Keto Spaghetti
Published June 3, 2022 • Updated June 7, 2026
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This low carb spaghetti with meat sauce is a go-to dinner I make in under 30 minutes. The homemade sauce simmers just long enough for deep, savory flavor, and my family asked for it again the very first time.
This low-carb spaghetti is easier to make than the original, and it all comes down to the noodles. I keep three packs of hearts of palm noodles in my pantry because they don’t require boiling and take on whatever sauce you pair them with. Shirataki noodles work the same way (just rinse and drain). Wheat-based noodles from brands like Pete’s No Carb Pasta taste closest to traditional spaghetti but need to be boiled. Lupin flour pasta has more protein and a slightly firmer bite. Spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles are the lowest-carb options if you want to go the veggie route.
When I’m craving Italian comfort food on a Tuesday, this is what I reach for. The sauce has a deep, meaty flavor that tastes like it simmered for hours, but the whole thing takes about 15 minutes. I filmed a full video testing seven different noodle types against this exact sauce, and hearts of palm won for texture and neutral flavor. Three secret ingredients make the sauce punch above its weight, and I break those down further below. A couple of readers have told me this is the only dinner their family requests by name, and I get it. It’s one of mine too. If you love weeknight Italian dinners, my keto skillet lasagna and Tuscan chicken pasta hit the same craving.
I’ve made this with ground beef, ground turkey, and Italian sausage. Beef gives the richest flavor. Turkey keeps it lighter (multiple readers have confirmed it works). Sausage adds its own seasoning so you can back off the Italian seasoning. For more ground beef ideas, my keto hamburger helper and keto Salisbury steak are in regular rotation at my house.
Reader after reader has told me their kids and spouses didn’t notice the noodle swap. That tracks with what I see at my own table. Hearts of palm noodles have such a neutral taste that they just become the sauce. At 6.4 grams net carbs per serving, this is one of those dinners that doesn’t feel like a compromise. For more pasta-style comfort, try chicken alfredo lasagna bowls or beef tips and noodles.
KetoFocus fans think it’s the BEST!!
“Tried your spaghetti tonight with the Palmini noodles (the only ones in my local store). And yum! Didn’t know spaghetti would be possible in keto, so thank you for bringing “pasta” back into my life!“
➥ from YouTube subscriber @rgc1600
How to make keto spaghetti
- Depending on your noodle choice, start cooking first if you’re using wheat-based pasta or lupin noodles (they need prep time). Hearts of palm or shirataki noodles go in at the end since they need almost no preparation.
- Brown your ground beef. Add ground beef and a bit of olive oil to a skillet. Cook until browned and crumbled. Season with salt.
- Add seasonings – Italian seasoning, minced garlic, and a pinch of anise seeds.
- Pour in marinara. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 5-10 minutes.
- Right before serving, turn off the heat and stir in heavy cream and grated parmesan cheese.
- Add noodles. Top with fresh basil or parsley.
Key ingredients
- Noodles – I tested seven different types of low-carb pasta against this sauce. My favorites are hearts of palm noodles, wheat-based noodles from Pete’s No Carb Pasta, and lupin flour pasta. Shirataki noodles, spaghetti squash, or zucchini noodles work too. Hearts of palm have the most neutral flavor and the lowest prep time. Wheat-based taste closest to traditional pasta.
- Ground beef – I prefer ground beef for the richest flavor, but ground sausage or ground turkey work too. I’ve done a mix of beef and sausage and it’s great. If you like Italian sausage flavors, my stuffed Italian sausage uses a similar seasoning base.
- Seasonings – Garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and anise seed. The anise provides that hint of fennel flavor that makes this sauce stand apart. A pinch is all you need.
- Marinara sauce – Make your own sugar-free marinara or buy from the store, but check the label for added sugars. Yo Mama’s is my favorite brand at only 4 grams net carbs per 1/2 cup. Plain tomato sauce works in a pinch.
- Heavy cream and parmesan cheese – These mellow out the sauce and create a velvety texture. Reader Ryan, who’s made this four or five times, says these two ingredients are what makes the whole dish. I agree.
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Keto Spaghetti Sauce Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil -
1 lb ground beef, ground sausage and/or ground turkey
-
1 teaspoon salt
-
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
-
2 cloves garlic, minced
-
pinch anise seeds
-
25 oz (3 cups) low-carb marinara sauce
-
2 tablespoons heavy cream
-
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Keto Noodles Ingredients
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Prepare noodles
Prepare noodles according to package instructions. If using wheat-based noodles, boil them in a saucepan of water until al dente. Hearts of palm noodles only need to be drained and can be added straight to the sauce once ready.
