Family Recipe: Veggie Loaded Pasta Sauce

I’m always on a mission to add more fruits and veggies into our diet. My pasta sauce recipe is full of veggies: Onions, peppers, carrots, zucchini, celery, fresh tomatoes.

And because I love meaty sauce, I can’t forget the 80/20 ground chuck!

I served it last night with both whole wheat pasta and Italian squash that I ran through the spiralizer (I have this one).

The kids aren’t too big on zoodles, but that’s ok. We paired our meal with a green salad (cucumber slices for the kids), and garlic bread (a family favorite).

 

Veggie Loaded Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs ground chuck or your favorite ground beef (don’t use super lean beef)
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1/2 c. each chopped or diced: carrots, celery, bell peppers (I used red)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 large can (28 ounces) fire-roasted tomatoes 
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 t. Shallot pepper seasoning
• 2 T. Italian Seasoning
• 4 large zucchinis, spiralized, ends diced and reserved for sauce

 

Directions

1. Brown meat in olive oil over low, breaking up meat as it cooks.
2. Add onion, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and cook until soft and onions are translucent.
3. Add garlic, cook until fragrant.
4. Add fresh and canned tomatoes, and tomato paste.
5. De-glaze pan with wine, add seasoning, and small pieces of zucchinis leftover from spiralizing.
6. Cook on low for 2+ hours, stirring occasionally.
7. To cook zucchini spirals, steam for 6-8 minutes, drain and serve right away!

 

This sauce freezes well too and gets better overnight in the fridge.  You can also use this sauce to make lasagna.