Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce
Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce is an easy, healthy, and delicious recipe! Made with tons of colorful roasted vegetables, flavorful seasonings, and rigatoni pasta … this sauce is super customizable, creamy, nutritious, and freezer friendly. It is a perfect way to sneak in some extra veggies to your kids’ and your own meals!
Looking for more pasta sauce recipes? Check out my Healthy Homemade Tomato Sauce, Spicy Vodka Sauce, Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce, or Greek Yogurt Alfredo!
Creamy, Flavorful, & Nutritious Pasta Sauce
I consider myself to be a pretty health conscious eater! But I am going to be honest with you – sometimes vegetables are not my friend. There are just times when I really don’t want to eat them.
So I feel for all the picky kids and fussy eaters out there!
But I do know that they are very good for me. And needed for a healthy, well-rounded diet. Therefore, I love love love this hidden vegetable sauce.
It is truly the perfect way to get in your vegetables and some extra nutrients! It is a luxuriously creamy and flavorful sauce that you can enjoy with a big serving of pasta. What is not to love about that?
Plus it is so easy to make! You just roast the vegetables, blend them up, and pour into pasta. Add some fresh basil and parmesan cheese on top and ugh chef’s kiss! So dang yummy.
Ingredients
This homemade sauce is made with only a handful of healthy, wholesome ingredients! It is full of hidden vegetables, flavorful seasonings, and lots of nutrients.
Ingredient Notes
- Pasta: You will need your favorite pasta for this recipe. I chose 16 oz of large rigatoni and it was perfect.
- Fresh Vegetables: The sauce ingredients are almost entirely vegetables! You will need 3 carrots, 5 fresh tomatoes, 1 large yellow onion, 1 whole fresh garlic head, 1 zucchini, and 1 red bell pepper. The combination is so delicious!
- Olive Oil: You will need about 2-3 tbsp of olive oil here! Enough to thoroughly coat all the vegetables.
- Seasonings & Spices: This vegetable sauce calls for only a few simple seasonings and spices, but they really pack a flavorful punch! Add 1 tsp each of garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.
Substitutions & Additions
Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce is actually quite customizable! You can substitute and add a bunch of ingredients for the easy sauce to meet your personal preferences, tastes, or needs.
Vegetables: This healthy pasta sauce is loaded with different vegetables, as we all know from the name! And the specific ones you choose to use is up to you. You could take away some of the ones listed or add new ones! I think yellow squash, cauliflower, and red onions could be great options.
Meat: I think making a meat sauce out of this recipe would be fabulous! Simply combine with cooked ground meat – like turkey, chicken, or beef.
Seasonings & Spices: This is where you can really customize this veggie sauce. I think red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning would be a delicious way to add extra flavor!
Fresh Herbs: Fresh herbs are a great addition here! I love to add fresh basil. Fresh parsley would be great too.
Cheese: I serve this creamy pasta with tons of parmesan cheese on top, but it would be so delicious to mix some cheese into the sauce itself. Use freshly grated parmesan cheese for the best results!
Liquid: The liquid used here to blend up the roasted veggies is pasta water, but I think it would be delicious to swap some of that with chicken or vegetable broth. You could also mix in some heavy cream or half & half for an even creamier sauce.
Kitchen Tools
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- Measuring Cups / Spoons
- Liquid Measuring Cups
- Large Sheet Pan
- Blender
- Large Pot
- Large Saucepan
- Pasta Strainer
- Wooden Cooking Utensils
How To Make This Recipe
This healthy vegetable sauce is quite easy to make! You simply roast the veggies, blend them into a delectably creamy sauce, and serve with pasta for a delicious meal.
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1: Set the oven to 450 degrees.
Step 2: Next prepare the vegetables. For the garlic, trim off the top of the head. Then peel away the outside papery layer, but not the skins of the individual garlic cloves. Once roasted, the garlic should be easy to squeeze out of the skin.
Step 3: Add all the vegetables to a large sheet pan. Cover with the olive oil, garlic powder, dried basil, and dried oregano. Add salt and pepper generously.
Step 4: Roast for 60 minutes. Stirring about halfway through.
Step 5: Once the veggies are done roasting, boil your pasta according to the package directions. Make sure to reserve about 1 1/2 cups pasta water. While waiting for the pasta to cook the veggies will cool down for blending.