- Keto pasta of choice
Brown ground beef
To a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, break apart and cook until crumbled and brown. Season with salt, Italian seasoning, minced garlic and anise seeds.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef, ground sausage and/or ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- pinch of anise seeds
Simmer with spaghetti sauce
Pour in marinara sauce and let simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat.
- 25 oz low-carb marinara sauce
Add some secret ingredients
Remove sauce from heat. Pour in heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Add noodles.
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Should I add salt when cooking noodles?
I always add salt when boiling wheat-based noodles like Pete's No Carb Pasta. About 1/2 to 1 teaspoon in the water makes a real difference. For hearts of palm or shirataki noodles, I season the sauce well and skip salting the noodles since they're not being boiled.
Can you eat pasta on keto?
You can, you just swap the noodles. Regular wheat pasta has too many carbs for keto, but a good keto pasta gets you close. I keep hearts of palm noodles in my pantry because they're low-carb and take on whatever sauce I pour over them. Shirataki, lupin flour, and wheat-free brands like Pete's No Carb Pasta all work too. What sells it is the sauce. A meaty marinara coats the noodles and your brain fills in the rest, which is how I land a real spaghetti night at 6.4 grams net carbs.
What kind of pasta is keto friendly?
I've tested a bunch. My top pick is hearts of palm noodles because they're low in carbs and closest to traditional pasta in texture. Shirataki noodles have almost zero carbs but the texture takes getting used to. Wheat-based noodles from Pete's No Carb Pasta taste the most like real spaghetti. Lupin flour pasta has extra protein. For a veggie route, spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles work but they release more water into the sauce.
How can I decrease the carbs in spaghetti?
Most of the carbs come from the marinara sauce, not the noodles. I use less sauce or swap in a lower-carb brand like Yo Mama's (4g net carbs per 1/2 cup). Stretching the sauce with a splash of beef broth helps too. If you really want to cut carbs, spaghetti squash is the lowest-carb noodle option I've tried.
Can I freeze the spaghetti sauce?
I freeze this sauce regularly. Let it cool completely, then pour into a freezer-safe bag or container. It keeps for up to 2 months. I thaw it overnight in the fridge and reheat in a skillet on low heat. The flavor actually gets a little deeper after freezing. I wouldn't freeze it with the noodles though. Hearts of palm get mushy after thawing.
Which noodle has the fewest net carbs?
From my testing, shirataki noodles win with close to zero net carbs. Hearts of palm come in around 2-4g per serving depending on the brand. Lupin flour pasta is about 3-4g. Wheat-based noodles from Pete's are higher at around 7g but taste the most like traditional pasta. I usually go with hearts of palm because the carb-to-flavor tradeoff is the best for my family.
Can I make this ahead of time?
I actually prefer this a day old. The sauce develops more flavor overnight in the fridge. I make the sauce, store it for up to 4 days, and cook the noodles fresh when I'm ready to eat. I wouldn't pre-mix the noodles with the sauce for meal prep because they absorb too much liquid.
How do I make the sauce less acidic?
The heavy cream at the end handles most of the acidity for me. If you want it even mellower, add an extra tablespoon of cream or a small pinch of baking soda while the sauce simmers. I've also splashed in beef broth, which rounds out the tomato sharpness without adding sweetness.
Can I skip the anise seeds?
You can, but I wouldn't. The anise is what separates this from a basic meat sauce. It adds a subtle fennel note that makes the whole thing taste more complex. My mom used it, my college roommate's mom used it independently, and I've never made this sauce without it. If you can't find anise, fennel seeds work the same way. Just use a small pinch.
Accidentally let the beef cook a little longer than usual on my fourth batch, some darker edges forming before I caught it, and the sauce that night had this deeper, almost caramelized note I hadn't hit before. Now I do it on purpose. Brown it past 'just cooked' and let those bits sit in the fat for another minute before the marinara goes in. Makes the sauce taste like it simmered way longer than ten minutes. I've also been swapping half the beef for ground turkey when that's what I have, and it barely registers, honestly. The Italian seasoning and garlic carry everything. Batch seven's on the stove tonight, curious if doubling the parmesan at the end makes the sauce any creamier.
