Vegetable pasta sauce is filled with hidden veggies like bell pepper, carrot, celery, and zucchini - but you'd never know! It's packed with bright, savory flavor and makes the perfect addition to your next home cooked meal.
Recipe summary
Flavor: Bright, savory flavor that's lighter and less acidic than a marinara sauce.
Filled with hidden veggies. Made with zucchini, bell pepper, carrot, and celery, along with canned tomatoes and savory seasoning.
Yield: 72 ounces or 9 cups
Freezes well. Leftovers freeze well for up to six months (great for meal prep!).
Similar to: Zucchini Pesto and Zucchini Salad Dressing
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil - Can be substituted with any cooking oil you have on hand.
- Aromatics - Onion and garlic add flavor to your sauce. I don't recommend omitting either of these ingredients.
- Crushed tomatoes - Two cans of crushed tomatoes serve as the base for this recipe. Feel free to use plain crushed tomatoes or tomatoes with basil for added flavor.
- Vegetables - Carrot, celery, bell pepper, and zucchini are the added veggies in this recipe. I used some previously frozen zucchini (from my how to freeze zucchini post). This recipe is perfect for frozen veggies that may have a softer texture when thawed. Many fresh or frozen veggies you have on hand can be added here. Other options include mushrooms, eggplant, yellow summer squash, butternut squash, cauliflower, spinach, and parsnip.
- Seasoning - Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning add depth of flavor to your sauce. Italian seasoning can be substituted with a combination of any Italian herbs you have on hand, like oregano, basil, sage, and rosemary.
- Granulated sugar - A small amount of sugar is added to the sauce to neutralize the acidity of the tomatoes. It's not enough to make the sauce taste sweet.
Vegetable variations
The base of this recipe (crushed tomatoes, aromatics, and seasoning) is easy to customize with additional vegetables. Here are more vegetables that can cooked into your pasta sauce:
- Mushrooms
- Summer squash
- Butternut squash
- Eggplant
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
- Kale
- Leeks
How to make vegetable pasta sauce
- Sauté onions and garlic in a stock pot.
- Add remaining sauce ingredients.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until vegetables are fork tender.
- Use an immersion blender or use a standard blender to blend sauce in batches.
Tips and tricks
Chop vegetables to a similar size - This ensures your vegetables cook at the same rate. Chopped veggies cook faster than larger chunks.
Cook until fork tender - Cook your sauce until all vegetables are fork tender. This ensures your vegetables blend evenly and don't leave any noticeable texture in the finished sauce.
Use fresh or frozen veggies - This pasta sauce is the perfect way to use up frozen vegetables that may otherwise get watery and mushy when thawed.
Frequently asked questions
Vegetable pasta sauce freezes and thaws beautifully, and can be stored in a freezer-safe container for up to six months. To thaw, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight, or place on the countertop to thaw for 1 to 2 hours.
Homemade pasta sauce will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Sauce reheats well on the stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave.
This sauce can be used in any recipes that calls for marinara sauce, like baked ziti, spaghetti, lasagna, or stuffed shells.
📖 Recipe
Vegetable Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 56 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large stock pot over medium heat, add olive oil. When hot, add onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Add celery, carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, crushed tomatoes, sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, stirring to combine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until vegetables are fork tender. Remove from heat.
- Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth, or transfer sauce in batches to a standard blender to process until smooth (remove the center cap from the lid and lightly cover with a kitchen towel to allow steam to escape. Never fill a blender more than halfway full with hot liquid).
Recommended Equipment
Notes
- Use fresh or frozen: Fresh or frozen veggies can be added to this recipe. This recipe is a great way to use up frozen zucchini that can be a little soft when thawed and cooked.
- Yield: Recipe makes about 72 ounces, or 9 cups, of pasta sauce. Serving size is ½ cup of sauce - recipe will feed less if using larger serving sizes.
- Storage: Homemade sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container or in the freezer for up to 6 months. To thaw, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
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