24 Keto-Friendly Sauces That Won't Ruin Your Diet

There's no denying that, to a certain extent, sauces make a dish. Not only do they add moisture and freshness to an array of ingredients, but they can also totally elevate a dish by introducing extra dimensions of flavor and texture. Sauces help bring harmony and balance to existing ingredients, creating a perfectly well-rounded and nuanced experience.

If you're following a keto diet, however, you may have noticed that sauces can be a tricky component to navigate. While it's easy to exclude obvious carbohydrates from your entrees, finding sauces that are low in carbs and preferably high in fat can be challenging. Sneaky starches and subtle added sugars can turn even a small helping of a condiment into a shortcut to kicking yourself out of ketosis. This often leads many of us to simply err on the side of caution, and omit sauces altogether.

However, sticking to a keto diet in no way means you have to settle for bland, dry, or boring meals. There are, in fact, plenty of sauces that offer bold flavors, creamy textures, and invigorating spicy kicks without the carbs. From comforting classics like creamy Alfredo sauce to bolder options such as smoky romesco or Asian-inspired peanut satay, as well as low-carb versions of conventional favorites, we've compiled 24 delicious sauces that deliver everything you want in a sauce — without compromising your diet.

A rich, moreish gravy doesn't need to contain meat. If you're looking for a plant-based alternative to serve alongside a meat-free roast, our vegan gravy delivers just as much flavor and depth as traditional animal-stock-based gravies. Made with a vegan chicken stock base and poultry seasoning, it maintains the same savory and herbaceous notes as its meaty counterparts while boasting a beautifully velvety texture, thanks to the use of a slurry. And while you might assume that plant-based sauces, free of dairy and meat, would more often than not be too high in carbs for a keto diet, rest assured that our gravy — made with vegan butter — ensures the right balance of fats.

Recipe: Vegan Thanksgiving Gravy

Smoky, tangy, and packed with bold flavor, this tomato-based sauce from Spain is a game-changer if you're looking to upgrade your grilled meats and veggies. Our keto-friendly take on classic romesco omits bread as a thickening agent, keeping things low-carb without compromising the sauce's indulgent and creamy texture. Roasted red peppers, fragrant toasted almonds, and a splash of lively sherry vinegar come together to create the perfect balance of sweet, smoky, and tangy flavors, breathing new life into your go-to keto dinners.

Recipe: Smoky Romesco Sauce

Who says you can't indulge while following a diet plan? Alfredo sauce, it turns out, is naturally suited to the keto lifestyle. Made with high-fat ingredients such as butter, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese, it not only achieves its beloved creamy consistency, but also keeps things low-carb. Our recipe, seasoned with black pepper, garlic powder, and fresh parsley, makes the perfect accompaniment for low-carb pasta alternatives like zucchini noodles or spiralized spaghetti. It delivers a truly satisfying dish that won't set you off course.

Recipe: Easy Alfredo Sauce

There's no denying that a keto diet can, at times, start to feel a little heavy. That's where chimichurri comes in. Fresh, vibrant, and packed with flavor, this herbaceous and bold sauce adds vitality to an array of dishes, and is particularly useful for livening up a steak. Aromatics like garlic, cilantro, and oregano, combined with an assortment of fresh herbs, deliver a powerful punch, while acidic ingredients such as red wine vinegar and lemon juice help cut through excess richness. It's the ideal pairing for hearty cuts of meat.

Recipe: Fresh Chimichurri Sauce 

Highly versatile with a bold, nuanced flavor and delectable consistency, our tasty basil pesto is a must-have in your keto kitchen. Made with a harmonious blend of fresh basil, garlic, and pine nuts, our take on this classic low-carb sauce also features tangy capers and bright lemon zest and juice, delivering a unique kick and heightened freshness that keep things feeling light. Whether you're after a quick low-carb pasta sauce or a moreish dip for your chopped veggies, this vibrant sauce is sure to become a go-to.

Recipe: Bright And Fresh Pesto

For an earthier twist on classic pesto, broccoli presents itself as the perfect keto-friendly addition. Our unique broccoli pesto combines subtly sweet and woody florets with traditional pesto ingredients — fresh basil, garlic, and parmesan cheese — for a tasty and nuanced blend that also delivers a nutritional boost, helping you add dimension and flavor to everything from grilled meats to roasted vegetables, all while staying true to your dietary goals.

Recipe: Easy Broccoli Pesto

Cilantro is known for being a divisive ingredient, but for those of us lucky enough not to have inherited the gene that makes this vibrant herb taste like soap, this zesty cilantro pesto is a game-changer, putting yet another new spin on this well-loved sauce. The inclusion of bright and bold cilantro and lively lemon juice ensures that this pesto remains thoroughly refreshing. Combined with its negligible carb content, it's easy to keep coming back for more.

