puree.

Flavor wise this low FODMAP ragù sauce is the closest thing you’ll get to a traditional Italian ragù without flying to Italy or having bowel issues.

Finally, we’re going to actually make this ragù sauce. Gather your ingredients and do the necessary prep work. As you can see here, I’ve taken our low FODMAP bone broth out of the freezer, made some homemade garlic oil (optional), peeled the carrots (not optional) and mixed my pork and beef mince.

We’ll work in this order:

1. Oil, carrots, and bay leaves
2. Meats
3. Liquids (bone broth, water, and tomato puree)

Step 1

In a large pot, add your garlic oil carrots. I’m using my favorite thick-bottomed Dutch oven because this low fodmap sauce will be cooking for roughly 2 hours and I want to avoid any burning. Saute the carrots until they’re soft. This took about 5 minutes. Here’s the difference:

As you can see, I did not dice them finely or bothered to chop them into smaller pieces. The sauce will cook for a few hours and they’ll break down naturally in that time, so why bother with finicky fancy chopping styles?

Step 2

Once the carrots have softened, add your minced meats and saute for about 5 minutes. You can saute this mixture for longer to get a deeper color and more caramelization. I would highly recommend going darker than I did.

Step 3

After you’re happy with the caramelization of your meat, mix the tomato puree into the beef stock and water. Add the tomato puree, beef stock and water mixture into the pot and stir.

Traditionally, this is made with any kind of meat stock but I really wanted to use the homemade bone broth that was in the freezer. It’s a great way to get all the benefits of a bone broth without actually slurping on it like a smoothie. If you want to learn how to make this low FODMAP bone broth, check out this post:

Low FODMAP Bone Broth with 4 Ingredients

Step 4

Back to the recipe, after adding the liquids, it is just a waiting game. Turn the heat down to low and let the low FODMAP pasta sauce simmer and reduce. Here’s a comparison of what the ragù looks like after adding the liquids and how it develops over time:

As you can see, the final result is a meaty sauce that is not very thick or tomato-ey but believe me when I tell you that this sauce is loaded with flavor. It is so unassuming but imagine, the meat has essentially absorbed the bone broth, tomato sauce, and is very much concentrated with a deep rich flavor. All without any onions, garlic, or wine!

Now that you’ve successfully made this low FODMAP spaghetti sauce al ragù, how about we talk about serving options? Or more specifically the types of pasta commonly used for this sauce.

Low FODMAP Pasta Options

You can’t have pasta sauce without pasta! In this section I’ll share a few low FODMAP pasta options for this killer low FODMAP bolognese sauce. Everything from wheat pasta, certified gluten free pasta,  based pasta and veggie pasta options:

Pasta tip: Monash lists the serving size of pasta when it’s cooked. Be sure to portion out cooked pasta.

Wheat Pasta

Great news for IBSers without gluten intolerances! Monash’s app lists wheat pasta as low FODMAP with half a serving size of 1/2 cup or 74 grams!

Larger serves of ⅔ cup or 101 grams contain moderate FODMAPs and 1 serving (1 cup) or 148g is high FODMAP.

NOTE: Avoid wheat and spelt pasta if you have celiac disease or a medical condition that prohibits gluten or wheat. 

Spelt Pasta

Spelt is actually a type of wheat which means it contains gluten. It has the same serve as regular wheat pasta which is ½ cup or 74 grams  of cooked pasta. Larger serves of ⅔ cup or 101 grams contain moderate FODMAPs. 1 serving (1 cup) or 148g is high FODMAP.

Gluten-Free Pasta

Gluten-free pasta is considered low FODMAP in servings of 1 cup or 145 grams. Schar has a whole line of gluten-free low FODMAP pastas!

Larger servings of 1 ½ cups contains high FODMAPs (Oligos-fructans). Other gluten free pasta options are quinoa, rice and chickpea pasta.

Quinoa Pasta

Quinoa pasta has a green light indicator all around and is low FODMAP at ½ serves of 75 grams or ½ cup. 1 serve or 1 cup (155 grams) is also low FODMAP!

Brown Rice Pasta

Brown rice pasta is another type of gluten-free pasta. It has a low FODMAP serving size of 150 grams or 1 cup. Larger serves of 3 cups or 422 grams contain moderate FODMAPs and larger serves of 3 ¼ cups or 493 grams is high FODMAP.

Chickpea Pasta

Chickpea pasta is also gluten free and has a low FODMAP serving of 1 cup or 100 grams. 1 ¼ serve or 120 grams contains moderate FODMAPs. 

And now for the carb-free low FODMAP pasta options:

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a less traditional pasta choice but it is low FODMAP at ½ cup or 75 grams.

Zucchini Noodles

Another great low FODMAP pasta option is zucchini noodles which are low FODMAP at ⅓ cup or 65 grams. Larger serves of  ½ cup or 75 grams contain moderate FODMAPs.