Step 6: Add the slightly cooled roasted veggies and about 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to a large blender or food processor. You could use more or less water depending on your desired consistency. If you have a small blender you may need to blend in multiple batches.
Step 7: Add the blended, smooth sauce to a large saucepan or large pot on the stove over low medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 8: Then add the boiled and drained pasta to the sauce. Add more pasta water if you’d like. Combine thoroughly.
Step 9: Serve with fresh basil and parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
Season to taste! Add all the seasonings used (and more) to your liking.
Roast your veggies until soft! This may be slightly longer than instructed depending on your oven or the size of your cut vegetables.
Cut the veggies into smaller pieces for quicker cooking time.
Make sure to reserve the pasta water!
Allow your veggies to cool thoroughly before blending. If the ingredients are too hot in the blender it could lead to trouble!
Use a high quality, high speed blender! This will result in the most smooth, creamy sauce rather than a chunky sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, I think you could use the stove to make this recipe. Although roasting is much more efficient!
For a stovetop method, you’d sauté the vegetables, olive oil, and seasonings until soft enough to blend.
I serve this pasta sauce with, of course, a big bowl of pasta! Topped with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. It is so delicious!
For extra veggies, serve with roasted broccoli on the side. And add cheesy garlic knots for more tasty carbs.
Store this recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for about 1 week!
Yes, totally!
Simply transfer the pasta to freezer safe containers or ziplock bags and place in the freezer. It should keep for a couple of months!
You could also freeze the sauce on its own. Add the sauce to freezer bags and again it will keep for a couple of months.
Storing a big batch like this is a great way to have easy dinners ready for busy weeknights!
Love this vegetarian pasta sauce recipe? Check out some more delicious recipes…
More Pasta Dishes
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Healthy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
- Burrata Pasta with Zucchini, Corn, & Tomatoes
- Vegan Creamy Tomato Pasta
- Healthy Pasta Primavera
More Veggie Loaded Dishes
- Veggie Mac & Cheese
- Homemade Vegetable Gnocchi Soup
- Mediterranean Chickpea Couscous Salad
- Butternut Squash Turkey Chili
- Salad Supreme Pasta Salad
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Connect With Me!
If you make hidden veggie tomato sauce or any of my other recipes I would absolutely love to know! Tag me @wellnessbykay on Instagram, so I can see and share your recreations!!
Love this recipe? Leave a comment and a rating! I love to see and it helps me continue to develop delicious recipes for this blog.
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Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 75 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
Description
Hidden Veggie Pasta is an easy, healthy, and delicious recipe! Made with tons of colorful roasted vegetables, flavorful seasonings, and rigatoni pasta … this sauce is super customizable, creamy, nutritious, and freezer friendly. It is a perfect way to sneak in some extra veggies to your kids’ and your own meals!
Ingredients
- 16 oz rigatoni pasta
- 3 carrots, peeled & roughly chopped
- 5 roma plum tomatoes, halved
- 1 zucchini, roughly chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 whole garlic head, outside layers peeled
- 1 red bell pepper, halved
- 2–3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- Salt & pepper
- Fresh basil
Instructions
- Set the oven to 450 degrees.
- Next prepare the vegetables. For the garlic, trim off the top of the head. Then peel away the outside papery layer, but not the skins of the individual garlic cloves. Once roasted, the garlic should be easy to squeeze out of the skin.
- Add all the vegetables to a large sheet pan. Cover with the olive oil, garlic powder, dried basil, and dried oregano. Add salt and pepper generously.
- Roast for 60 minutes. Stirring about halfway through.
- Once the veggies are done roasting, boil your pasta according to the package directions. Make sure to reserve about 1 1/2 cups pasta water. While waiting for the pasta to cook the veggies will cool down for blending.
- Add the slightly cooled roasted veggies and about 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to a large blender or food processor. You could use more or less water depending on your desired consistency. If you have a small blender you may need to blend in multiple batches.
- Add the blended, smooth sauce to a large saucepan or large pot on the stove over low medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Then add the boiled and drained pasta to the sauce. Add more pasta water if you’d like. Combine thoroughly.
- Serve with fresh basil and parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!
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