It can be difficult for most of us to get enough vegetables in to our diet, but it's even harder if you don't like vegetables at all. This slow cooker hidden vegetable pasta sauce has the vegetables all blended up in to it, so you won't even know there are there. 5 different vegetables, easy to adapt, vegan, and freezes well too.
When it comes to pasta sauces, I am a firm believer in low and slow. It allows all the flavours to really fuse together and putting it in the slow cooker means you don't have to keep a an eye on it like on the hob. Or have the sauce splattering up your cabinets.
You can have this vegetable pasta sauce bubbling away in your slow cooker and then when you get home all you have to do is put some pasta on and blend up the sauce to stir through. Simple comfort food that is packed full of vegetables.
If you are looking for some other pasta recipes to try, then why not try our Greek Pasta Salad, 10 Minute Cream Cheese Pasta, Marmite Pasta or Smoked Salmon Pasta.
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Why you will love it
- Veggie packed - We have put 5 different vegetables into this pasta sauce, but you would never know as it is all blended up and hidden.
- Easy to adapt - Got other vegetables in your fridge that need using up? This is a great recipe to put them in and make sure that nothing goes to waste.
- Vegan - Although you can add some cheese on top of the vegetable pasta sauce if you want, the sauce itself is totally vegan.
- Freezes well - This vegetable pasta sauce freezes SO well, so make sure to make a big batch to keep in the freezer for quick and easy meals.
- Kids love it - My kids think they are having pasta with a plain tomato sauce, so they love it. I love knowing they are getting lots of vegetables.
- No added sugar like store bought pasta sauces - The best thing about homemade pasta sauces is that you can control exactly what goes in to them. No need to add any salt and you can add just a little pinch of salt if you want to, or just leave it out.
Ingredients needed
- Aubergine - You can use a large aubergine, or even a few baby aubergines. These do give the sauce a little bitterness, so leave them out if you don't like that.
- Bell pepper - We used a red and yellow bell pepper, but orange and green work well too.
- Courgettes - This vegetable pasta sauce is a great way to use up a glut of courgettes if you have them growing in your garden. Yellow or green courgettes work.
- Carrot - Although this is a root vegetable, the long cooking time will make them nice and soft and easy to blend.
- Leek - This makes a nice change from using onion, although you could swap it for onions or shallots if you prefer.
- Garlic - Save yourself some time by using a teaspoon of lazy garlic.
- Chopped tomatoes - try to use the best quality tinned tomatoes that you can find, as you will taste the difference. Cheap tinned tomatoes can be really watery, and you don't want that for the sauce.
- Balsamic vinegar - just like the tomatoes, a really good quality balsamic is important, as it will have more of an intense flavour.
- Vegetable stock - you can use chicken or mushroom stock instead.
- Dried herbs - we used dried oregano, however you could use a mixture of oregano, basil and thyme.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to cook Vegetable Pasta Sauce - Step by step
One: Put all of the vegetables into a food processor using the chopping attachment and chop them up. You can chop by hand, but a food processor will save you time.
Two: Put all of the the chopped vegetables, tomatoes, garlic, balsamic, stock, oregano, salt and pepper into your slow cooker bowl and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Three: Leave the sauce to cool and then pour it into food processor in small batches and blend the sauce until smooth, or leave chunks if you prefer.
Four: Mix the sauce into the cooked pasta and serve with rocket and shaved Parmesan.
Why hide vegetables in a sauce?
Whilst I am a firm believer in also serving vegetables whole (or chopped in the manageable sizes), instead of just blended, to continually expose more fussy eaters to foods they don't love, hidden vegetable dishes have so many benefits. Hidden vegetable pasta sauces like this can give a meal a really nutrition boost, if all the veggies on the side get picked around.
It's so important to still serve vegetables on the side, and encourage kids (or even fussy adults) to try new things. But, if you know they are going to avoid it, and you want them to have a nutritious meal, then sauces like this can save your sanity as a parent and avoid any food battles. For some parents, these kind of sauces are the only way to get vegetables in to kid's diets.
Variations
The best thing about this recipe (apart from how easy it is in the slow cooker) is that you can adapt it to suit your tastes, the season, or whatever you have in the fridge that needs using up.
We went with aubergine, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, courgette and leeks, but you could use some of them, none of them or all of them. Get creative and use different vegetables every time.
