This Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce is super healthy and really tasty! It's a great way to sneak vegetables into picky eaters! Ready in just 35 minutes, its perfect for busy weeknights or why not make a large batch to freeze?
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Most kids love pasta….FACT! In our house a few favourites are this dairy free creamy bacon & mushroom pasta bake, a dairy & egg free spaghetti carbonara, as well as their number one choice…tomato pasta!
So if you can give them their favourite meal whilst sneaking in a load of veggies, you are onto a winner!
Not all kids (or adults)! are big fans of vegetables, so this hidden veggie pasta sauce is ideal if you are cooking for picky eaters.
I love hiding vegetables & sneaking extra nutrition into the kid's dinners. I even managed to sneak some hidden veggies into this sausage plait & creamy tuna and sweetcorn pasta bake too!
If you like things a little spicier, why not check out my Spicy Nduja Pasta Sauce?
Jump to:
❤️ Why You Will Love This Recipe
- ✔️ Highly Nutritious: This pasta sauce is packed full of vegetables making it super nutritious!
- ✔️ Perfect For Fussy Eaters: The vegetables are blended into the sauce so are all hidden, making it a delicious way to sneak different vegetables into picky eaters.
- ✔️ Great Batch Cook Recipe: Make double the amount and freeze into portion sized containers for another day.
- ✔️ Allergy Friendly: This hidden veggie tomato sauce is free from the top 14 allergens making it a great choice for people with food allergies. (Always double check packaging)
- ✔️ Perfect For The Whole Family: From babies and toddlers right through to adults, the whole family will love it!
🍅 Ingredients You Will Need
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need to make this hidden veg pasta sauce. It is free from the 14 major allergens in the UK making them a great allergy-friendly recipe!
- Chopped Tomatoes - Canned tomatoes are so convenient as most people always have a tin in the cupboard. You can also use fresh tomatoes if you prefer, just use the same weight tomatoes as you would tinned. You will need to chop them into small chunks and be aware that they will take longer to cook down.
- Vegetables: I have used a mixture of carrot, red pepper, mushroom, red onion and garlic. Feel free to mix up the vegetables and use up whatever you have in your fridge. You don’t need to peel the carrot, just scrub the skin with a scouring pad or vegetable scrubber. Most of the goodness is in the skin!
- Dried Herbs: For ease, I have used dried herbs ( basil & oregano), but if you prefer to use fresh herbs, just halve the amount in the recipe and add them towards the end of cooking.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✋ Double check all packaging for allergens ✋
⚡ Variations
- ✔️ Mix Up The Veg - This recipe is so versatile, simply add in whatever vegetables you have in the fridge, courgette, butternut squash and celery work really well.
- ✔️ Spice It Up!- If you aren’t cooking for little ones or like a bit of heat, sprinkle some chilli flakes into the sauce whilst cooking or add a freshly chopped red chilli when adding the rest of the vegetables.
- ✔️ Roast! For a more intense flavour, roast some pepper, courgette and onion in the oven sprinkled with the herbs and olive oil for 30 minutes, then add to the saucepan with the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
- ✔️ Slow Cooker - You can also make this sauce in the slow cooker, simply throw all the ingredients in and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours, then remove from the slow cooker and blend to a smooth consistency.
✏️ How to Make - Step-By-Step Instructions
⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️
Step 1: Start by preparing the vegetables. Grate the carrot & then chop all the rest of the vegetables into small chunks.
Step 2: Sweat the onion in a large saucepan on a low to medium heat with some oil, until soft, around 5-10 minutes.
Step 3: Add the rest of the chopped vegetables to the pan, stir well and cook until they start to soften.
Step 4: Next, add the chopped tomatoes and herbs to the saucepan, stir well & let the mixture simmer gently for 10-15 mins.
Step 5: At this stage, if you don’t have fussy eaters or prefer a chunkier sauce, you can serve the veggie sauce as is.
Alternatively to “hide” the veggies, use a stick blender to blend the sauce until smooth. Easy as that!
