Got a veggie hating family? Try my Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce, perfect for pastas, pizzas, no added sugar and it can be frozen too!
This is a recipe that I have been meaning to share here for ages. Its just a simple tomato sauce but because it’s packed full of hidden veggies it makes a really fantastic addition to your children’s meals and a great way to sneak in some extra nutrients.
There has been so much talk in the press and on tv lately about hidden sugars in food such as jarred tomato sauce.
We all know we should be making our own but on busy days when we have only minutes to get dinner on the table then sometimes there is no other option.
But not anymore! Spend 30 minutes cooking up a batch of this sauce every month and I promise you’ll never buy another jar again.
Storage Instructions
For me, the key to healthy family eating is preparation. When I make a batch of this tomato sauce I always fill one large jar to keep in the fridge and then freeze the rest.
It can be frozen in freezer bags or in individual ice cube trays also, which is great for toddler or baby sized portions.
The sauce will keep in a sealed jar or container in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
To defrost either leave it out to defrost at room temperature for a few hours or heat it gently in a saucepan.
There’s so much you can do with this sauce. It’s great for pasta dishes, on pizzas or even as a base for soup.
If you try this recipe please do let me know what you think. Or tag me in a picture on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I’d love to see your pictures!
Looking for ways to get your fussy eater to eat a better variety of food? Try Pick Plates. These round divided plates have five compartments to be filled with a wide selection of food groups and choices of ingredients. Perfect for making food fun, interesting and appealing to picky eaters.
Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce
Prep Time: 5 mins- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 10 1x
Category: Sauce
Cuisine: European
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Got a veggie hating family? Try my Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce, perfect for pastas pizzas and can be frozen too!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 carrots, finely diced
- 2 celery sticks, finely diced
- 2 courgettes, finely diced
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1.5kg / 3.3lbs passata
- 500ml / 2 cups veg stock
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 1 tsp paprika
- optional: handful of fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another minute before adding the carrots, celery, courgette and red pepper.
- Pour in the veg stock and passata and stir well. Add the tomato puree, dried herbs and paprika and bring to the boil.
- Simmer on a medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. If you want to add the fresh basil leaves do so when the vegetables are soft.
- Remove from the heat and blitz either with a hand blender or in an upright blender until smooth.
- Pour the sauce into jars, containers or freezer bags and allow to cool before refrigerating or freezing.
Notes
If at any point the sauce consistency is too thick, simply add some extra veg stock or water to thin it down. The same applies after it has been defrosted as sometimes it may be a bit thicker.
The very fine flecks of green in the sauce are the fresh basil leaves which I added at the end. If your kids really hate the sight of any green then you can easily leave these out!
Emma Thompson says
Every parent needs this recipe! My partner and 3 year old are really fussy with veg but wolf this down – my son always asks for seconds when I use the sauce in a spag bol. I always have this in the freezer and it’s my go to easy healthy tea.
We use it with mince, on its own with pasta and on pizzas.
★★★★★
ash says
huge recipe – it filled my slow cooker to the brim and made about 3kg of sauce. i fried the onions and garlic and then mixed everything together in my slow cooker and left it to stew overnight as i didn’t have a big enough pot, which worked out well. i also added about 2tbsp of paprika and a tsp each of coriander, oregano, and thyme. my family hate all the veggies in this recipe except carrots and hate chunky sauces, but this was a huge success!
★★★★★
Terrianne says
This recipe is delicious 😋, used tinned tomatoes and smoked paprika as that’s all we had so tasty, added tin of tuna to the pasta mix
★★★★★
Anonymous says
lovely hidden vege tomato sauce. tried making a smaller batch of this yesterday. everyone liked it
★★★★★
Yamuuna Punniya Moorthy says
I made this for the whole family including my 14 mth old. All of us loved it. It is so easy to make and so nutritious. She had some pasta with it but wanted more of just the sauce. I gladly gave her more knowing there was so much goodness in it. No more store brought pasta sauce for my family! It was my first time using passata and really liked the flavour. Thanks so much for the recipe. I added chilli flakes to it for my husband and I for some extra zing.
★★★★★
Clare says
I made this for my little boy who refuses to try all veggies (apart from potatoes), he really likes it and I feel so much better knowing that he has some veggies inside him and all the vitamins that they contain. I’ve used this as a sauce on pasta with some cheese sprinkled on top and I’ve used it as a pizza base. Me and my partner also like it smothered on chicken or pork chops – delicious! I would recommend that you have 2 large saucepans ready when cooking this though as it makes A LOT of sauce and I found myself having to divide the ingredients between 2 saucepans as mine was overflowing! This is the best hidden veggie sauce that I have found….
★★★★★
RG says
Excellent recipe, and my kids love it. I used the pasta sauce for a curry base tonight – huge success! I fried onions and garlic and spices and added this sauce, then a couple tablespoons of Greek yoghurt and it was so creamy and delicious!
