This week I had a killer craving for some classic spaghetti and meat sauce. But, as you may know, I like to add vegetables whenever and wherever I can to recipes. So I shredded a couple of handfuls of vegetables, tossed them into the sauce, and added some extra herbs and spices to make this absolutely incredible “hidden vegetable” pasta sauce. It has more flavor, more color, and more texture (read: fiber). It’s a win-win-win!
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Shown with Homemade Garlic Bread.
Balance Your Costs with Vegetables
My favorite trick for stretching ground meat in recipes is to use vegetables or beans to replace half of the ground meat. This time I shredded vegetables, which mimicked the texture of the ground meat, but added a subtle sweetness and a whole lot of extra flavor, texture, and nutrition to the sauce. This sauce is so delicious that I couldn’t stop sneaking spoonfuls while I took photos!
Can I Make This Sauce Vegetarian?
If you want to make a vegetarian version of this hidden vegetable pasta sauce, I suggest mincing an 8oz. container of mushrooms and sautéing them with the onions and garlic. The minced texture will mimic the ground meat and mushrooms have that umami flavor that is similar to ground meat.
Is Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce Freezer Friendly?
This sauce freezes great if you want to make a double batch and have it on hand in your freezer for busy nights. Just make sure to cool the sauce completely in the refrigerator first, then transfer to the freezer. The sauce will stay good in the freezer for months. To reheat, empty the freezer container into a sauce pot and heat over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Spaghetti with Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 small zucchini ($0.57)
- 2 carrots ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.25)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1/2 lb. ground beef ($2.50)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.02)
- 1 24oz. jar pasta sauce* ($1.49)
- 12 oz. spaghetti ( $0.75)
Instructions
- Use a cheese grater to grate the zucchini and carrots. You'll want about 1.5 cups of each, but the amount is flexible. Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Add the olive oil and ground beef to a large, deep skillet. Cook the ground beef over medium heat until it is fully browned. Add the diced onion and garlic and continue to sauté a few minutes more, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add the shredded zucchini and carrots to the skillet along with the basil, oregano, salt, freshly cracked pepper, and a pinch of red pepper. Continue to sauté until the vegetables are wilted (about five minutes).
- Add the pasta sauce to the skillet and stir to combine. Allow the contents of the skillet to come up to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low and simmer the sauce as you prepare the spaghetti. Stir the sauce occasionally as it simmers.
- Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions, then drain in a colander. Return the drained spaghetti to the pot with the heat turned off. Add one cup of the prepared sauce to the pasta and stir to coat. Divide the pasta into serving bowls and top with additional sauce.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce – Step by Step Photos
Start by preparing your vegetables. Use a cheese grater to grate one small zucchini and two carrots. You’ll want about 1.5 cups each, but this is flexible so don’t sweat it if you have a little more or less. Also dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic.
Add 1/2 lb. ground beef in a large deep skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil and cook over medium heat until the beef has browned. Once browned, add the diced onion and minced garlic. Sauté for a few minutes more, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add the shredded zucchini and carrots to the skillet along with 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp salt, about ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional). Continue to sauté the vegetables until they soften, or about five minutes.
Finally, add one 24oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce and stir to combine. Allow the sauce to come back up to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low and continue to let the contents of the skillet simmer as you begin to prepare your spaghetti.
Stir the sauce occasionally as it simmers. The vegetables will continue to soften as the sauce simmers, further “hiding” them in the sauce.
Cook 12oz. of spaghetti according to the package directions, then drain in a colander. Return the pasta to the cooking pot with the heat turned off and add about 1 cup of the sauce. Stir to coat the pasta with the sauce.
Divide the pasta into serving bowls, then top each bowl with additional sauce. This stuff is seriously so good, my mouth is watering just looking at that bowl!
And don’t forget, this sauce is freezer-friendly! Just make sure to cool it completely in the refrigerator first, then place in a freezer-safe container (I used freezer bags), label, date, and freeze for later! It can be thawed in a saucepot over low, stirring occasionally.