Other options when it comes to vegetables are:
- Broccoli
- Sweetcorn
- Asparagus
- Green beans
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Sprouts
- Kale
- Spinach
- Butternut squash
Storage
Store: You can keep this hidden vegetable pasta sauce in the fridge for up to 3 days to use on various pasta dishes.
Freeze: This sauce freezes really well. Just make sure that it has totally cooled down first and then portion it out in to freezer bags and then you can lay them flat in the freezer to save space. They will keep for up to 3 months.
Defrost: Allow the to defrost thoroughly in the fridge. It should take a few hours.
Reheat: You can heat through the sauce in a pan or the microwave.
Vegetarian slow cooker recipes
People usually think about meat when it comes to slow cookers, but we are here to show that there are so many vegetarian dishes you can do in it too. And delicious ones too!
Our new book, The Healthy Slow Cooker, has over 50 vegetarian slow cooker recipes in it, like Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff, Butternut Squash Risotto, Lentil Ragu and Greek Potatoes.
That's right, we have a new book out! The Healthy Slow Cooker has 100 delicious slow cooker recipes in it (over half are vegetarian) that will show you how to get so much more out of your slow cooker than just stews. There are breakfasts, side dishes, desserts and drinks.
Click here to order your copy of The Healthy Slow Cooker.
FAQs
This sauce goes perfectly with pasta. We like to use spaghetti, tagliatelle or pappardelle, as a thick pasta allows for the sauce to really cling to it. It makes a great pizza sauce too.
You can use this sauce to replace the marinara in a spaghetti bolognese or lasagna to give it a vegetable boost too. Sometimes we stir it in to rice for the kids if we want to give it a veggie boost.
If you didn't want to have just vegetables, then you could top it with some grilled chicken or salmon before serving. You don't have to use this for pasta either, you could stir it through rice or put it on top of a baked potato.
If you don't want to cook this in a slow cooker, then you could roast up the vegetables and cook the sauce on the hob. Add all your chopped vegetables to a large baking tray (you may need to use two trays if the veg is too close together) and drizzle with oil and mix well. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 40 minutes. Then add the vegetables to a large pan with the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes and then blend.
This recipe is naturally vegan, just make sure you use a vegan alternative if you are going to top it with cheese.
This is a great recipe for kids, and to get more vegetables in to their diet. We have served this to our kids from 6 months as a pasta sauce, pizza topping and even a chunky soup. Just make sure that you leave the salt out and use a reduced salt stock or swap it for water.
If you want a creamy vegetable pasta sauce, then you could add some cream cheese to it just before serving.
Yes, as long as you use gluten free stock and make sure there is no cross contamination, then this is gluten free.
Extra tips
• Get creative and use a selection of different vegetables based on personal preference, season or what you have in the fridge.
• You can use a stick blender, jug blender or food processor to blend this. If putting in a jug blender or food processor, make sure it is cooled first, as hot sauce can cause it to explode. You may need to blend it in batches, depending on how big your jug is.
• If you don't want just vegetables, then top the dish with grilled chicken or salmon before serving.
• This sauce would go well with rice or on a baked potato too.
• If making this for kids, use reduced salt stock (or just water) and don't add any extra salt. There will be enough flavour from the vegetables, that it won't miss the salt.
• If you don't need a lot of sauce, or don't want to freeze the leftovers, then you can halve this recipe.
More slow cooker recipes
If you’ve tried this slow cooker pasta sauce, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Aubergine (eggplant) - small; diced
- 2 Bell peppers - diced
- 2 Carrot - diced
- 1 Courgette (zucchini) - diced
- 1 Leek - sliced
- 4 Garlic clove - crushed
- 800 g (1.75 lb) Chopped tomatoes - canned
- 6 tablespoon (6 tablespoon) Balsamic vinegar
- 200 ml (0.75 cups) Vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoon Dried oregano
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) Sea salt and black pepper
To serve
- Rocket (arugula) - (optional)
- Parmesan (shaved) - (optional)
Instructions
- Put 1 Aubergine (eggplant), 2 Bell peppers, 2 Carrot, 1 Courgette (zucchini), and 1 Leek into a food processor using the chopping attachment and chop them up. You can chop by hand, but a food processor will save you time.
- Put all of the the chopped vegetables, 800 g Chopped tomatoes, 4 Garlic clove (crushed), 6 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar, 200 ml Vegetable stock, 2 tablespoon Dried oregano and 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper into your slow cooker bowl and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
- Leave the sauce to cool and then pour it into food processor in small batches and blend the sauce until smooth, or leave chunks if you prefer.
