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    Home > Vegan Pasta Sauces

    Caramelized Carrot Pasta Sauce

    By My Pure Plants on 05/06/2022 - May contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure.

    Jump to Recipe Print Pin

    This carrot sauce is no ordinary one. It is not a mere creamed carrot puree, but so much more. The carrots and the other root veggies are caramelized to bring out their hidden sweetness and then they are turned into a savory creamy carrot pasta sauce with lots of potential.

    Yellow pasta sauce in a frying pan topped with mushroom meatballs.

    We do like our pasta, may they be quick & easy or rich & filling. Have you seen this delicious creamy hidden vegetable pasta sauce with 7 veggies? How about this asparagus lemon pepper pasta or this 15-min marinara sauce? If you like pasta recipes, here are a couple of tasty ones for you to browse through in our vegan sauce recipes gallery.

    Table of Contents hide
    1. What is this carrot sauce?
    2. Ingredients
    3. How to make this carrot pasta sauce?
    4. Top tips to make a perfect sauce
    5. What to serve with it?
    6. FAQs and substitutions
    7. More pasta recipes
    8. Caramelized Carrot Pasta Sauce

    What is this carrot sauce?

    It is not a mere spaghetti sauce with carrots. It is also not a creamed carrot puree. It is probably nothing like you have ever tried. But everyone who has ever tasted this sauce loves it. So we are pretty sure, you will love it too.

    It is actually a caramelized root veggie-based pasta sauce with mustard, bay leaves, and sour cream. The main root veggie is being carrot of course. This sauce is rich, filling, and just a little bit sweet and savory at the same time. Why? What exactly are we talking about?

    • Caramelized carrots, onion, celeriac, and parsnip
    • Mixed with mustard, lemon juice, and sour cream
    • Seasoned with only bay leaves

    Can I tell you a secret? It is actually a family recipe that is very typical for Hungarian cuisine. It is actually called “Hunter’s Stew” or in Hungarian “Vadas Sauce”. It is usually served with dumplings and a roasted game or beef (here is a pretty accurate video to make it like that). But there are other untapped ways to eat this delicious sauce. And since we eat plant-based we turned it into a creamy spaghetti sauce with mushroom meatballs (see picture below). It was so worth it.

    Several mushroom meatballs on top of spaghetti with yellow creamy sauce served on a black plate. A fork is taking on meatballs from the middle.

    Ingredients

    To make delicious pasta with this sweet and tangy carrot sauce, you’ll need only a handful of ingredients. Not necessarily the ones, you might use all the time, but they are still pretty common in most pantries. So here is the list. The exact amounts will be in the recipe card.

    • Carrots -> Choose young carrots since they are sweeter actually than baby carrots. Since baby carrots are rounded pieces of broken-off carrots.
    • Celeriac
    • Parsnip
    • Onion
    • Cane sugar -> You need it to caramelize the root veggies.
    • Vegetable broth
    • Bay leaves -> They are essential. While I cannot grasp exactly what is it that bay leaves add to the dish, Bon Appetite did a pretty good job at it for me. “Bay leaves have a minty flavor (somewhere between spearmint and menthol) with subtle hints of black pepper and Christmas tree pine. They add a subtle bitterness that keeps heavy soups and stews from being so, well, heavy.”
    • Mustard -> choose a gluten-free mustard brand if you need to.
    • Lemon juice
    • Sour cream – You need to compensate for the sweetness of the caramelized root veggies. Heavy cream, milk, or other alternatives will just power up the sweetness. Mustard, lemon juice, and sour cream on the other hand fit perfectly. They add a bit of tangy, sour, savory flavor that makes this sauce all refreshing instead of syrupy sweet.

    How to make this carrot pasta sauce?

    Prepare the ingredients

    • Peel and chop the onion.
    • Wash, peel, and chop carrots, celeriac, and parsnip.
    • Squeeze the half lemon.

    Caramelize the root veggies

    1. Heat your stockpot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Add vegetable oil and cane sugar. Let it melt until it is a light brown caramel.
    2. Add chopped onion and cook it for approx. 1-2 minutes.
    3. Add chopped carrots, celeriac, and parsnip. Stir and caramelize them for 5-6 minutes.
    4. Add veggie broth, lemon juice, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper. Cover it with a lid and cook veggies until they are soft. 

    Blend them into a creamy sauce

    1. Add all cooked veggies to a blender with the juices from the pan.
    2. Add sour cream and mustard and blend until you get a creamy carrot pasta sauce.
    3. Taste it and adjust the seasoning of salt and pepper if necessary.
    Yellow pasta sauce poured on top of spaghetti in a frying pan.

    Top tips to make a perfect sauce

    • Chop vegetables evenly and small – All root veggies are hard, so they need a long time to get tender. The smaller you cut the veggies, the shorter will be the cooking time.
    • Vitamix vs Regular Blender – You can certainly use a hand blender (aka immersion blender), a food processor, or a regular blender. They all make a creamy sauce. However, if you need this sauce to be extra smooth without a single little piece to find, we recommend using a high-powered blender like Vitamix*.

    What to serve with it?

    While you can enjoy this pasta with carrot sauce on its own, we definitely have some ideas you can try. 🙂 We served it with mushroom meatballs, but this sweet and tangy sauce pairs with many things.

