Home » Recipes » Dinner » Easy Veggie-Loaded Pasta Sauce (from scratch!)
by Taesha Butler on Apr 27, 2018 (updated Jul 26, 2023)
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4.97 from 28 votes
Pasta sauce is a delicious and easy way to add more vegetables to your family’s meals. Loaded with tomatoes, spinach, zucchini, bell pepper, carrots, and onions, this veggie pasta sauce can be enjoyed chunky or pureed smooth to help even the most selective of eaters enjoy their veggies!
Smoothies were kind of my gateway to our veggie-loaded lifestyle. Once I saw how easy and amazing it was to add veggies into a simple smoothie recipe, I started looking for other innovative ways to get bonus veggies into my little family’s diet. Especially at dinner! I have made so many veggie-loaded dinner recipes since discovering the magic of veggie-loading, and while I have many pasta recipes on rotation, this easy Veggie Pasta Sauce was one of our favorites and remains my go-to recipe for pasta sauce!
This easy vegetable sauce is loaded with 6 different kinds of vegetables and comes together in under 30 minutes. It makes 4 cups of sauce and freezes beautifully, so make some now and save it for a quick and easy veggie-loaded option on a busy night. You can leave it a little chunky or puree it smooth with your immersion blender, whichever your family prefers. It is vegan, gluten free, Paleo, plant based and Whole30 friendly. So, no matter your eating style, this vegetable sauce will fit into your dinner time and effortlessly help you eat more veggies!
Can I add veggies to jarred sauce?
Absolutely!
Truth be told, I started veggie-loading my family’s sauce simply by adding pureed or grated veggies to commercially prepared tomato sauce. It was easy and did the trick.And I was utterly dazzled with how my family inhaled their dinner without so much as a wrinkled nose or questioning eye. So, right away, I was SOLD on veggie-loading all the tomato sauce.
How to I store this veggie sauce?
I keep it in an air-tight container (like a mason jar) for about a week in the fridge. Or I portion it out into freezer safe containers and freeze it to use for up to 2 months!
Want to find out the BEST way to cut bell peppers? Head over to my How To Cut a Bell Pepper…to minimize waste! post!
Can I can this sauce?
I honestly haven’t tried and know very little about canning, so I can’t answer that from an expert position. If, however, you are a canning expert…I’d love to hear your thoughts and/or if you do try canning this vegetable sauce!
Do you have some spinach leftover after whipping up this Easy Veggie Pasta Sauce? Don’t let it go to waste! Check out my tips & tricks forkeeping spinach fresh all week!
Suggested adaptations
- Get creative with the veggies! This recipe is just a rough framework of what how you could veggie-load your tomato sauce….but I encourage you to make it your own, omit what you want, and use what you have on hand. I love adding mushrooms and cooked lentils to mine!
- Enjoy it as a pizza sauce. Boom! Pizza night is suddenly veggie-loaded too!
- Puree it smooth or leave it chunky to fit your family’s personal taste.
Use “sneaky veggies” as a stepping stone
If you are hiding veggies from your family, that’s cool. It’s a great first step into getting veggies into their (or your)diets! However, I encourage you not to resort to ONLY hiding the veggies. Maybe after a few rounds of this tomato sauce (that your family will undoubtedly adore), leave a few chunks of veggies in the sauce for them to stumble upon. Or invite them to help you MAKE the sauce so they see how much they have been LOVING all these veggies! Once they realize they have been eating veggies all along and enjoying them, they might be more open to eating them NOT hidden.
Other veggie-loaded recipes you and the family are going to adore.
- Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole
- No-Boil Creamy Vegetable Pasta Bake
- Baked Pasta with Eggplant
- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
- Veggie-Loaded Turkey Tacos
- Cauliflower Tots (Baked or Air Fryer)
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4.97 from 28 votes
Easy Veggie-Loaded Pasta Sauce (from scratch!)
Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 25 minutes mins
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Course
Author: Taesha Butler
Pasta sauce is a delicious and easy way to add more vegetables to your family's meals. Loaded with tomatoes, spinach, zucchini, bell pepper, carrots, and onions, this homemade Veggie Pasta Sauce can be enjoyed chunky or pureed smooth to help even the most selective of eaters enjoy their veggies!
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Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ small yellow onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups zucchini, grated
- 1 ½ cups carrots, grated
- ½ bell pepper, deseeded and diced
- 2 cups chopped spinach, loosely packed
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup vegetable broth , water
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Place a large saucepan over medium heat and heat up the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic powder, salt, and Italian seasoning. Saute for about 4 minutes or until onions are translucent.
Add zucchini, carrots, bell pepper, and spinach to the pot. Saute the veggies until they are softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes,tomato paste, bay leaves, and stock to the pot. Stir until combined and cover. Once sauce starts to boil, lower heat to a simmer and cook UNCOVERED for 15 minutes.