Recipe: Cilantro Pesto

Although classic fish and chips as you know them may be off the menu while you're on a keto diet, you can still enjoy the sharp yet creamy delight of tartar sauce (arguably the best part of the dish) without compromising your carb count. Our quick and simple recipe combines rich mayonnaise with piquant dill pickles and aromatic dill, resulting in a perfectly balanced tart and tangy sauce to serve alongside your favorite low-carb seafood dishes. Coconut- or almond-flour-crusted fish fillets make an ideal accompaniment, or consider drizzling the sauce over a crisp and fresh seafood salad for added dimension.

Recipe: Simple Tartar Sauce

Hollandaise sauce, made from egg yolks, butter, and lemon juice, is the perfect keto-friendly option for upgrading your low-carb brunch or lunch. And though many of us are somewhat reluctant to make this iconic creamy condiment from scratch, it's actually incredibly easy, with our lemony version coming together in under 20 minutes. Delicious drizzled over roasted vegetables or meats, this creamy, savory, and subtly citrusy sauce offers instant elevation to whatever it's paired with, providing a touch of luxury without spoiling your diet. You can also use it to make low-carb eggs Benedict — simply omit the muffins to keep things keto-approved.

Recipe: Lemony Hollandaise Sauce 

A little more sophisticated than gravy and with more depth than a simple stock, a rich and savory au jus is the key to elevating your keto-friendly dishes by adding a touch of luxury without messing up your macros. Our recipe for a simple yet utterly delicious and flavorful au jus contains beef drippings, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth, gently simmered until the sauce reaches a perfectly pourable consistency. Drizzle it over roasted meats and vegetables to imbue them with added richness, or simply use it as a nuanced dipping sauce for low-carb bread alternatives.

 Recipe: Rich Au Jus

The rich and nutty flavor of satay sauce is pretty distinct and utterly delicious. Though most store-bought versions often contain added sugar, making them unsuitable for a keto diet, our satay-style peanut sauce dials back the sweetness, making it a perfectly acceptable — and deliciously moreish — addition to this low-carb lifestyle. Just make sure to use sugar-free peanut butter; after that, a tablespoon of honey is all that's needed to provide a subtle, floral sweetness, bringing each serving to no more than four grams of net carbs. Enjoyed in moderation, this earthy, rich, and lightly spiced Southeast Asia-inspired sauce offers a new lease on life for all your low-carb dishes.

Recipe: Satay-Style Peanut Sauce

If you're craving the creamy and tangy taste of Caesar dressing without the dairy, our vegan Caesar salad dressing has you covered, delivering all the well-known and beloved flavors of this classic dressing via simple, plant-based alternatives. A base of nutty, earthy cashew cream ensures a velvety smooth texture with a subtle sweetness that arguably triumphs over more traditional dairy-based Caesar dressings — without contributing excess carbs. Drizzle it over crisp romaine lettuce and vegan cheese for a delicious plant-based keto salad that's sure to keep you feeling satisfied and on track.

Recipe: Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing

Sweet, caramelized flavors are uncommon on the keto diet due to the high amounts of sugar they typically contain. However, if you're craving a little burst of juicy sweetness, tomato confit might be your solution. Made by slow-roasting cherry tomatoes with olive oil and Aleppo pepper, our delicious tomato confit serves as the perfect flavor-packed topping — utterly indulgent, yet keto-friendly. Indeed, with less than two grams of carbohydrates per serving, you can drizzle, scoop, and spread this unique, tasty condiment on anything you like without straying from your goals.

Recipe: Simple Flavor-Packed Tomato Confit

Originating in France and now considered an integral part of Louisiana Creole cuisine, remoulade sauce is a zesty and creamy condiment made with mayonnaise and flavored with an array of spices and seasonings, giving it both its distinctive taste and eye-catching color. Our keto-friendly version of this classic dipping sauce is made with spicy Dijon mustard, potent horseradish, and nuanced Worcestershire sauce. It's perfect for dunking seafood, pairing with grilled meats, or adding a powerful kick to your favorite low-carb dishes.

Recipe: Remoulade Sauce 

Delivering the perfect blend of smokiness and creaminess, rajas con crema — a traditional Mexican dish featuring roasted poblano peppers and onions in a creamy cheese sauce — is a standout keto dish. Though typically served as a filling for tortillas or scooped up with chips, our recipe works incredibly well on its own as a saucy accompaniment to grilled meats or cauliflower rice, creating a low-carb dinner that still packs a multifaceted, flavorful punch.

