This tomato pasta sauce with hidden veggies is healthy and really tasty! It is a great way to sneak veg into your kids. Perfect for fussy eaters! The sauce is also dairy, egg and gluten free.
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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 veg, you are onto a winner!
Not all kids (or adults)! are big fans of veg, so this tomato pasta sauce with hidden veggies is ideal if you have a picky eater. The great thing about it is you can throw in whatever vegetables you have available to you.
I love hiding vegetables & sneaking extra nutrition in the kid's dinners. I even managed to sneak some hidden veggies into this sausage plait!
Although its easy to reach for a ready made jar of pasta sauce (we all do it)!, they can be quite high in added sugar and don’t generally contain any other vegetables apart from tomato.
You can make double the amount & batch cook this recipe in 30 minutes!
Freeze half of it 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!
If you like things a little spicier, why not check out my Spicy Nduja Pasta Sauce?
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❤️ Reasons Why You Will Love This Recipe!
- It is packed full of vegetables making it super nutritious
- The vegetables are all hidden - perfect for fussy eaters!
- You can make a huge batch and then freeze it
- The whole family will love it!
- It’s dairy, egg and gluten free.. in fact it is free from the top 14 allergens in the UK! (Always double check all packaging)
🍅 Ingredients Needed
- Chopped Tomatoes - Tinned tomatoes are so convenient as most people always have some in the cupboard. You can also use fresh tomatoes if you prefer.
- Carrot - 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!
- Red Pepper - Yellow or orange peppers would work too. I would avoid green peppers in this recipe.
- Mushrooms - I have used closed cup mushrooms, but you can use chestnut mushrooms for a more intense flavour.
- Garlic- So good for you and pairs beautifully with the tomatoes.
- Red Onion - I have used red onion as it has a sweeter flavour than white onion but this can be used also.
- Dried Basil - For ease I have used dried herbs, but if you prefer to use fresh herbs, halve the amount in the recipe and add towards the end of cooking.
- Dried Oregano
- Olive Oil
- Black Pepper - Season to your taste.
Scroll to the recipe card for quantities.
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
✏️ How to Make This Recipe
Chop and grate all the vegetables first. I tend to grate the carrot and finely chop the mushrooms, onion, garlic and pepper. If you have other veg in your fridge that needs using, chuck it in, the more the better!
Sweat the onion and garlic in a saucepan on a low heat with some oil, until soft, around 5-10 minutes.
Add the rest of the vegetables to the pan, stir well and cook until they soften.
Next, add the chopped tomatoes and herbs to the vegetables. Use the best quality tomatoes that you can, it really does make a difference to the taste. I like Cirio which you can find in all major supermarkets.
Stir well & let the mixture simmer gently for 10-15 mins.
At this stage, if you don’t have fussy eaters or prefer a chunkier sauce, you can serve it as is.
Alternatively to “hide” the veggies, use a stick blender to blend the sauce until smooth. Easy as that!
⚡ Variations
- 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 fresh chopped 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 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.
🔪 Equipment
🥡 Leftovers & Storage
This recipe makes 8 portions. Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To freeze, portion up the hidden vegetable tomato pasta sauce into zip close 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.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
As it says in the title, the most obvious answer is pasta! Serve with some dairy free & egg free meatballs, spaghetti and sprinkle with some dairy free parmesan. It makes a tasty meal the whole family will love! If you are gluten free, you can use a 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, 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 FAQ
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.
If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
Alternative Dinner Recipes
Dairy & Egg Free Homemade Chicken Goujons
Kids Chicken Teriyaki Style Noodles
Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Broccoli Pasta
📖 Recipe
Tomato Pasta Sauce With Hidden Veggies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 400g Tins Chopped tomatoes
- 1 medium Carrot
- ½ Red pepper
- 100 g Closed cup mushrooms
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 medium Red Onion
- 1 teaspoon Dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 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
- 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 fresh chopped 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 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
This was absolutely delicious would highly recommend!