Drea says
I was practically in tears as my 2 1/2 year old ate the pasta and said “it’s good”. She proceeded to eat my husband’s leftovers too. I didn’t have the exact ingredients so I compromised and it turned out great. Mine was little more orange than I anticipated and was afraid of that however she ate it up. THANK YOU!
Cali says
Didn’t change anything in the recipe, this is a really tasty sauce recipe and it made enough to freeze 5 portions. I’m very pleased as I’ve tried so many different sauces.
★★★★★
Chloe says
I have a 3 year old who I have struggled to get to eat anything at all! I made this and added chicken to pasta and it was the biggest hit! Honestly he didn’t even come up for air! I keep batch cooking now and freezing it! Honestly thank you so much! Amazing
★★★★★
Lucy says
Love this recipe. I batch cook this sauce every month and use it to make bolognese, pizza and pinwheels. Thank you.
★★★★★
Sarah H says
The whole family has enjoyed this tonight with sausage meatballs! Success as having a 2 and 1 year old makes it interesting trying to get them to eat veg! Excited to try in lasagne and pizza 🙂
★★★★★
Amy says
Hi my child is the fussiest eater can’t get her to eat vegetables and I was sick of websites and books claiming that these recipes are for the fussiest water as my child still wouldn’t eat them… this recipe was brilliant she ate 2 bowls, I was worried she was going to vomit cause she ate so much lol
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
Oh wow! Success!!
Jamie says
What is passata? Im in the US and am unfamiliar.
Ciara Attwell says
It’s sieved chopped tomatoes
Rach says
Such a great recipe! This has really helped me eat healthy throughout the week, I use it for pizza as well. Thank you!
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
Thank you Rachel!
Lente says
Great recipe! My 2 year old came to the kitchen en ltierally started spooning the sauce from the bowl I had put it to store it. He ate a bunch and then I made spaghetti with the sauce which he loved as well. Thanks for the recipe! The only thing I would change is to diminish the stock, the sauce was too liquid.
★★★★★
Laura Buck says
My kids and I love this!
Megan K Olbur says
I made this last night for my 2 year old who is on veggie strike. I added salt and nutritional yeast. She cried when I put it in front of her, but because I let her choose alphabet pasta she did end up eating what was on her plate, then asked for more! Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Hayley Fuller says
Hi do you have any other ideas for sauces my 2 an a half year old wont eat any veg but loves dips
Angela Derrigan says
Best hidden veggie recipe I’ve tried so far. Have made another batch today that’s in the fridge!
★★★★★
Veronica says
Love this recipe! Always try and have some of this made up as it’s so versatile and its also really good to know there are no nasties in it like some of the supermarket ones.
★★★★★
Jemma says
Just made this sauce to go with spiced turkey meatballs – my husband and I loved it, hoping my daughter who has coeliacs disease will love it too ???? thank you ????
★★★★
Pearl Courtney says
Can I ask what is volume of total recipe? In litres if possible
Gina says
Can other veggies be added to this recipe? Would love to get more greens in there like spinach, broccoli or zucchini!
Ciara Attwell says
Yes absolutely. Just bare in mind that adding green veg will make the colour of the sauce a bit murky!
Kara reid says
What is the calorie content?
★★★★★
Swathi says
Hi!,
Totally love your website! My baby is not exactly a fussy eater but it is I who sometimes lack the creativity to come up with quick, delicious and simple recipes. My 11 month old hogs on pasta and I try to make a lot of different sauces. This one now is definitely his and mine favourite 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Swathi says
Oh i forgot to mention, i used cherry tomatoes instead of passata! Turned out equally awesome 🙂
Ciara Attwell says
That’s great, to know thanks for sharing! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Andriana says
Hi Vicki, did you use homemade veg stock or store- bought for this recipe? Thanks 🙂
Ciara Attwell says
Either is fine!
Kelly says
I’m not familiar with passata, so I googled it and it said purée. However, you have purée listed separately. Can you please tell me what passata is?
Ciara Attwell says
Hi Kelly, passata is basically just tinned tomatoes that have been sieved or pureed, so its completely liquid rather than have chunks of tomato in it. What country do you live in? Let me know and I’ll send you a link to what it is.
Kelly says
I’m in the US
Lili says
I Have a cooking competition, and I’m using this sauce! I’ve looked every where for one like this! Hopefully my score will be high! Have a good day!
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
Exciting. Good luck!
Abby says
OH MY GOSH….I’m making this ASAP… I have one g’kid who is not a veggie eater at all, now she’ll never know !!
Thank You so much for sharing this …
I’m very eager to look around your site !!
Ciara Attwell says
Hi Abby, I hope this sauce goes down well. Its a big hit in my house as the kids have no idea that there are veggies in it!!
Honest mum says
Oh so delicious, nothing like homemade tomato sauce, perfect on pizza and pasta as you say. Fab pictures too. That colour! Thanks for linking to #tastytuesdays
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
Thank you Vicki. The kids had this sauce AGAIN for lunch with pasta today. I love it!