Recipe: Charred Rajas Con Crema

Vibrant and fresh, tzatziki brings liveliness to an array of dishes and is especially useful for keto meals featuring heavier, richer ingredients like red meat and cheese, as its acidity helps cut through excess richness. Featuring mint, garlic, and cucumber, our recipe for this classic Greek condiment delivers a cool and refreshing hit, whether you're dipping, drizzling, or spreading it. Just be sure to check that the yogurt you use doesn't contain excessive added sugar to keep things keto-friendly.

Recipe: Classic Tzatziki Sauce 

Peppercorn sauce is a well-known and well-loved accompaniment for steak and, with relatively few carbs, makes an ideal topping for those following a keto diet. While black peppercorns deliver a piquant, bold kick, their green counterparts create a milder, more aromatic sauce with a more prominent herbaceous note. In this recipe, earthy green peppercorns blend beautifully with a creamy, buttery sauce, making the perfect simple yet well-balanced topping for juicy steaks or roasted chicken.

Recipe: Green Peppercorn Sauce

Creamy, garlicky aioli is delicious in its own right, but adding lime to the mix elevates it from a humble dip to the star of the show. Its creamy texture is beautifully complemented by the vibrant acidity and subtle sweetness of lime juice, creating a dip that brightens up whatever it's paired with. Served alongside our shrimp and chorizo skewers, this dip harmonizes wonderfully with smoky, sweet, and lightly spicy flavors, enhancing the sumptuously tender textures for a low-carb meal that feels incredibly indulgent. However, this versatile dip is far from limited to just one pairing — it works beautifully across a vast array of dishes.

Recipe: Shrimp And Chorizo Skewers With Lime Aioli

Buffalo wing sauce is the perfect addition not only to your chicken wings, of course, but also to any keto dish you want to imbue with a bold, spicy kick. Made with just four ingredients and coming together in under five minutes, our Buffalo sauce is both incredibly easy and immensely flavorful — an effortless way to upgrade lackluster meats or achieve diner-style chicken wings (without unwanted sugar or carbs) from the comfort of your own home.

Recipe: Buffalo Wing Sauce

Anyone who's followed a keto diet for some time knows the frustration of trying to find tomato sauces at the supermarket that aren't packed with extra sugar. It can sometimes seem as if any tomato-passata-based sauces are entirely off the menu, but our recipe — featuring just tomatoes, salt, and a few basil leaves — remains relatively low in carbs, making it a great fit for a keto diet. Use it as a base for your favorite low-carb pasta dishes, or spread it over a keto pizza crust for a delicious, nutritious take on a comfort food classic that won't undermine your efforts.

Recipe: Small-Batch Tomato Passata

Sofrito, a staple in Latin American and Caribbean cuisine, is a vibrant, aromatic blend of peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs, used both in cooking to enhance flavors and as a topping or side to add a final flourish to finished dishes. Made without added sugar, our sofrito is an excellent choice if you're after a fresh, lively keto-friendly sauce with a bit of bite. While you may need to be mindful of portion sizes, as the natural sugars in bell peppers can slowly start to add up, a spoonful or two of this delicious puree won't jeopardize your diet when used as a garnish.

Recipe: Simple Sofrito

There's nothing quite like Worcestershire sauce, with its unique blend of tangy, savory, and sweet flavors. Typically made with anchovies to give it that distinct umami quality, regular Worcestershire sauce is not vegan. However, our plant-based alternative is both vegan and keto-friendly, made from apple cider vinegar and soy sauce and flavored with cinnamon, garlic, and pepper for the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and savory. If you want to reduce the carbohydrate content further, consider swapping brown sugar for a more keto-friendly sweetener of your choice before drizzling, marinating, and stir-frying away.

Recipe: Anchovy-Less (And Vegan) Worcestershire Sauce

If you're looking for a rich, savory, yet luxuriously creamy sauce to serve alongside your favorite low-carb pasta alternative, look no further than our delicious, earthy morel mushroom cream sauce. Brimming with woody, umami flavors and delivering a velvety smooth consistency that creates an indulgent mouthfeel no matter what you pair it with, this sauce is perfect for a date night dinner or special occasion meal — something that feels a little indulgent, but won't undo your progress.

Recipe: Earthy Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce Pasta

For those who do not follow a plant-based lifestyle, cheese is an integral ingredient in the keto diet. As such, it makes perfect sense to incorporate it into sauces whenever possible, not only for its comforting flavors and textures, but also to add extra fat to keep you satisfied and energized in the absence of carbohydrates. Blue cheese, in particular, with its piquant taste and rich, creamy texture, makes for an excellent sauce when crumbled into a mix of mayonnaise and yogurt for the ultimate tart and tangy dip. Whether served as a hearty accompaniment to fresh vegetables and crunchy chicken wings or drizzled over salads for an extra layer of flavor, this keto-friendly blue cheese dressing is sure to become a favorite.

Recipe: Blue Cheese Dressing