When making homemade tomato sauce, many recipes call for you to add sugar I puree cooked carrots and add that instead. You still get the sweetness, but the carrots add great subtle flavor and have to be healthier for you than straight sugar. And you get all the extra vegetable goodness.
That is a genius idea, I’ll have to do that next time I make sauce!
Hi! How long does this recipe last in the fridge?
Thank you,
Angela
Every fridge is different but I’d say up to 4 days!
This recipe is awesome an it’s amazing how this was posted on my Dads 94 th birthday. He’s had a craving for spaghetti. But, he can’t have it due to his swallowing issues. So I made this puréed it on top of puréed mashed sweet potatoes. It was a hit an he loved it. The combinations although sound odd taste well together.
I really miss zucchini in the winter. I even sometimes break down and buy it in the winter!
I love having it my garden and using it all summer long once it starts to “come in”
I prefer it to the spaghetti squash as a low carb replacement for pasta(lets here it for zunoodles).
The other one is french style green beans as a pasta replacement base.
It says recipe updates 4/2021, what was changed from the original recipe (which we LOVE)?
Just photos and text, the recipe didn’t need any changes other than editing the wording for clarity. :)
One of our new favorites!! My husband said he likes this over regular spaghetti.
I am not known for being a good cook. We had a family gathering this summer after quarantining for it. I made this spaghetti recipe for my night. I made two batches, one totally vegetarian for my daughter, using diced mushrooms. I also added some mushrooms to the meat batch. Everyone loved it! It was the best meal I have made for my family when we split cooking. Thanks!
Can you freeze the sauce?
Yes most definitely!
Delicious! Instead of carrots I used diced mushrooms which really helped to make it bigger. I was afraid this wouldn’t make enough food/be filling enough with only half a pound of meat but it made the perfect amount.
Delicious sauce. My picky daughter gobbled up the sauce without realizing it had zucchini and carrots in it. I will definitely make it again for my family.
It’s 2018 and I’m just coming across this recipe. I really thoughts my super picky toddlers wouldn’t eat this cause the veggies aren’t hidden . They LOVED it. I used a little over 1 cup each of zucchini & carrot and the sauce very chunky. . the kids still ate it. I’m making it again this week which makes it the 2nd time in 3 weeks, it’s that good. I will try to cut down the veggies to 1 cup each, plus the whole onion. Super delicious !
Very tasty. Thanks!
This looks great! Instead of grating the veggies, I prefer to throw my veggies in my little Ninja chopper. Such a time saver!
I am so delighted with this recipe! For cardiac reasons I have to monitor my sodium and fat intake closely and this recipe fit perfectly into my diet plan. The veggies work very nicely in this recipe. I did everything exactly as written with the exception that I used a low sodium marinara pasta sauce, cut the added salt in half and used 1/2 T olive oil. I did add the optional pinch of red pepper flakes to kick things up a notch. Finding recipes that are flavorful, easy to make and yet stay within the confines of my restrictions can sometimes be a challenge. I will be making this recipe again and sharing it with other family members! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Just wrote this in my meal plan for next week for probably the 5th or 6th time! I often double this recipe and freeze portions for a rainy day, and it tastes just as good from frozen.
I also love how easily adjustable it is; I sometimes add a can of mushrooms or a chopped green pepper to the recipe.
My boyfriend and I jokingly tell each other that since there are vegetables in the sauce, “It’s basically salad!”.
Hahahah it really is! LOL
I love your site, budget bytes and have prepared many of your recipes with success.
Recently, when using your site, the screen “locks” up or becomes totally “unresponsive” Too many adds clog the site and often times shut it down. Can you modify your site to become more “user” friendly?
Keep up your excellent work, and help the public return to “cooking for themselves”!
Best
Jim Beard
http://www.votejimbeard.com
Thanks for letting me know! A couple other people have mentioned this, too, so my ad guy is working on it. Hopefully it will be resolved soon! Sorry for the inconvenience. :(