Veggie-Bomb 'Pasta' Sauce

Age suitable:

6 months+

Servings:

10-12 adult servings.

Dairy free, Egg free, Gluten Free, Nut free, Soy free, Vegan, Vegetarian

5 stars

About the recipe

This flexible, veggie-loaded pasta sauce from Toddler to Table is packed with fibre, flavour and nutrients—perfect for kids and a brilliant way to reduce food waste. It’s ideal for pasta, pizza, shakshuka and more.

Picture via @twinsinmykitchen of the collagen and liver loaded meatballs from Milk to Meals

I’ve been promising to type this recipe up for way too long, and to be honest I have been putting it off because even though I have been making this recipe for years, it changes every time I make it! But, I have come to realise that thats the beauty of this recipe, it can be changed and ingredients substituted and it still seems to taste amazing no matter the way you make it!

So, why does it change each time? Well, the beauty of this recipe is that it is the epitome of #nowaste - this recipe has been designed to use all of those old, sad, forgotten about vegetables wilting in the bottom of your fridge at the end of the week that would most likely otherwise go to waste! And if you are anything like me, those vegetables vary every week.

There are a few key ingredients that I don’t leave out though, as really they are the basis of a good sauce - onion or leek (one of the other is fine), garlic, basil (or another fresh herb like parsley, thyme or rosemary will work) and the passata (can also use diced tomatoes). The rest of the vegetables will really just add more dimension to the sauce which is the beauty of it.

It is also super gut-nourishing if you include the bone broth (another no waste component) that will aid digestion, support gut-health and adds a delicious flavour. Of course if your family doesn’t consume broth, you can swap this for water or homemade vegetable stock.

This recipe is super versatile - hence ‘pasta’ sauce being the title! We use it for so many things - yes it makes a mean pasta sauce - we love ours with meatballs and red lentil pasta, but also makes a delicious pizza base sauce and really yummy as a shakshuka meal (baked eggs in sauce - yum). For this reason I like to make a big batch and freeze in jars, so that when i’m having ‘one of those nights’ where you just can’t/don’t want to cook, you can still make a super nutritious meal for the whole family with a simple defrost!

So, enough from me, heres the ‘rough’ recipe. Like I said, its super flexible, feel free to swap things out or add things in! This makes enough for about 10-12 individual servings of pasta for an adult roughly.

GF | DF | RSF | EF | NF

Want to make this sauce extra iron-rich? You can also add bone marrow or liver to this sauce and I promise nobody is going to notice. Up to you if you want to add it to the whole batch or just to some of the batch.

Or you can also add liver to the mixture - personally I like to grate the liver in (from frozen) as I find its less noticeable in taste and texture. To grate the liver in, simply freeze liver of choice (I like chicken or duck for less flavour, but beef or lamb is fine to use also). I would use around 250g of liver in this meal if adding to the whole sauce. You can grate the frozen liver in on step 5.

AGE APPROPRIATE: 6 months +

I’ve been promising to type this recipe up for way too long, and to be honest I have been putting it off because even though I have been making this recipe for years, it changes every time I make it! But, I have come to realise that thats the beauty of this recipe, it can be changed and ingredients substituted and it still seems to taste amazing no matter the way you make it!

So, why does it change each time? Well, the beauty of this recipe is that it is the epitome of #nowaste - this recipe has been designed to use all of those old, sad, forgotten about vegetables wilting in the bottom of your fridge at the end of the week that would most likely otherwise go to waste! And if you are anything like me, those vegetables vary every week.

There are a few key ingredients that I don’t leave out though, as really they are the basis of a good sauce - onion or leek (one of the other is fine), garlic, basil (or another fresh herb like parsley, thyme or rosemary will work) and the passata (can also use diced tomatoes). The rest of the vegetables will really just add more dimension to the sauce which is the beauty of it.

It is also super gut-nourishing if you include the bone broth (another no waste component) that will aid digestion, support gut-health and adds a delicious flavour. Of course if your family doesn’t consume broth, you can swap this for water or homemade vegetable stock.

This recipe is super versatile - hence ‘pasta’ sauce being the title. We use it for so many things - yes it makes a mean pasta sauce - we love ours with meatballs and red lentil pasta, but also makes a delicious pizza base sauce and really yummy as a shakshuka meal (baked eggs in sauce - yum). For this reason I like to make a big batch and freeze in jars, so that when i’m having ‘one of those nights’ where you just can’t/don’t want to cook, you can still make a super nutritious meal for the whole family with a simple defrost!

So, enough from me, heres the ‘rough’ recipe. Like I said, its super flexible, feel free to swap things out or add things in!

Main Course

Italian

Picture via @twinsinmykitchen of the collagen and liver loaded meatballs from Milk to Meals

Ingredients

1 brown onion or 1 leek

1 bulb fennel

1 to 2 zucchini

1 cup mushrooms (any kind)

2 tablespoons butter, ghee, olive oil or coconut oil

2 carrots

2 sticks celery

4 garlic cloves (unpeeled)

3 to 4 cups chopped root vegetables (such as sweet potato, pumpkin, swede, parsnip, turnip, beetroot, red capsicum)

Olive oil or ghee for roasting

1 lemon, quartered

1 big handful baby spinach

1 x 700g jar passata

1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes

2 cups bone broth or vegetable stock

1 big handful fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: bone marrow or up to 250g grated frozen liver (or desiccated liver powder)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Chop all vegetables. Slice the onion or leek, fennel, zucchini, and mushrooms. Roughly chop the carrots, celery and chosen root vegetables into even-sized pieces. Quarter the lemon and prepare the garlic cloves (leave them unpeeled).
Spread the chopped root vegetables, carrot, celery, garlic cloves and lemon on the baking trays. Drizzle with ghee or olive oil and roast for around 45 minutes, until soft and slightly browned.
Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over medium heat and melt the butter, ghee or oil. Add the onion or leek, fennel, mushrooms and zucchini. Sauté gently until browned and softened.
Once the roasted vegetables are ready, transfer them to a large pot with the sautéed veg. Squeeze in the garlic and lemon (discard skins). Add the bone broth, passata, diced tomatoes, basil leaves, baby spinach, balsamic vinegar and honey or maple syrup.
If using grated frozen liver or bone marrow, stir it in now.
Bring to a gentle simmer, taste and season with salt and pepper.
Blend the sauce using a stick blender or in batches in a food processor or high-speed blender until smooth.
Portion into jars or containers for storage, and enjoy in whatever way works best for your family.

Ingredient swaps and additions:

Bone broth can be swapped for water or veggie stock.
Use whatever root vegetables and greens you have—pumpkin, sweet potato, beetroot, spinach, fennel, mushrooms, capsicum, zucchini. There are a few key ingredients that I don’t leave out though, as really they are the basis of a good sauce – onion or leek (one of the other is fine), garlic, basil (or another fresh herb like parsley, thyme or rosemary will work) and the passata (can also use diced tomatoes). The rest of the vegetables will really just add more dimension to the sauce which is the beauty of it.
Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of desiccated liver powder (likeCell Squared) or 250g of grated frozen liver for an iron boost.
Swap honey for maple syrup for under 12 months.
Use coconut oil or olive oil to keep it dairy-free.