Hidden Veggie Pasta
A deliciously flavorsome pasta sauce secretly loaded with hearty, satiating vegetables. Combine it with your favorite pasta noodles for a wholesome and nutritious meal the whole family will love.
Equipment
- 1 High-speed blender *see notes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 4 oz. mushrooms sliced
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 1 small zucchini chopped
- 1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts drained
- 2 28 oz. cans San Marzano tomatoes whole or crushed, either is fine
- 5 oz. spinach
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, then add onions, peppers, and garlic.
- Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure garlic doesn't burn.
- Add mushrooms, tomato, zucchini, and seasonings. Sauté another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add canned tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and spinach and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted and lost it's color.
- Transfer everything from the pot to a high-speed blender and blend until it reaches a smooth consistency.
- Pour the sauce back into the pot. Turn heat to low and simmer 30 minutes.
- Serve with your favorite pasta noodles.
Notes
If you don't own a high speed blender, you can use an immersion blender or regular blender. You will just need to strain the sauce through a sieve when transferring it back to the pot to avoid leaving behind stringy bits from the tomato skin and tough, outer layers of the artichoke hearts.