Once done cooking, remove bay leaves. Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce to preferred consistency.
If you can, use a regular blender to blend this sauce in batches, but transfer it carefully as it will be hot!
Taste and add extra salt or garlic powder if desired.
Serve over your favorite pasta or spiralized veggie. Enjoy as is or add cooked ground meat ormeatballs.
Allow leftover sauce to completely cool before transferring it to an air-tight container. Store in fridge for up to 6 days or freeze to have on hand for months to come.
Serving: 0.5cup, Calories: 43kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 0.3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 348mg, Potassium: 275mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 5081IU, Vitamin C: 20mg, Calcium: 34mg, Iron: 1mg
Dairy-Free Dinner Gluten-Free Grain Free Meal Prep Nut-Free Paleo Vegan Vegetarian Whole30 bell pepper spinach zucchini
originally published on Apr 27, 2018 (last updated Jul 26, 2023)
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41 comments on “Easy Veggie-Loaded Pasta Sauce (from scratch!)”
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tessa simpson —Reply
Smart momma!! This sounds delicious, I do something similar in my blender, but roast all the veggies first, I want to try your version too!
Emily —Reply
Oh my goodness you were able to jam-pack so much veggie goodness into this sauce! I’m a huge fan of sauces like this. What a lovely way to use up the end of the summer tomatoes.
Jean —Reply
Such a great and delicious way to sneak in a ton of veggies in one meal! I love sauces like this one.
Renee —Reply
I love that this will leave leftovers for another time too! My girls will love this for pasta night! I love your story 🙂 I just listened to your podcast at Live Simply and it is so relate-able!
ChihYu Smith —Reply
So colorful and delicious. totally love it!
Melissa Schollaert —Reply
This is so pretty and exactly how sauce should be made. I can’t wait to try this one!
Taesha Butler —Reply
Enjoy!
Tiffanu —Reply
Oooh! I think I could make this in my ACE blender! Thanks for the recipe- it’s on the list for this week 😀
Jamie —Reply
How much does this make?
Julie —Reply
My toddler just asked for a spoon to eat it like soup. Clearly a hit!!
Taesha —Reply
Yay! Yes, clearly!
Jessie Root —Reply
This is THE. BEST. sauce! I love how easy it is and how adaptable it can be… no zucchini, no problem! Carrots that need to be used, add extra! I realized tonight how amazing this sauce is with some roasted garlic added in….. 🤤🤤🤤Brianna —Reply
Recipe calls for crushed tomatoes… Would it work to use the same sized can of whole tomatoes? Or would this mess with the consistency?
Taesha —Reply
It might be a little less tomato-y but I think the consistency should be fine as well as the flavor.
Rosie —Reply
This is pretty much the only sauce my family eats. I can throw whatever veggies I have and need to be used up in and it’s great. Plus, I love how easy it is and that my family is getting extra veggies in with every biteAlana —Reply
Ohmg, THIS. I didn’t have any zuch and I added a can of chickpeas but holy cow, I can’t believe how scrumptious this was! I also added 3 tbsp of nutritional yeast and some ‘mushroom umami’ seasoning I have from Target. The flavors were so rich, and yet the sauce was so freakin’ healthy! I love knowing exactly what’s in my sauce, and quite honestly it’s so hard to find a jar from the store with flavor. This is definitely becoming a staple, anddd there was enough for me to freeze like 2.5 cups for next time! THANK YOU, another knockout (is anyone surprised!?!?! Taesha be killin’ it!)Taesha —Reply
Oh ma, I LOVE the additions you made! Totally trying those in my next batch! So glad you love it as much as we do!
Julie —Reply
So great! Was able to easily adjust it for my intolerances (no onion or garlic) and love it!Taesha —Reply
I am so glad, Julie! I love a good recipe that is easy to adapt to our own unique needs without taking away from the flavor! Thanks for sharing.
alianora —Reply
Have you adapted this to the instant pot by any chance? I’m still new at using mine and am still afraid I’m going to mess up cooking times!
Taesha —Reply
I’m in the process of trying to create an IP version of this. I am thinking about 20 minutes on high pressure. If the sauce is too thin, you could use the sauté function to cook off some of the extra liquid to your desired consistency.
