This easy to make Meat Sauce with Hidden Vegetables is a healthy spaghetti sauce filled with pureed veggies and ground beef. It’s makes for a delicious meal that even the pickiest eaters will love!
Serve this hearty sauce over spaghetti noodles, or use it in your favorite baked pasta recipe.
This is the veggie pasta sauce recipe you need if you’re trying to add more veggies to your family’s plates!
Meat Sauce with Hidden Vegetables is a delicious spaghetti sauce recipe that is loaded with flavor. It is made from scratch, high in protein, and hiding four different vegetables! There is a whole onion, two carrots, a whole zucchini, and a red bell pepper inside.
Even if you don’t have picky eaters and your kids will willingly eat their vegetables, it’s still a good idea to try this recipe. The veggies add tons of delicious flavor to the tomato sauce and make it thick, rich, and filling.
Looking for more kid-friendly pasta recipes? Try my Pasta with Peas! It’s green, so kids think its super fun. My nieces and nephews also really love it when I make my cheesy Pizza Casserole with pepperoni.
Hidden Veggies Pasta Sauce Recipe Highlights
- So Many Veggies! – I’m using zucchini, carrots, red pepper, and onion, very finely chopped in the food processor to add fiber, nutrients, and flavor to this meat sauce. Feel free to use other vegetables too, anything goes with this easy pasta sauce recipe!
- Traditional Flavors – Even with all the added vegetables, this homemade pasta sauce tastes just like any other meaty spaghetti sauce or bolognese. Garlic, tomatoes, and Italian herbs bring everything together.
- 40-Minute Meal – Make this quick veg spaghetti sauce recipe on the stovetop while your pasta is boiling on the other burner. Even with the extra step of pureeing the vegetables, it takes just a little more than half an hour from start to finish, so it’s perfect for even the busiest nights.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this veggie-filled meat sauce:
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Ground Meat: Ground beef is an economical protein to use in this recipe, but any lean ground meat can be used. Try it with ground turkey or chicken.
- Veggies: I’m making my sauce with two carrots, a red bell pepper, one onion, and a medium-sized zucchini. You’ll also need some fresh minced garlic for flavor.
- Tomatoes: Three different types of tomato products work together to make this sauce perfect! Diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.
- Salt, Black Pepper, and Sugar: To season and balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Dried Herbs: You’ll get even more Italian flavor from basil and oregano. Serve with fresh basil leaves or chopped parsley if you like.
How To Make Meat Sauce With Hidden Vegetables
Tip!
When making pasta sauce, choose a large, deep skillet or a Dutch oven. You want to make sure that you have enough room for all of the ingredients!
Recipe Tips
- Use Other Veggies! Is there a specific vegetable that you’d like to try hiding in spaghetti sauce? Go ahead! Try it with broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, celery, spinach, or mushrooms blended in.
- Ground Meat Options: This sauce will work beautifully with other ground meats, including ground turkey, ground chicken, veal, lamb, or vegan style crumbles.
- Instead of Sugar, you can use maple syrup or natural honey for sweetness. You can also adjust the amount of sugar added to the sauce to suit your preferences. Taste the sauce at the end and adjust.
- For Serving: Serve this sauce over your favorite pasta and garnish with fresh herbs and shredded parmesan cheese. Yum!
Storing Tips
- To Store: Let the hidden veggie meat sauce cool down all the way, then transfer it to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: Add the cooled veggie meat sauce to an airtight freezer safe container, or divide into portions in freezer bags. Freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- To Reheat: Add the sauce to a small saucepan and heat on the stove over medium heat while stirring. You can also use the microwave.
What To Serve With Spaghetti with Hidden Veggies Sauce
Along with your plates of pasta, serve up a side of my easy garlic bread, copycat Olive Garden breadsticks, or a simple, homemade caesar salad.
For a low-carb meal, skip the spaghetti and serve this over zucchini noodles or roasted cauliflower.
You can also use this sauce to make Eggplant Lasagna or Crockpot Lasagna!
Recipe FAQs
What Veggies can you hide in spaghetti sauce?
Using the method in this recipe, you can hide just about any vegetables in spaghetti sauce! Just be sure that you chop them very, very small so that they disappear into the sauce. Aside from the onion, zucchini, carrot, and bell pepper used here, try button mushrooms, celery, sweet peas, or cauliflower.
What Pasta Goes Best with Meat Sauce?
Because the veggie meat sauce is thick and hearty, it will pair well with just about any type of pasta. I like to use a long pasta shape such as spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine with this type of pasta sauce, but short pasta shapes work too.
Can I make this recipe vegan?
Sure! Leave out the meat, and add a few extra vegetables to fill out the sauce. Mushrooms work well as a meat replacement. You can also replace the meat with a vegan ground meat product substitute.
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Go hide some veggies in spaghetti sauce! This easy hidden veggie pasta sauce recipe is so fun and easy to make, and the whole family is going to love it.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Meat Sauce with Hidden Vegetables
Equipment
- Dutch oven or skillet
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled and quartered
- 2 medium carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 medium zucchini chopped in large pieces
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 pound ground beef 80/20 or 90/10
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 28 ounces (830 ml) diced tomatoes do not drain, crushed tomatoes in the UK
- 16 ounces (470 ml) tomato sauce passata in the UK
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
Instructions
- Add the onion, carrots, zucchini, and bell pepper to the jug of a food processor. Blend until the mixture is finely chopped and slightly mushy.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable mixture and sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
- Push the vegetable mixture to the sides of the Dutch oven. Add the ground beef to the center, breaking it apart as it cooks. Cook until the beef is no longer pink, approximately 3 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt, sugar, and pepper. Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water. Stir to combine. Lower the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Serve the sauce over your choice of pasta. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Notes:
- Use Other Veggies! Is there a specific vegetable that you’d like to try hiding in spaghetti sauce? Go ahead! Try it with broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, celery, spinach, or mushrooms blended in.
- Ground Meat Options: This sauce will work beautifully with other ground meats, including ground turkey, ground chicken, or vegan style crumbles.
- Instead of Sugar, you can use maple syrup or natural honey for sweetness.
- For Serving: Serve this sauce over your favorite pasta and garnish with fresh herbs and shredded parmesan cheese. Yum!
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Elizabeth says
Made this tonight! I used celery and mushrooms, along with the carrot and onion. It was perfect! Will be using this recipe again.
Little Sunny Kitchen says
So glad you enjoyed it enough to make it again! Thank you so much for the feedback and the rating.
Gordon says
loved it as usual make it easy to follow
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you for trying my recipe, Gordon. I’m glad you enjoyed it!