Vegetable Pasta Sauce (7 Hidden Veggies)

This healthy vegetable sauce is loaded with SEVEN different veggies (including a legume for extra protein) and blended into a creamy hidden veggie pasta sauce. It is so delicious and smooth. I guarantee you that even your picky eaters will lick the bowl. This is by far our daughters’ favorite sauce for spaghetti.

You can probably tell by now, that we L-O-V-E hidden veggie recipes. If you also have a picky eater at home then you know what I am talking about. It is any mother’s mission to increase veggie intake for their kids even if they fuss about every meal.

That is why we have red lentil pancakes and red lentil waffles. As well as vegan sweet potato brownies and sweet potato chocolate pudding. Not to mention our veggie-loaded and nut-free vegan mac and cheese sauce. So what is your favorite hidden veggie recipe? 

What to expect from this recipe

Do you know what will you get if you make this hidden veggie pasta sauce recipe?

• A thick, creamy, rich sauce that is perfect for spaghetti, penne, or any other pasta.
• You will know it is more than just a simple tomato sauce, but I dare anyone to identify these veggies just by taste. Tomato is the main flavor for sure.

Who is this vegetable pasta sauce for?

• For picky eaters (kids and adults alike), who have difficulty trying new ingredients, but love tomatoes.
• For those who struggle with the sometimes weird texture of vegetables, but wants to eat a wider variety.
• For those looking for meatless options to enjoy pasta, but they feel that the plain tomato sauce is not filling enough.

Ingredients

So how many veggies are hidden in this spaghetti sauce? SEVEN. 6 different veggies and 1 legume. All of them are whole foods ingredients so I consider this recipe extremely healthy and nutritious. So what are these hidden gems?

• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Celery stalk
• Chickpeas 
• Zucchini
• Tomato sauce -> You can probably find several types of tomato sauces in the stores. However, we recommend choosing sieved tomato puree which is thicker and unseasoned.
• Basil – we used ground dried basil, but if you can get your hands on some fresh basil leaves, the flavor of the sauce will be even better.
• Oregano – same goes for oregano
• Salt and black pepper

🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

What other veggies can you hide?

I would happily add any of the following veggies: other root vegetables (parsnip, rutabaga, celeriac) instead of carrots or celery. There is also some room to add 2-3 medium-sized root veggies in addition to the above list without altering the taste. However, the more veggies you add, the lesser will the sauce taste like a tomato sauce.

What else can you add?

You can certainly add other legumes (lentils or beans) to make this vegetable pasta sauce loaded with even more protein. However, to keep it as a tomato spaghetti sauce, we recommend sticking with chickpeas or maybe white/cannellini beans as they have the least beany taste. Black beans and red kidney beans may have a stronger beany, earthy taste.

Which pasta to choose?

You can choose any type of pasta like fettuccine, spaghetti, or penne. Even homemade sweet potato gnocchi if you want something unique with this hidden veggie tomato sauce.

Please note that pasta, as well as, gnocchi is not gluten-free, so choose the right brand for your diet. Or go creative and use zucchini noodles for example.

I

My husband cooked this vegetable sauce in an enameled Dutch oven*. Don’t worry if you don’t have one, this recipe is perfect in a stockpot too. We made it lots of times and will show you below step-by-step how to cook the best creamy veggie pasta sauce.

Prepare the ingredients

• Peel and chop onion and garlic.
• Wash and chop celery.
• Wash, peel, and slice carrots.
• Wash, peel, and cut zucchini into cubes.
• Precook dry chickpeas, or drain canned ones.

Making veggie pasta sauce

1. Heat your stockpot or an enameled Dutch oven to medium heat and add olive oil.
2. Add chopped onion and cook it for 1-2 minutes
3. Add chopped garlic and cook for a few seconds.
4. Add sliced carrots. Stir and cook for 5-6 minutes.

5. Add zucchini cubes with salt (it will help to release the moisture in the zucchini).
6. Add black pepper, basil, and oregano and stir until combined.
7. Add celery stalk and stir again.
8. Add sieved tomato puree and cook veggies until they are fork tender. 
9. Finally, add precooked or canned chickpeas and cook for 1-2 minutes until they warm up.
10. Add nutritional yeast (optional). Stir. Now, the veggies are ready for blending.

11. Add all veggies to a blender.
12. Blend them until you get a creamy veggie pasta sauce.

Top tips to make it perfectly

• Save time on the order of cooking – We added carrots first as they need the most time to be cooked, then zucchini and celery, and finally canned chickpeas as they are already cooked.
• Chop vegetables evenly and small – The smaller you cut the veggies, the shorter will be the cooking time.
• Stockpot vs Dutch Oven – The enameled Dutch oven*. is made of thick cast iron so it distributes and keeps the heat more evenly. And due to its enamel coating, it is more unlikely that anything is sticking to the bottom or burning down. While the stockpot is usually made of stainless steel or aluminum thus it is thinner. Therefore, you need to watch the heat more carefully and stir more frequently.
• Vitamix vs Regular Blender – You can certainly use a hand blender (aka immersion blender), a food processor, or a regular blender. They all make the vegetable sauce creamy. However, if you need this sauce to be extra smooth without a single little piece to find, we recommend using a high-power blender like Vitamix*. It will make a huge difference.

Pasta topping ideas

You can still add more toppings to your pasta sauce as you would a simple marinara sauce. We have lots of ideas. See for yourself.

• Sauteed mushrooms
• Pan-fried oyster mushrooms
• Roasted asparagus and mushrooms
• Sauteed broccoli or even better broccolini
• Green peas or green beans
• Sweet corn
• Legumes (beans, lentils) like white/cannellini beans, red kidney beans, chickpeas (roasted or cooked)
• Nuts and seeds (almond slices, pepitas, pistachios)
• More vegan parmesan, or nutritional yeast
• Vegan bacon bits
• A swirl of spinach pesto or red pesto on top.

What else to do with this sauce?

You can use this pasta sauce as you would use any store-bought tomato sauce:

• Top your pasta instead of bolognese sauce
• Serve sweet potato gnocchis with it
• Add it to meatballs (like falafels, eggplant meatballs (pictured below), mushroom meatballs, or chickpea meatballs)
• Layer it within the lasagna (pictured below)
• Spread it on pizza instead of a marinara sauce or our no-cook pizza sauce
• Add it to chili instead of a tomato sauce (pictured below)
• Use it in ratatouille or shakshuka (pictured below)
• Use it to make stuffing for mushrooms, bell peppers, butternut squash, or zucchini.

What else would you use a veggie spaghetti sauce for? Let us know in the comments.

FAQs

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, a ziplock bag, or an airtight container) in a freezer and thaw whenever you need them.

Allergen info

This Vegetable Pasta Sauce recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. 

• Vegan – All ingredients are supposed to be vegan.
• Nut-free – All ingredients are supposed to be nut-free, but check packaging info for cross-contamination all the time especially if you choose your pasta and tomato sauce.
• WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) – It is only compliant if you cook veggies directly in the tomato sauce without sauteeing them first in oil.
• Gluten-free – You need to choose gluten-free pasta. Other than that all other ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free, but always check the packaging for cross-contamination info.
• Soy-free – All ingredients are supposed to be soy-free.

More pasta sauce recipes

We have a collection of more than 30 easy and delicious vegan pasta recipes, or check out the below ones:

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UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in Jan 2020. More info, tips, and details were added, and it was republished in Sep 2022.