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This super veggie pasta sauce for babies and toddlers is delicious on top of all kinds of pasta! With over 7 different oven roasted vegetables in one easy sauce, it's a great way to get so much vegetable goodness into your little one's diet!
It's no secret that most kids love pasta. As parents, we can embrace this reality by making pasta a vehicle for all kinds of nutrient-rich sauces and add-ins. (And by choosing the most nutritious pasta for our little ones!) When you need an easy lunch or dinner win, and you also want to get some more veggie goodness into your child, try this super veggie pasta sauce that has over 7 different veggies hidden inside! Your kids will love it, and will be none the wiser about what's really in it.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Sauce
- Should I Be Hiding Vegetables In My Kid's Food?
- What You'll Need
- How to Make The Sauce
- Tips and Recipe Variations
- Storage and Reheating
- How To Use It
- How To Serve It for Baby Led Weaning
- Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce for Kids
Why You'll Love This Sauce
While there is nothing wrong with traditional tomato sauce, sometimes you want to get a few more veggies into your child's diet. I get it! Or maybe you just have extra veggies lurking in your refrigerator. Either way, this super veggie pasta sauce is a great solution! It combines 7 different veggies, all roasted in the oven for hands-off cooking and a natural sweetness that both you and your little ones will love. This pasta sauce is loaded with both nutrition and flavor! Unlike most store-bought sauces, this one has no added sugar or other questionable ingredients, so it's perfectly appropriate for the the youngest of eaters, all the way up to your teen (and even adults!).
Should I Be Hiding Vegetables In My Kid's Food?
My approach is not to hide veggies from my kids. They learn to enjoy, or at least tolerate, the vegetables that the rest of the family is eating through methods like baby led weaning, the division of responsibility, and parental modeling. I don't like to deceive my kids about what they are eating. However, I realize that all families take different approaches, and sometimes you just need an easy win. And sometimes you really do just want to change things up or add a little more nutrition into your child's diet. I don't really look at this sauce as 'hidden' veggies, since most pasta sauce is made up of different veggies in some sort of mixture. You just can't really tell what each individual vegetable is here, which you can use to your advantage if you choose!
What You'll Need
- Garlic - A whole head. Yum!
- Onion
- Tomatoes - I used Roma tomatoes, but you can use any. You can also use canned if fresh aren't in season.
- Red Bell Pepper
- Yellow Squash
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Olive oil
- Spices - Dried basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
Helpful equipment: Large rimmed baking sheet with parchment, Sharp knife, High speed blender (I love this KitchenAid one!).
How to Make The Sauce
Here is a quick rundown. Head to the recipe card at the bottom of the page for detailed amounts and instructions.
- Cut about ¼ inch from the top of the head of garlic. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil, then tightly wrap the whole thing in foil.
- Cut the carrots, squash and zucchini into similar-sized large sticks (I typically quarter the squash lengthwise and then cut those in half cross wise. No need to peel the carrots. You can leave the onion half, tomatoes, and mushrooms as they are.
- Add everything to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with the spices and toss to give everything a good even coating. If it doesn't all fit on one sheet pan, you may need to use two.
- Roast in the oven at 425°F for 35-45 minutes, giving everything a stir halfway through.
- Add the veggie to a high speed blender. Unwrap the garlic and squeeze the cloves into the blender with the veggies.
- Blend until everything is smooth. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, add a splash of water or broth. If needed, gently reheat sauce on the stove in a saucepan before serving.
Tips and Recipe Variations
- Don't crowd the veggies too much. You may have to use two regular-sized sheet pans to fit all of the veggies and get a nice roast (as opposed to steaming - which can happen if the veggies are too crowded). If you use sheet pans for meals often, I recommend investing in a really big sheet pan to make your life easier (I have this one and LOVE it for sheet pan meals!)
- Canned tomatoes - If it's not tomato season feel free to use canned tomatoes instead of fresh. Add 1-2 (15 oz) cans of whole peeled, diced, or crushed tomatoes into the blender when blending the roasted veggies. I use two cans when I want the sauce to have a more tomato-y flavor and a redder color. But If you only have one can, that works, too!
- A note on sauce color - If you have a particularly picky eater and are worried about the sauce having more of an orange or brown-ish color that your little one is used to, you may choose to leave out the zucchini or swap it for another yellow squash. You can also reduce the amount of mushrooms. The green in the zucchini and brown in the mushrooms cause the color to lean more brown than red.