Only had half a pound of beef so I mixed in half a pound of Italian sausage, and the sauce got way more interesting. That fennel note does something to the flavor without adding anything extra. Three times since and I've stopped measuring the Italian seasoning, the sausage just carries it. Might be my permanent version.
Italian sausage has fennel in it, so it's stacking right on the anise seeds already in there. Makes sense you stopped measuring.
Pat the hearts of palm noodles dry before adding them to the sauce. I skipped that the first time and ended up with watery sauce pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Thirty seconds with a paper towel and the sauce clings the way it should. Worth the extra step.
The paper towel is what the colander misses. Thirty seconds and the sauce clings instead of pools.
Made this last week and the sauce came out watery by the time we sat down. Wondering if the hearts of palm noodles were releasing extra liquid. Should I be draining and patting them dry first, or just let the sauce reduce longer?
Drain and pat first. Colander for a couple minutes, then press with a paper towel until they feel dry to the touch. Reducing helps but won't overcome wet noodles going in.
Eight months keto and I genuinely thought spaghetti night was gone for good. Made this on a weeknight when I was craving something real, and the anise seeds in that meat sauce hit me in a way I wasn't ready for. That's my mom's trick too, she always snuck them in. I stood there stirring it thinking, this is it. Hearts of palm aren't pasta and I'm not pretending they are, but the sauce coats them and my brain filled in the rest. This one's staying in the rotation.
The mom connection gets me. Mine used them too, never explained why, just always did it. That sauce is the point anyway, the noodles are just the vehicle.
Rinse the hearts of palm noodles and let them drain in a colander for a few minutes before adding them to the sauce. First time I made this they were watery and the whole thing got thin. Second time it held together a lot better.
Five minutes minimum in the colander. Once that liquid hits the sauce it's in there, the cream can't pull it back out.
My husband kept pausing between bites like he was trying to reverse-engineer the sauce. Finally asked if I added something. Anise seeds, yes. Hearts of palm noodles are still an adjustment for us, but the sauce is so good it doesn't matter.
The anise is the whole thing. Your husband has good instincts. Hearts of palm take 2-3 rounds before your brain stops registering 'this isn't pasta.' You're basically there.
Tip if you're using hearts of palm noodles: rinse them really well and let them drain for a few minutes before adding to the sauce. Skipped that step the first time and ended up with watery sauce. Fixed it on round two and it's SO much better, that heavy cream actually comes through now.
Learned that the hard way too. They hold way more liquid than they look like they do. That cream step is too good to water down.
Never cooked with hearts of palm before and had pretty low expectations, but the meat sauce with that splash of heavy cream at the end pulled everything together. Had to reread the carb count a few times.
The carb count is the one that stops people mid-bite. Hearts of palm get a bad reputation, but once that sauce is on them it doesn't really matter.
Doubled the garlic and added an extra pinch of anise, and the sauce had this depth I kept trying to place while eating. Two servings in before I remembered the anise was in there. It does something quiet but real to the whole pot.
That 'quiet but real' is exactly what the anise does. My mom put it in her sauce and I spent years trying to figure out what made it different. Going double is a bigger swing though - might test 1.5x next time.
Swapped half the ground beef for mild Italian sausage and simmered the full 10 minutes instead of 5. Never making it any other way.
The sausage fat changes the whole sauce. Ten minutes is right, I never do five anymore.
My husband clocked the hearts of palm noodles immediately (he's suspicious of anything that looks like a swap) and then ate the whole bowl without mentioning them again, which for him is essentially a rave review. The anise seeds in the meat sauce are doing something I couldn't name but kept tasting. Four stars for now, trying it again next week.
He spotted the swap and cleaned the bowl anyway. That's the only vote I care about. Try it again next week and see.
My son has been asking for spaghetti for weeks. Made this on a snow day with the hearts of palm noodles and he ate the whole bowl, asked for more sauce, then asked when I was making it again. Not one word about the noodles. That almost never happens.
Snow day spaghetti is a very specific kind of win. 'When are you making this again' is the only review that matters.
My kids had no idea this wasn't regular spaghetti. Used the hearts of palm noodles and they didn't even question it.
Ha, that's the best kind of win. The hearts of palm noodles have such a neutral taste, they really just take on whatever sauce you use. My kids are the same way with them.
Made this with hearts of palm noodles. Kids had no clue.
Kid approval is the real test. I keep like three packs of those noodles in the pantry now.