- Mix the sauce into cooked pasta and serve with Rocket (arugula) and Parmesan (shaved).
Recipe tips
- Get creative and use a selection of different vegetables based on personal preference, season or what you have in the fridge.
- You can use a stick blender, jug blender or food processor to blend this. If putting in a jug blender or food processor, make sure it is cooled first, as hot sauce can cause it to explode. You may need to blend it in batches, depending on how big your jug is.
- If you don't want just vegetables, then top the dish with grilled chicken or salmon before serving.
- This sauce would go well with rice or on a baked potato too.
- If making this for kids, use reduced salt stock (or just water) and don't add any extra salt. There will be enough flavour from the vegetables, that it won't miss the salt.
- If you don't need a lot of sauce, or don't want to freeze the leftovers, then you can halve this recipe.
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Sarah Bristow
Congrats on your magazine feature, that is so incredible!! I keep hearing things about slow cookers and I really wanna get one for myself. This dish looks delicious and your photography is beautiful!
Sarah xxx
munchies and munchkins
Oh I do love a hidden veggie sauce, my kids will eat most things but there are still one or two things they will turn their noses up! This looks delicious and well done on the magazine work.x
Mayuri Patel
happy 40th birthday to your hubby, congrats on getting your recipes featured in a mag and pasta looks soooo yum. I love adding loads of veggies to my pasta.
Miranda (Anosa)
I never used to like veggies that much when I was a kid but now I love them and my mum used to hide hide them all the time so we could eat them.
Lima
Oh, this looks and sounds absolutely divine! x
mira
Congrats on being featured Dannii! Love your recipe! This pasta looks delicious and perfect for this time of the year! Love that it is made in a slow cooker!
Manila Spoon
Happy Birthday to your hubby and congrats on being featured!!! What a wonderful start to 2016!!! Love slow cooker recipes and your hidden vegetable pasta sauce is certainly a perfect comfort food for winter!
Amber Jenkins
There is so much exciting stuff happening for you Dannii. I picked up the magazine at the weekend and there are lots of delicious recipes in there. This is going to be the first one I try as my main goal for this year is to eat more veg.
Mir
I don't believe in extremes, and detoxing seems silly to me. Your body releases toxins naturally. If people have been unhealthy, they can remedy that without juicing for endless weeks.
This pasta looks wonderful!
Julie @ Running in a Skirt
Yummy! I am such a fan of the slow cooker and packing extra veggies in it. So good! I'm following on Instgram now. Can't wait to see more from Iceland.
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom
Congrats on the magazine feature!!!! The recipes look amazing!!! and I love this veggie pasta sauce! Iceland, WOW!!! You travel to the best places!
Jess
I don't need to hide vegetables as I love them, but I like that this can be done in a slow cooker. I would love some more slow cooker recipes.
Congrats on the magazine feature too. Very well deserved.
Katie
What a great idea Dannii. My son will do everything possible to avoid anything healthy, but he does like pasta so I am going to try this on him.
I loved your Iceland photos. I'm very jealous.
Annmarie
Mmmmm this looks good! Making me wish I could have tomatoes and eggplant!
Laura ~ RYG
Wow! Iceland. How exciting!!!! Happy 40th Dave!!!! And what a great recipe to celebrate. Any way to cram secret veggies in my diet in a big win.
Nadia's Healthy Kitchen
Great idea Danni. I tried this once with my young step-brother and step-sisters and they had no idea they were eating veggies! Hope you're having a great time in Iceland :)
Mary
Happy birthday Dave! And congrats Dannii for your recipes being featured in Superfood Magazine! How exciting! :)
My husband is awful at eating his vegetables, so blending them all together is the perfect solution to making sure he gets his five a day. It would never happen otherwise!
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Everyone could use more veggies in their diet. Me included! I love using my slow cooker. Especially now in the winter mths.
Liv @ Healthy Liv
I love the idea of hiding some extra veggies in your pasta sauce! Who couldn't use some extra veggies throughout their day? :)
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks
My goodness! You sure have a lot of exciting things happening right now! Iceland? I can't wait to hear all about this vacation. Congratulations on your magazine feature! That's incredible and thrilling! This pasta and hidden veggie sauce looks like a fantastic healthy comfort food. Enjoy the rest of your vacay!