Looking for a way to sneak some more veggies into your meals or jazz up plain pasta sauce? This kid-friendly Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce is chock full of vegetables that are cooked and pureed with tomatoes and Italian spices. It pairs perfectly with spaghetti and is a great vegetarian and vegan recipe for babies, toddlers, and adults! Plus, you can make it in bulk to freeze and use at a later time.
Blending vegetables into sauces, like in my Italian Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, One Pot Pumpkin Tomato Pasta, and Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, is one of my favorite hacks for eating more plants. I especially love serving veggie-loaded sauces to my daughter, since it’s such an easy way to expose her to lots of flavors and boost the nutrition of her meals!
This hidden veggie pasta sauce was developed with my daughter in mind, but let me tell you, it’s amazing for adults too. Will and I love enjoying pasta, tortellini, or ravioli coated with this sauce right alongside the baby.
The vegetables I use for my version of veggie spaghetti sauce contribute a wonderful balance of flavors. There’s some sweetness from bell pepper and carrots, an earthy boost from celery and zucchini, and of course, the signature tomato sauce flavors from onion, crushed tomatoes, garlic powder, basil, and parsley. You’re going to love it!
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Crushed tomatoes: I use canned crushed tomatoes for the base of my hidden veggie pasta sauce. I really like using San Marzano tomatoes (that’s why my Canned San Marzano Tomato Sauce is one of my favs) and love Cento brand.
- The vegetables: Bell pepper (any color but I like red in here), carrots, onion (red, sweet, or leeks all work), celery, zucchini (can sub yellow summer squash)
- The spices: Dried basil and parsley (you can sub 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning if you have that instead) and garlic powder (feel free to swap in a few cloves of fresh garlic if you’d rather do that). Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a spicy kick if desired.
- Vegetable stock: Chicken stock also works here.
- Pasta for serving: Use whatever kind you have on hand.
Variations
If you want to add more or include other vegetables, use ones that will taste well with tomatoes and won’t drastically alter the flavor of the sauce. For instance, you could add another bell pepper, throw in some cubed butternut squash, and/or add a handful of baby spinach. Avoid adding broccoli or cauliflower or any vegetable that has a strong taste that may overpower the tomato base.
Instructions
The full recipe card for hidden veggie pasta sauce is at the bottom of the post. Here’s a preview of the steps with photos to help guide you.
Roughly chop the onion.
Cook it in olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until it starts to get translucent.
While the onions cook, roughly chop the other vegetables. Aim to cut them into pieces of similar sizes to promote even cooking.
Add them to the pot with the onions and cook for another 5 minutes.
Pour in the can of tomatoes and stock and add the seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the carrots are softened.
Blend the sauce using an immersion/hand blender until smooth. Toss your favorite pasta in the sauce and enjoy!
Storage and Freezing
Hidden veggie pasta sauce stores very well in the fridge and freezes beautifully. Let it cool completely before transferring to an airtight jar or container. Keep in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.
If you are freezing it, follow these tips:
- Use freezer-safe containers and leave about an inch of headspace to allow the sauce to expand while freezing.
- Instead of freezing the sauce in one large batch, divide it into smaller portions so that you only have to defrost what you will use at one time. I like to freeze it in 1.5 to 2 cup portions to serve with a pound of pasta.
- The sauce will last in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Before reheating, thaw frozen sauce in the refrigerator overnight. If you forget to transfer it to the fridge, you can quickly defrost it in a bowl of water on the counter or run the container under hot water until it thaws just enough to slide the frozen block of sauce out.
- Transfer the sauce to a saucepan with a lid. Reheat, covered, over low heat until warmed through. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching.
Serving
Of course, one of the best ways to enjoy hidden veggie pasta sauce is with your favorite pasta! I especially like it over tortellini. You can also use it as the base of pizza, in lasagna, stuffed shell, or manicotti recipes, or as a dipping sauce for bites or nuggets such as my Homemade Baked Veggie Bites.
FAQ
You can puree this sauce in an upright blender if you don’t have a handheld one. I recommend transferring the cooked ingredients to a blender in batches so that you don’t overfill it. When blending the sauce, leave a corner of the blender lid cracked or remove the plastic cap from the inner circle of the lid and cover it with a dish towel. This will allow steam to escape. Blend the sauce on low speed at first to prevent splashing. Pour each batch of the blended sauce into a bowl and repeat until everything is blended.
I intentionally do not add any extra salt to hidden veggie pasta sauce so that it can remain low in sodium and be suitable for babies and young children. Feel free to add salt as desired.
More Kid-Friendly Recipes
- Garden Vegetable Bread with Cheese
- Veggie Brownies
- 4 Ingredient Corn Fritters
- Sweet Potato and Zucchini Fritters (Vegan)
I’d love to hear how you like this recipe! Rate/review using the stars on the recipe card or in the comments, and follow the Veg World on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Looking for something totally different? Browse the recipe library.
📖 Recipe
Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce
Equipment
- Immersion blender (see notes for upright blender instructions)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion - roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot - roughly chopped; or 2 small
- 3 ribs celery - roughly chopped
- 1 bell pepper - seeds and stem removed and roughly chopped
- 1 zucchini - roughly chopped
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables by chopping them into pieces of approximately the same size. This will promote even cooking.
- In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it starts to get translucent.
- Stir in the chopped veggies: carrots, celery, bell pepper, and zucchini. Add another drizzle of olive oil if needed to coat all of the vegetables. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- Pour in the can of crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock, followed by the basil, parsley, and garlic powder. Increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 20 to 25 minutes until the carrots are softened. Stir occasionally.
- Remove the pot from heat. Carefully blend the sauce using an immersion/handheld blender until smooth. See notes for upright blender instructions.
- Serve the immediately with your favorite pasta or keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. See notes for freezing instructions.
- Leave a rating or review by tapping the stars on this recipe card (above) or in the comments section (at the end of the post)!
Notes
- Freezing: Let the sauce cool completely then transfer to freezer-safe containers, leaving about an inch of headspace to allow for expansion. I like to freeze it in 1.5 to 2 cup portions so that I can just thaw what I need and not the whole batch. It will last in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or in a bowl of cool water on the counter before reheating.
- Reheating: Transfer to a saucepan with a lid. Reheat, covered, over low heat until warmed through. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.
- Salt: This is intentionally low in sodium so that it can be suitable for babies, but feel free to add salt if desired if you are not serving it to young babies.
- Upright blender: Carefully transfer the ingredients in batches to be blended. To allow steam to escape, leave a corner of the lid cracked or remove the plastic cap in the middle of the lid and cover it with a dish towel. Blend on low speed to prevent splashing. After blending, transfer the sauce to a large bowl and repeat until all of the sauce is blended.
Nutrition
Enjoy your new favorite sauce! – Lizzie
Hidden veggie pasta sauce was originally published in September 2019. It was updated in April 2023 with new photos, tips, and edits to the recipe ingredients.
Alfiano Fong
This is awesome!
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!