💡 Top Tips
- ✔️Adjust Thickness: If the sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with a bit of vegetable stock or water before blending again until you reach a consistency you are happy with.
- ✔️ Quality Tomatoes: Use the best quality tinned tomatoes you can find for a richer flavour.
- ✔️ Roast for Depth: Roast some of the vegetables like the peppers and onions with some olive oil in the oven before adding them to the sauce for a more intense flavour.
- ✔️ Batch Cooking: Double the recipe and freeze portions in freezer bags or ice cube trays for quick meals.
- ✔️ Blending: Use a stick blender for a smoother texture that hides the vegetables well.
- ✔️ Fresh Herbs: A handful of fresh basil is delicious torn into small pieces and stirred through the sauce just before serving.
🥡 Leftovers & Storage
This recipe makes 8 portions. Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
To freeze, portion up the sauce into ziplock freezer bags ( or ice cube trays for toddler portions, then pop out and put into freezer bags once frozen). It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To defrost, you can leave the sauce to defrost in the fridge or heat gently in a saucepan on the hob or in the microwave until fully defrosted and piping hot.
You can easily make double the amount & batch-cook this recipe in 30 minutes!
Freeze half of the pasta sauce into individual portions in freezer bags or even ice cube trays for little mouths and then defrost it in the microwave when you are ready to use.
This way you will have a homemade, healthy, ready to go pasta sauce in a few minutes!
🍴 Serving Suggestions
As it says in the title, the most obvious answer is pasta! Sprinkled with some dairy-free parmesan, it makes a tasty meal the whole family will love! If you are gluten-free, just use gluten-free pasta.
However, it can also be used for so much more!! This pasta sauce is also great as a:
- Tomato sauce base for pizza
- Whenever a recipe calls for a tomato sauce base - Bolognese, Chilli Con Carne, Meatballs
- As a sauce for oven baked chicken - pour the sauce over a chicken breast and bake in the oven until cooked, lovely with some mini hasselback potatoes and gluten free cauliflower cheese.
💬 Recipe FAQs
As we have used quite a lot of vegetables in this sauce, when you come to blend it, it should thicken up nicely, however, if you still prefer a thicker sauce you can add a tablespoon of tomato puree or a little cornstarch slurry made on a 1:1 ratio and add this to the sauce, then leave it to simmer a little more until it has thickened.
Can I use fresh tomatoes instead of tinned?
Yes, fresh tomatoes can be used, but you may need to cook them down longer to achieve the same consistency.
⚡ More Delicious Pasta Recipes
If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
📖 Recipe
Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 800 g (28 ox) Chopped tomatoes 2 tins
- 1 medium Carrot
- ½ Red pepper
- 100 g (1 cup) Closed cup mushrooms
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 medium Red Onion
- 1 teaspoon Dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- Salt & Black pepper to season
Instructions
- Grate the carrot. Chop the mushrooms, carrot, red pepper, red onion and garlic.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and sweat on a low heat for 5-6 minutes.
- Add the carrot, red pepper, garlic and mushrooms to the pan, stir and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft.
- Pour the chopped tomatoes to the saucepan, add the dried basil and oregano and simmer on a low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Blend the mixture using a stick blender until smooth.
- Season to taste.
Notes
- Mix Up The Veg - This recipe is so versatile, simply add in whatever vegetables you have in the fridge, courgette, butternut squash and celery work really well.
- Spice It Up!- If you aren’t cooking for little ones or like a bit of heat, sprinkle some chilli flakes into the sauce whilst cooking or add a freshly chopped red chilli when adding the rest of the vegetables.
- Roast! For a more intense flavour, roast some pepper, courgette and onion in the oven sprinkled with the herbs and olive oil for 30 minutes, then add to the saucepan with the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
- Slow Cooker - You can also make this sauce in the slow cooker, simply throw all the ingredients in and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours, then remove from the slow cooker and blend to a smooth consistency.
Sarah Fox says
This was absolutely delicious would highly recommend!