You’re in luck if you’re looking for ready made store bought low FODMAP spaghetti sauces because the next section has 12 low FODMAP pasta sauces: Everything from low FODMAP spaghetti bolognese to low FODMAP marinara sauce.

12 Store Bought Low FODMAP Pasta Sauces

Not in the mood to make your own low FODMAP pasta sauce? Luckily for us, there are tons of low FODMAP pasta sauce store bought options! 

You can buy ready made low FODMAP pasta sauces online or if you’re lucky at your local grocery store. Wondering what kind of spaghetti sauce is low FODMAP? Here are 12 low FODMAP spaghetti sauce you can choose from: 

1. FODMAPPED for you! Slow Roasted Vegetables Tomato Pasta Sauce (certified)
2. FODMAPPED for you! Red Wine & Italian Herbs Tomato Pasta Sauce (certified)
3. Prego Sensitive Recipe Traditional Italian Sauce (certified)
4. Rao’s Homemade Sensitive Formula Marinara Sauce
5. Great Value Organic Tomato Sauce (Walmart)
6. Whole Foods 365 Organic Tomato Sauce 
7. Nature’s Promise Tomato Sauce
8. Bay’s Kitchen Tomato & Basil Sauce (UK)
9. FODY’s Low FODMAP Marinara Sauce (certified)
10. FODY’s Low FODMAP Tomato and Basil Sauce (certified)
11. FODY’s Low FODMAP Arrabbiata Sauce (certified)
12. FODY’s Low FODMAP Vegan Bolognese Sauce (certified)

FAQ

This section will cover some of the web’s most asked spaghetti bolognese low FODMAP questions.

What Kind Of Spaghetti Sauce Is Low FODMAP?

Spaghetti sauces without onion, garlic and sometimes celery are low FODMAP. But there are many low FODMAP spaghetti sauce options you can choose from made by specialized low FODMAP brands like FODY Foods or FODMAPPED FOR YOU! 

Tomatoes may trigger IBS symptoms in some people and Monash has recently updated the serving size. 

Can I Eat Spaghetti Sauce On A Low FODMAP Diet?

Yes! There are plenty of low FODMAP spaghetti sauces you can enjoy on a low FODMAP diet as long as you’re careful with serving sizes and make sure there are no high FODMAP ingredients like onion, garlic, celery or dairy in tomato or cream based pasta sauces.

Make sure to look out for gluten free options if your IBS symptoms are triggered by wheat or gluten. 

Can You Eat Spaghetti Sauce With IBS?

You can eat spaghetti sauce with IBS as long as you’re aware of your triggers and portion sizes. Avoid sauces that contain high fructose corn syrup, onion, garlic and celery.

Even low FODMAP certified pasta sauces can trigger IBS symptoms because tomato based sauces often contain extra sugars and tomatoes have various yellow to red light indicators on the low FODMAP app.

This combination can make pasta sauces high FODMAP or harder to digest.

Is Spaghetti Sauce High FODMAP?

Monash tested commercial store bought pasta sauce (tomato based with garlic, onion and celery) to be high FODMAP with ONLY yellow and red light indicators. A small 1/4 cup or 66 gram serve is moderate in FODMAPs and high FODMAP at 1/2 cup or 132 grams.

Canned whole tomatoes are low FODMAP at 1/2 cup or 100 grams. Larger serves exceeding 2/3 cups or 138 grams contains moderate to high FODMAPs.

What Is Ragù?

Ragù is a meat-based Italian sauce that uses minced meat. This low FODMAP meat sauce ragù is a mix of beef and pork ragu, one of the more traditional combinations. 

Ragù’s are great low FODMAP sauces when done correctly. And maybe you’re wondering how on earth a pasta sauce can be considered low FODMAP when it’s swimming in tomatoes? 

2022 Update: Monash’s FODMAP App lists that ½ cup  120 ml (92 grams) of canned tomatoes is a low FODMAP serving. Canned tomatoes are low FODMAP at 1/2 cup or 100 grams.

This low FODMAP ragu recipe uses 2 teaspoons of tomato paste which is well within the low FODMAP serving.

The Difference Between Ragù and Bolognese?

Ragu and bolognese difference: A bolognese is tomato heavy and requires little to no stock. Ragù uses the same ingredients but it’s a meat based sauce with less tomatoes and more stock or wine. 

Both sauces are made from minced meats, a soffritto (onions, garlic, carrots and celery), wine and tomatoes. The difference between a ragù and a bolognese boils down to the ratio of ingredients.

I hope you like this traditional low FODMAP spaghetti sauce? And if you don’t end up making this low FODMAP pasta sauce recipe then you’ve got a whole lot of low FODMAP pasta and low FODMAP pasta sauce options to choose from!

 

Looking for more delicious and hearty low FODMAP meals?

Low FODMAP Beef Stew

In case you missed it, here’s two low FODMAP stocks to choose from!

Low FODMAP Bone Broth

Low FODMAP Beef Stock

Interested in buying ready made low FODMAP pasta sauces instead?

9 Low FODMAP Store Bought Pasta Sauce Options