This sneaky veg sauce is the perfect hidden veggie pasta sauce for picky eaters. My kids love it and it's extremely versatile with lots of uses. Contains five different vegetables.
How to get kids to eat their vegetables
It can be extremely frustrating as a parent when your child won't eat their veggies. And while consistency is very important - just keep on serving them up and let them see you enjoying them - it's also good to have a few recipes up your sleeve that you know are full of veggie goodness.
If you're struggling to find ways to get your child or toddler to eat their vegetables this recipe for sneaky veg sauce is for you.
My little fussy eaters love it even though it contains five different vegetables, six if you count the onion.
It couldn't be easier to make. This makes a large portion of sauce - so is perfect for batch cooking.
It really is the perfect hidden vegetable sauce recipe for picky eaters.
Hidden vegetable sauce is one of my go-to recipes
One of my first Sneaky Veg recipes was this one for hidden vegetable sauce. Since then I've probably made it hundreds of times and each time it's varied a little bit, depending on what vegetables I have in the fridge, how much time I have or what mood I'm in.
It's invaluable for picky eaters as they'll think that it's just tomato sauce. (Of course, some kids won't eat sauce either - R didn't when he was two but has thankfully grown out of that now!)
Roasting the vegetables makes this hidden veggie sauce even more delicious
In this recipe for my ultimate sneaky veg sauce I have roasted the vegetables slowly together in the oven. I think that this gives you the best flavour, plus it means you can go away and get on with something else.
Feel free to vary the vegetables you put in - just remember that if you add something like sweet potato it will change the consistency of the sauce so you may need to add a little more water when you blend it.
Whatever veggies you use you'll end up with a delicious, healthy vegan hidden veggie pasta sauce.
How to use hidden veg sauce
This sauce tastes great:
- with pasta
- on top of pizza
- with cheese on toast - we call this pizza toast.
- with gnocchi.
In fact we had this sauce yesterday with gnocchi - which is a new favourite in the Sneaky Veg house. I can't tell you what a relief it is when all three kids decide they like something new.
There are no added extras in this sauce - simply a little olive oil and oregano. If you wanted you could add some salt and pepper, and my husband always adds a bit of chilli to his portion. But this is by no means necessary - the sauce tastes great as it is.
More sauce recipes you might like
You might also like:
- roasted carrot pasta sauce
- creamy tomato sauce
- fresh tomato sauce
- smoky tomato and aubergine sauce
- broccoli pesto
- kale pesto
- cauliflower alfredo sauce
- easy red pasta sauce
- ratatouille
How to make the ultimate Sneaky Veg sauce
If you have made this recipe I would love it if you’d leave a comment and rating below. Thank you!
Please do not reproduce this recipe without permission.
The ultimate sneaky veg hidden veggie pasta sauce recipe
Ingredients
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 aubergine
- 1 courgette peeled if green bits are a problem
- 1 red pepper
- 400 g piece of butternut squash peeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 100-200 ml water if needed
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6.
- Place one chopped onion and two cloves garlic in a large roasting tin.
- Chop the aubergine, courgette, red pepper and peeled butternut squash into similar sized pieces - the smaller they are the quicker they'll cook - and place with the onion and garlic.
- Pour over 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon dried oregano and stir well to combine.
- Place in the oven and roast for around 45 minutes stirring two or three times.
- When the vegetables are soft pour over a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes and stir well.
- Pour the amount of sauce you want blended into a blender, or use a handheld stick blender and blend. I usually leave half of the sauce unblended at this stage if I'm going to be eating it too as I prefer it this way.
- Add water a little at a time if needed until you have a sauce-like consistency.
- Enjoy!
- Store any un-used sauce in little pots or ice cube trays in the freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin the ultimate sneaky veg sauce for later
This recipe appeared in The Guardian in September 2018.
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Scarlet
Love this recipe so much and pizza toast a big hit with FF! Xx
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Scarlet - so happy to hear that you and FF loved this!
Kaycee
Oh my goodness! This recipe is amazing! I never want real spaghetti sauce again.
I’m a picky adult trying super hard to eat more veggies. Honestly there are a few veggies in here that I would never touch, but everything works so well in this sauce!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Mandy Mazliah
So happy that you loved it so much!
Michelle
Never thought to add aubergine to my veggie sauce. I have always added carrots, courgettes, butternut squash, leeks, onions and garlic and sometimes broccoli as the kids like eating ‘green trees’. But I never tried roasting the veg first. I always put the fresh veg into my food processor and whizz them down to save time. Then add olive oil to a skillet and gently fry it until soft before adding the seasoning and tomatoes. I tried your method last night, along with the aubergine and it was a huge success! Next time I will add some fresh herbs to the sauce as well. But there were clean plates all around which almost never happens, so this was a huge success. Thank you!
Mandy Mazliah
Ah I am so glad it was a success! Thanks Michelle!
Kristina
Brilliant, will try this tonight! I've been successful adding vegetables to lentil soup but not so much with the pasta. Peeling the courgette is a good idea pkus roasting. :))
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks Kristina - hope you enjoyed the sauce!
Anniken
What are the first steps? It starts with adding "the rest of " the vegetables so I assume I am supposed to do something first?
Mandy Mazliah
Sorry - must be a mistake which I will edit later. Basically add all the vegetables to a roasting tin.
Mandy Mazliah
I've updated the recipe now Anniken - thank you
Anniken
Thank you - the recipe looks really great! Will definetely try it 🙂
jenny paulin
i do this all the time Mandy - even my OH does not know how many veggies - some of which he claims not to like, he is eating on my pasta dishes!! such a great idea x
Mandy Mazliah
Ha ha! You can't beat a good sneaky veg sauce X
Eb Gargano / easypeasyfoodie.com
Oooh I do love a good hidden vegetable sauce - I like how you've roasted the veg too, I bet that makes it taste extra good - and well done on getting the kids to like gnocchi - result! Come to think of it, I'm not sure my kids have ever had gnocchi - might have to introduce them to that! Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare 🙂 Eb x
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks Eb, yes roasting the veg really does help the flavour. I sometimes steam them if I'm in a rush though and the kids don't notice any difference!