The biggest diet mistake people of all ages make is not eating nearly enough fruits and vegetables. If you are trying to include more vegetables in your diet but don’t particularly love eating them, this Hidden Vegetable Sauce recipe is just for you! It looks just like a conventional tomato sauce but has a much milder and more mellow flavor. Nobody (not even the kids) will be able to tell it is hiding eight different vegetables.
Hidden Vegetable Sauce is delicious over whole grain pasta, as a pizza topping (I especially love Eggplant Pizza), over baked potatoes, on top of vegetable pasta, over polenta, on top of eggs, etc. Serve the Hidden Vegetable Sauce any way you might use tomato sauce.
Hidden Vegetable Sauce Hides 8 Different Veggies
I promise you cannot tell by taste, but here’s a list of the different vegetables you will find hiding in the sauce:
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Shitake Mushroom (learn about the healing benefits of shitake mushrooms)
- Butternut squash
- Zucchini
- Tomatoes
- Roasted red peppers
Cook Once, Eat Twice
One of the best things about this recipe are leftovers! It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish to make the sauce, but you should have plenty of leftovers for the week.
Make It Easy
And finally, if you do not yet own a handheld stick blender, this gadget will definitely make your life a lot easier. I use my stick blender anytime I need to puree hot soup or big batches of sauce. Using the stick blender is so much easier than waiting for the soup or sauce to cool and then batch pureeing in the blender. Of course if you do not own a stick blender you can most definitely just pour the cooled sauce in the blender and puree that way.
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Hidden Vegetable Sauce Recipe (with 8 Different Veggies!)
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Prep Time: 15 mins -
Cook Time: 45 mins
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Total Time: 1 hour
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Yield: 8 -
Category: sauce -
Cuisine: clean eating
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
If you are trying to get your family to eat more vegetables, this Hidden Vegetable Sauce is the way to go! Nobody will ever guess it sneaks in 8 different vegetables.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 3 celery, chopped
- 1 cup shitake mushrooms (stems removed), chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup frozen butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- Unrefined sea salt, to taste
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar
- 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 jar (12 ounces) roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery; saute for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and saute until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and saute until soft, 2 to 3 minutes.Add the butternut squash and saute until thawed, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the oregano, salt, tomato paste, coconut palm sugar, diced tomatoes and vegetable broth. Add the bay leaf. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf. Add the roasted red peppers. Use a handheld stick blender to process until smooth and creamy. Serve warm.
LOOKING FOR MORE CLEAN EATING DINNER RECIPES?
If you liked the Hidden Vegetable Sauce recipe, be sure to check out a full month’s menu of delicious healthy dinner recipes (including weekly shopping lists!) in our Clean Cuisine Dinners digital cookbook.
Absolutely the best sauce I have ever made! Thank you so much!! Seriously a game changer for our family. My kids love this so much they would eat a bowl of just the sauce!! I make this every month and have been freezing it in small batches to thaw out a small meal for my kids on busy nights!
Awww, thank you SO SO much for taking the time to write and tell me Becky =) I sometimes wonder if anybody actually cooks some of my recipes but hearing positive feedback makes all the hard work worth it!
This sauce is SO good! I have trouble getting my kids to eat vegetables (like a lot of parents), but they eat this right up. They know exactly what is in it, and enjoy helping me make it. Even my husband – a certified chef and SUPER picky eater – loves it. We use it for all different pastas and lasagna. I make it every week! Thank you so much for a delicious and healthy recipe!!
Hi Jordan! Thank you so much for the great feedback—that totally made my day =) And I am honored that your chef husband likes it too! Thank you again for taking the time to let me know. xoxo
What a delicious sauce!! My family LOVED it🙂 my husband and daughter inhaled their plates in less than 5 minutes. They both asked me to make this great “orange” sauce at least twice a week. Thank you Ivy for sharing your Best cooking secrets.
★★★★★
Hi Keila! Oh my gosh, you totally made my day =) Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how much everyone liked it!!