    • Spaghetti and meatballs like eggplant meatballs, chickpea meatballs, vegan meatballs, or IKEA veggie balls.
    • Add pan-fried oyster mushrooms, sauteed button mushrooms, or vegan shredded chicken on top of your pasta.
    • Drizzle it on top of cauliflower steak or tofu steak.
    • Pour over sweet potato gnocchi.
    • Pour over oven-roasted asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, or potato wedges.
    • Instead of gravy, try this sauce over your mashed potatoes.

    What else would you use this sauce for? Let us know in the comments.

    Yellow pasta sauce in a frying pan topped with mushroom meatballs.

    FAQs and substitutions

    Can you use other root veggies?

    Carrots are a must, but you can substitute parsnip with maybe turnips in equal amounts. Choose young small/medium carrots as they are sweeter than large, thick ones. The sweetest ones in my opinion are those where you can see the fresh, soft, young carrot greens, which by the way are also edible.

    On the other hand, baby carrots might not be as sweet as you would hope them to be. According to my father-in-law (who is a gardener), baby carrots are actually the small parts that break off large carrots and they are then polished to look smooth and well-shaped.

    How to store it?

    This sauce is perfect for batch cooking. You can easily store it in the fridge for 3-4 days without any problem. Store any leftovers per serving (in a jar, in a ziplock bag, or another container) in a freezer and thaw whenever you need them.

    Several mushroom meatballs on top of spaghetti with yellow creamy sauce served on a black plate. A fork is taking on meatballs from the middle.

    This Caramelized Carrot Pasta Sauce recipe is meat-free and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets if you use dairy-free or vegan sour cream. This recipe is nut-free, soy-free, and gluten-free. It can also be WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you use water instead of oil when caramelizing the veggies.

    More pasta recipes

    You can browse through our vegan sauce recipes or check out these gnocchi sauces that can be used on any type of pasta or try one of these recipes below:

    • Asparagus Lemon Pepper Pasta
    • Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce
    • Mushroom Pasta in “Paprikash Sauce”
    • Spinach Pesto Pasta
    • Harissa Tahini Pasta Sauce
    • Spinach Pasta Sauce
    Yellow pasta sauce poured on top of spaghetti in a frying pan.

    Caramelized Carrot Pasta Sauce

    Emese Maczko
    This carrot sauce is no ordinary one. It is not a mere creamed carrot puree, but so much more. The carrots and the other root veggies are caramelized to bring out their hidden sweetness and then they are turned into a savory creamy pasta sauce with lots of potentials.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Main Course, Sauce
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 258kcal

    Equipment

    • Cast-iron Dutch Oven (3-quart / 2.8 liter)
    • Stockpot
    • our Vitamix A2300
    • Regular blender
    • Immersion hand blender with 20 fl oz container

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 tbsp Olive oil
    • ½ Onion (medium)
    • 3 Carrots (medium)
    • ½ Celeriac (celery root)
    • 2 Parsnip
    • 2 cup Veggie broth
    • ¼ cup Cane sugar or other sweetener
    • ½ Lemon (only juice, freshly squeezed)
    • 1 Tbsp Mustard
    • 5 Tbsp Sour cream we used dairy-free
    • 2 Bay leaves
    • Salt and Pepper to taste
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    Instructions
     

    • Peel and chop the onion. Wash, peel, and chop celeriac, parsnip, and carrots. Juice half a lemon.
    • Heat your a stockpot or a Dutch oven to medium heat and add olive oil.
    • Add cane sugar and wait until it melts into a light brown caramel.
    • Add the chopped onion and caramelize it for 1-2 minutes.
    • Now, add all chopped root veggies (carrots, celeriac, parnsip). Stir and caramelize for 5-6 minutes.
    • Add veggie broth, lemon juice, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper. Cover it with a lid and cook veggies until soft. 
    • Add all cooked veggies to a blender with the juices, add sour cream and mustard and blend until you get a creamy carrot pasta sauce. Adjust seasoning of salt and pepper if necessary.
    Tried this recipe? Can we see it?Please share a picture with us by uploading an image to Pinterest below ours.

    Notes

    • Chop vegetables evenly and small – All root veggies are hard, so they need a long time to get tender. The smaller you cut the veggies, the shorter will be the cooking time.
    • Vitamix vs Regular Blender – You can certainly use a hand blender (aka immersion blender), a food processor, or a regular blender. They all make a creamy sauce. However, if you need this sauce to be extra smooth without a single little piece to find, we recommend using a high-powered blender like Vitamix*.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Caramelized Carrot Pasta Sauce
    Amount Per Serving (1 serving of the sauce)
    Calories 258 Calories from Fat 63
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 7g11%
    Saturated Fat 2g13%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
    Monounsaturated Fat 3g
    Sodium 726mg32%
    Potassium 711mg20%
    Carbohydrates 47g16%
    Fiber 7g29%
    Sugar 23g26%
    Protein 4g8%
    Vitamin A 7900IU158%
    Vitamin C 25mg30%
    Calcium 84mg8%
    Iron 1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in January 2021. It has been updated with more tips, info and what to serve with ideas and republished in May 2022.

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    1. Kent Peterson

      January 18, 2021 at 2:18 pm

      What if you cannot get celeriac here in America?

      Reply
      • My Pure Plants

        January 18, 2021 at 5:41 pm

        You can try adding an extra parsnip or carrot.

        Reply

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