- Herbs - You can use Italian seasoning in place of the oregano and basil if you'd like. You can also use fresh herbs in place of the dried. Use 1 tablespoon of each and add them in when you're blending the sauce.
- Salt - If you're making this sauce for young BLW babies (6-12 months) feel free to omit the salt if you'd like.
Storage and Reheating
Store this sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (a mason jar works well). You can also freeze it in silicone cube trays for easy portioning. Pour the sauce into the trays and freeze until solid. Then pop the frozen cubes out of the trays and store in a freezer bag for up to 6 months.
If frozen, thaw the sauce in the refrigerator overnight or place on the counter in a warm place for up to 2 hours. To reheat it from the refrigerator, add the sauce to cooked pasta while it is still hot and stir. If needed, reheat gently on the stove.
How To Use It
You can use this sauce on your favorite pasta, of course! Stir into cooked pasta while it is still hot. You can also use it as a dipping sauce with meatballs, or as a veggie-rich pizza sauce. I like to make pita pizzas with whole grain pitas for my kids for lunch!
How To Serve It for Baby Led Weaning
For serve this sauce for baby led weaning, be sure to check out the best pastas for baby led weaning that you can put it on. Add some BLW friendly meatballs for extra protein and iron! You can also spread it onto lightly toasted bread fingers.
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This super veggie pasta sauce for babies and toddlers is delicious on top of all kinds of pasta! With over 7 different oven roasted vegetables in one easy sauce, it's a great way to get so much vegetable goodness into your little one's diet!
- Author: Kaleigh
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: about 6 cups or 1.5 L 1x
- Category: sauce
- Method: roasted
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
UnitsScale
- 1 head garlic, unpeeled
- 2 large carrots
- 1 small yellow squash
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 6-8 fresh Roma tomatoes
- ½ medium onion
- 4-6 oz white mushrooms
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. If your sheet pan is on the smaller side, you may need two pans.
- Cut about ¼ inch from the top of the garlic. Drizzle lightly with oil and wrap tightly in foil. Set aside.
- Cut the carrots, squash and zucchini into even-sized sticks. I usually cut the squash into quarters length-wise, and then cut in half crosswise. Cut the bell pepper in half and discard the seeds. Cut the tomatoes in half from top to bottom, and cut any large mushrooms in half. You can leave the onion half intact.
- Add all of the veggies to the sheet pan. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat everything evenly.
- Place the foil-wrapped garlic on the sheet pan with the veggies and roast in the oven for about 35-45 minutes, or until all of the veggies are softened. Stir once halfway through. If you're using two sheet pans, rotate them halfway through, as well.
- Add all of the roasted veggies to a high speed blender. Unwrap the garlic and squeeze the cloves from the peels into the blender. Blend everything until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water or broth.
- Serve sauce with your favorite cooked pasta.
Notes
- Store sauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze in silicone cubes trays and transfer to a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Don't crowd the veggies too much.You may have to use two regular-sized sheet pans to fit all of the veggies and get a nice roast (as opposed to steaming - which can happen if the veggies are too crowded). If you use sheet pans for meals often, I recommend investing in a really big sheet pan to make your life easier (I havethis oneand LOVE it for sheet pan meals!)
- Canned tomatoes - If it's not tomato season feel free to use canned tomatoes instead of fresh. Add 1-2 (15 oz) cans of whole peeled, diced, or crushed tomatoes into the blender when blending the roasted veggies. I use two cans when I want the sauce to have a more tomato-y flavor and a redder color. But If you only have one can, that works, too!
- A note on sauce color - If you have a particularly picky eater and are worried about the sauce having more of an orange or brown-ish color that your little one is used to, you may choose to leave out the zucchini or swap it for another yellow squash. You can also reduce the amount of mushrooms. The green in the zucchini and brown in the mushrooms cause the color to lean more brown than red.
- Herbs - You can use Italian seasoning in place of the oregano and basil if you'd like. You can also use fresh herbs in place of the dried. Use 1 tablespoon of each and add them in when you're blending the sauce.
- Salt - If you're making this sauce for young BLW babies (6-12 months) feel free to omit the salt if you'd like.
More Veggies and Sides
- Small Batch Spinach Pesto
- Pea Avocado Mash For Babies
- Homemade Prune Puree for Babies
- Roasted Pumpkin For Baby Led Weaning
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