Pasta sauces, like many meals that have a sauce base, are a great way to up the vegetable intake of your child’s meal. This Veggie Pasta Sauce is loaded with six different vegetables and blended smooth, making it perfect for fussy eaters or kids with textural issues.
Although I strongly believe children should be continually exposed to vegetables (that actually look like vegetables), I believe hidden (or as I like to think of it, boosted) veggie dishes have their place too. (read more about hidden veggies here)
- For some parents, hidden veggies may be the only way they can get their child to eat vegetables.
- Most people struggle to eat the recommended daily servings of vegetables. Eating a meal with hidden vegetables and then serving that meal with extra vegetables is a great way to up vegetable intake.
- Vegetables actually add a lot of flavour to dishes but some children struggle with their texture. Blending them allows the flavours to be enjoyed without the “bits.”
- Hidden veg meals can be a stepping stone to children accepting vegetables. Parents can explain what vegetables are in the sauce or, even better, kids can help make it and see that vegetables can be a good thing.
As you can see, from the picture above, this sauce is crammed with a variety of vegetables. Some children enjoy one or two vegetables and so it becomes easy to fall back on serving only the ones they like. However, for full nutritional gain, we want to eat a wide variety. This sauce adds the nutritional goodness of six different vegetables along with chopped tomatoes.
A lot of commercial pasta sauces have added sugar and are high in salt. Although they are convenient and easy for busy weeknights this sauce is a much healthier alternative.
Although it takes time to prepare, it stores really well. You can make a big batch, say once a month, and freeze in portions. I usually leave a jar in the fridge, to use that week, and then freeze the remaining sauce in zip lock bags.
Of course, this Veggie Pasta Sauce doesn’t have to be limited to just pasta. Why not try it as a pizza sauce, use in a chicken bake or use it to replace tomato sauce/passata / chopped tomatoes in a recipe.
Looking for other hidden veggie meal ideas? Why not try my
veggie packed bolognese sauce,
Have you tried this recipe? I love hearing your feedback, please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram or Facebook.
Veggie Pasta Sauce
A delicious veggie pasta sauce, crammed full of 6 different vegetables. Perfect for picky eaters or just a great way to add more veg to your family's diet. No added salt or sugar. Great for a pasta sauce or for topping pizzas. It can also be used to replace tomato sauce in most recipes.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Onions, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Minced Garlic
- 2 tsp Dried Mixed Italian Herbs
- 3 Celery stalks, trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 Leeks, trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 Carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 Capsicums (bell peppers), finely chopped
- 1 Zucchini (courgette), finely chopped
- 1.6kg (4 x 400g Cans) Chopped Tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste (tomato puree)
- 500ml (2 cups) Vegetable / Chicken Stock *SEE NOTE 1
Instructions
Heat the oil in a LARGE saucepan, over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and mixed herbs and stir for a couple of minutes.
Add the remaining vegetables (celery, leeks, carrots, capsicum, zucchini) and cook, covered, for around 20 minutes. Continually check and stir the vegetables, you want them to soften but not burn.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and stock (SEE NOTE 1). Stir until combined. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for a further 20 mins.
Allow to cool slightly and then blend until smooth (SEE NOTE 2)
Allow to fully cool before pouring the sauce into containers/zip lock bags for storing. (SEE NOTE 3)
Recipe Notes
- Can be replaced with water if you prefer. Please use water / homemade stock if serving to a baby / young child to reduce sodium levels.
- You can blend using a stick blender, food processor or blender. You will probably have to do this in batches due to the volume of sauce.
- This recipe makes A LOT of sauce. (Around 2.6kg which is roughly the equivalent of 6-7 commercial jars of pasta sauce.) The reason I make so much is so I only have to make it occasionally and can freeze the remaining sauce for quick and easy weeknight meals. If you prefer you could half or even quarter the recipe.
Nutritional information is an ESTIMATE only, calculated using an online nutrition calculator. Facts should be used as a guide only. Facts are based on the recipe making 19 portions (each portion being around 1/3 of a standard sized jar (400g) of pasta sauce)
What size cans of tomatoes do you use?
Hi, sorry I thought I detailed that. Thanks for highlighting – they were 400g cans. 🙂
Thank you, I need this for my picky eating 18month and 4yr old!
Hope they enjoyed it???
This is so fresh and tasty . I use it for pizza base too on those sweet potato one with oats that I found on this website too.
I love it ! Goes also well with little muscles.
I love all of your recipes and I’m making this as an alternative to the store bought sauce. Instead of tin tomato I used 2x Passata jars as they were on special and a tin of tomato. I also added a little extra veggies and bay leaves. Fingers crossed my toddler eats it 🙂
Thanks Juanita, passata works great in this. Hope your toddler approved 🙂
I definitely will be making this turkey meatballs and zucchini pasta.
Great! This will be a great sauce for that 🙂
Hey Amy,
It’s really such a delicious recipe. It is a great sauce dishes. I enjoyed your recipes. Thanks this post is really informative and useful recipes.
This looks super easy. I gonna make it tomorrow. Thanks for sharing it.
I have made this twice now I literally have this everyday with some pasta for my lunch and also my 1 yr old loves it thank you
Fab! Thanks Dean.
I tried this today. After blending, the sauce turned orange in color. Could you please share how it stays red for you? Thanks much.
This sauce is amazing!!! The whole family love, so delicious and tasty. I add a bit of Parmesan cheese too.
Thanks Jacqui, so glad you like it and love the addition of parmesan. 🙂
So easy to make definitely a winner! I add peas & sweetcorn into it too before serving to add abit more texture and bonus another couple of veggies!
Thanks, Mel! Glad it worked for you, and a great idea to add extra veggies for texture and goodness:)
Just made a huge batch and it tastes delicious! How long will this sauce last in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Zara! Sorry that I am just getting back to you now. I’d say this sauce will be good for 3-4 days in the fridge but you can also freeze it if you want to keep it longer 🙂 So glad you liked it!
So excited to try this for my picky eaters in the home!! How long is the freezer life for this?
I hope it gets the picky eater seal of approval for you! You can freeze for up to 3 months 🙂