Margaret —Reply
I made this to go with the Baked Pasta with Eggplant. It made 7 cups instead of 4! That’s okay, because it’s very good. It just surprised me. It worked fine to let it cool and then run it through the blender. Unfortunately my carrots were extra sweet and gave the sauce and casserole a sweeter flavor. I used a tablespoon of chopped fresh basil for the Italian seasoning. One last note, it took me more than 10 minutes to do all the washing, cutting, shredding, and measuring.Taesha Butler —Reply
This sauce freezes great, so I’m glad you have lots of extra. I have never ended up with 7 cups from this recipe, though! A good problem to have! As I noted in your Eggplant Pasta review, carrots are in this recipe because their natural sweetness helps to balance the acid in the tomatoes. However, the sweetness of carrots can vary for oodles of reasons.It is an excellent note that tasting the finished sauce and adding extra salt as needed can be helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Ali —Reply
Loved this recipe! Thank you so much! Love that it makes a big batch and I can put some in the freezer for another easy meal later. ❤️Taesha Butler —Reply
So delighted you love this recipe as much as I do, Ali! I agree, it is so handy to have on hand in the freezer.
Meredith Armienti —Reply
Am excited to make this this week. I noticed in the nutrition section there was transfat. Can you tell me what that is from? I couldn’t find that from the listed ingredients.
Taesha Butler —Reply
Hi Meredith! I was a little surprised about the trans fats too, since that didn’t previously show up on the nutritional information that is automatically generated from the recipe. So I went in and specified ingredients (like using olive oil and low sodium veggie broth) and it now shows no trans fats.
Terri L. —Reply
This is the most delicious sauce I have ever made. I didn’t have spinach, but with the addition of mushrooms, I don’t miss it. I did add a little smoked paprika, fresh basil, and cayenne, for a smoky kick. AMAZING!Taesha Butler —Reply
I am so glad you enjoy this one as much as we do, Terri! I also find it super forgiving, adaptable, and a great way to use whatever random veggie I have on hand.
Jennifer —Reply
This sauce is wonderful! Such an easy way to get extra veggies added to a simple pasta dish. I love the consistency as well! My whole family loved it and we had enough left overs to freeze for another time. Thank youTaesha Butler —Reply
I’m so glad, Jennifer!
Georgia sarivalas —Reply
I think this recipe is a great base. Roasting/Boiling vegetables for stock is good. Buzzing the spent veggies into a puree or paste can thicken the broth or be an addition to other dishes. Nightshades (like tomato and bell pepper) are known to anger arthritic joints so alternatives are terrific. This also works with canned veggies if that is all you have.
Sauteing or roasting them without their brine also heightens flavorsChristine —Reply
This recipe was seriously amazing! So flavorful with all the different vegetables, and yet familiar like a traditional pasta sauce. I added meat to it and used beef broth instead of water/veg broth, but otherwise, followed the recipe as written. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you, Taesha!Taesha Butler —Reply
Delighted to hear you loved it so much, Christine! Thanks for taking the time to share!
M —Reply
Honest question: Why do we shred the zucchini and carrots + chop bell pepper to cook down, when they will get blended eventually anyway? What is the downside to blending the (raw) zucchini, carrots, spinach, pepper, tomatoes, and tomato paste, with cooked onions up front and then simmering the sauce? I get that the onions need to be caramelized a bit for sweetness and flavor first. I would not mind skipping the grating and chopping in favor of the Vitamix, though. 🙂This is a delicious recipe. For variety, I sometimes swap out the Italian seasoning for a little (1/2-3/4 tsp) smoked paprika. With some canned tomatoes, I find it necessary to add 1-2 tbsp of butter at the end to reduce the acidity.
Taesha Butler —Reply
There is no downside. I just fined they blend easier with an immersion blended when cooked. And they cook faster when shredded. You could totally roughly chop, or if you want, blend them raw and then cook. This is just how I have always made it and enjoyed it best but it is a pretty forgiving and adaptable recipe to make in whatever way works best for you!
Kaite —Reply
This was delicious! My 3 year old who does not like veggies kept saying “yum this is delicious!”. And my husband who is kind of a food snob that it was a very tasty recipe. It will definitely be in our dinner rotation 😊Taesha Butler —Reply
I’m glad it’s as much of a hit in your house as it is in mine!
Carolyn Wallace —Reply
I would be careful about canning this pasta sauce without checking with an expert. Your state’s land-grant university may have an outreach program to help with answering this question. Some vegetables require pressure canning to make sure that no illness-causing toxins remain in home-canned vegetables. Other vegetables canned be preserved safely by the hot-water-bath method.
Washington State University has an extension program that might have helpful information for you, regardless of where you live. Be safe! Protect yourself, your family, your friends, your colleagues and anyone who may eat at your table!
Other state universities may be able to provide helpful information, too. Just ask!
Taesha Butler —Reply
Hi Carolyn! I’m not sure if this comment was directed at me or other readers, but I absolutely agree and have stated several times that I cannot guide people on canning this recipe. Not my area of expertise. I show the sauce in mason jars because that is how I store in in my fridge and freezer and absolutely guide people to freeze it for long term storage.
