This Healthy Pasta Sauce is filled with hidden vegetables! A hearty meat and tomato sauce filled with pureed vegetables. This healthy sauce is loaded with flavor and you’ll never know it’s filled with veggies. Serve with spaghetti, lasagna, stuffed peppers, roasted vegetables, and more!
When I was a child, spaghetti with meat sauce was a staple in our house. My mom would either make a quick pot of meat sauce on the stovetop or a slow simmered batch in the crock pot. We would eat it over pasta, layered in lasagna, or by the spoonful standing over the stove. And every Halloween, we would have spaghetti with meat sauce before trick or treating.
It was no surprise that once I started cooking for my own family, pasta with meat sauce made its way into a regular rotation. My kids love pasta and I appreciate making a meal that I know my kids will actually eat. Both of my kids are willing to eat a variety of veggies, but I still feel like they could be eating more. I started adding pureed vegetables into my meat sauce to bump up the nutritional value.
Healthy Pasta Sauce
- Ground beef,
- Marinara
- Crushed tomatoes
- Italian seasoning
- Pureed vegetables
The vegetables impart little to no flavor, and since they are pureed, there are no veggie chunks that might deter picky eaters. If you have kids (or adults) in your family that aren’t eating enough veggies, then this is the way to change that.
For this batch I used a mixture of carrots, celery, red bell pepper, onion, and spinach. This combination lends a little sweetness to the sauce without adding a strong vegetable flavor. Feel free to swap around the vegetables to suit your taste or just use what you have on hand. Mushrooms are great in here too!
Recipe
Meat Sauce with Hidden Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 large stalk celery, chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 heaping handfuls fresh baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 2 25 oz jars marinara sauce
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- Pinch of sugar, if desired
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute ground beef in olive oil until brown, periodically breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. While the meat is browning, place all the vegetables and garlic in a food processor and puree until mostly smooth. Add the vegetable puree to the meat, and cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated (the mixture might look unappetizing at this point, but it will look better after adding the tomatoes). Add the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, marinara, crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, and a pinch of sugar. Stir to combine. Simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes. Taste and add additional seasoning if necessary.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Ana
That looks a-ma-zing! I just had breakfast and I’m already hungry. Your pictures are beautiful!
Nina
Mm, mm, mm! That’s looks delicious and I don’t even eat meat!
Jeannine @ Joyfully Mom
Fabulous! I can’t wait to try this! It’s not even getting those veggies in for my little one – it’s my husband that I need to use a little trickery on!
Stacy
Yum! I love making meat sauce too, especially when I don’t have time to make meatballs! This looks so good, I’m going. To try your version!
Morgan @ Morgan Manages Mommyhood
I just really want to say a huge THANKYOU for your picky eater advice. It’s one of those pet peeves of mine when people just insist their kids don’t like XYZ and that’s it. Just keep trying!!! It’s so important. Even at just 2 my son has gone through so many stages of loving and hating things, that you can’t just assume they hate it and never re-expose them to it.
Celebrating Sweets
I couldn’t agree more. It’s so important not to give up and give in. Thanks for stopping by!
Sharon
Meat sauce with vegetables HIDDEN! I love the idea. Pinned!
Lauren
This looks amazing! I love the idea of the hidden veggies! And your photos are seriously drool worthy.
http://www.myplotofsunshine.com
suzanne
This is genius and the PERFECT way to get my toddler to eat more vegetables. Pinning this so I can make it next week! Thank you 🙂
http://mykindofsweet.com/
JENNICA PEREZ
It’s funny that your vegetable mix sounds similar to one of the staples I use in my cooking: sofrito. It is something that most, if not all, Hispanic families use to cook. We take peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, oregano, and a variety of other things, depending on who is making it. We use a scoop of this for most meals!
I will definitely try your version, because it would definitely be more than I would use on a typical day. Thanks for the idea!
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Jennica. Yes, it is similar to sofrito. If you try this recipe I hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by!
Lacey
Can you make ahead and freeze?
Celebrating Sweets
Yes, definitely!