Jeanette's Healthy Living

Where delicious and healthy come together

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • List of All Recipes (alphabetical)
    • Breakfast
    • appetizers
    • soups
    • salads
    • main courses
    • side dishes
    • dips and sauces
    • beverages
    • smoothies
    • Desserts and Cookies
  • Special Diets
    • gluten-free
    • dairy-free
    • vegetarian
    • vegan
    • Liquid/Soft Food Diet
    • Pureed Food Diet
    • Low Residue Diet
  • Cancer Cooking
  • Faith
  • Healthy Living
    • Healthy Living
    • travel
  • About
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Work With Me
    • Media Features
    • Terms & Conditions

Super Healthy Tomato Pasta Sauce Recipe

March 18, 2013 by Jeanette 29 Comments

Jump to RecipePrint Recipe
4.3K shares
  • Facebook40
  • Twitter
  • Yummly

Super Healthy Tomato Pasta Sauce with Meatballs © Jeanette's Healthy Living

You like the title of this post – Super Healthy Tomato Pasta Sauce? You’re probably wondering what makes this tomato sauce super healthy? Isn’t tomato sauce naturally healthy since it’s made with a lot of tomatoes? You’re right – most tomato sauces are already on the healthier side, but I have bumped up the nutrition in this tomato pasta sauce even more by adding lots of vegetables to this sauce. I bet you can’t tell.
[rss-cut]
Although my kids have gotten so much better about eating vegetables over the years, it’s always a bit tricky when their friends eat at our house. Most of them don’t eat more than one or two vegetables or fruits. One friend said he “hates vegetables” and only eats carrots and celery. Another friend who stayed with us for four days recently said he eats two vegetables (edamame and broccoli) and one fruit (apples).

So, I challenged myself to figure out a way to make something that these boys would eat that was healthy and delicious without them noticing all the vegetables they were actually eating. Kids love pasta, so I figured that was an easy place to start. A few weeks ago, I made a Healthier Meat Sauce that was actually chock full of vegetables and fed it to my kids and their friends – they devoured it, thinking they ate some real meat sauce.

This time around, I made a tomato pasta sauce that was souped up with lots of fresh vegetables, and pureed them right into the sauce – packed with carrots, celery, mushrooms and red bell pepper. I’ve been using this Super Healthy Tomato Pasta Sauce in place of regular tomato sauce in Spaghetti with Meatballs, Baked Ziti, on top of pizzas and on Chicken Parmigiana. The boys (and their friends) haven’t noticed a thing ;).

Super Healthy Tomato Pasta Sauce with Meatballs © Jeanette's Healthy Living

 

Super Healthy Marinara Sauce with Meatballs © Jeanette's Healthy Living
Print

Super Healthy Tomato Pasta Sauce

If you like a thinner sauce, add stock or water until you reach the desired consistency. This sauce is great used in any recipes that call for tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce. I've used it on pizzas, chicken parmigiana, and spaghetti and meatballs. You can freeze this sauce.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 cup carrots chopped
  • 1 cup celery chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 10 ounces mushrooms chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves chopped
  • 3 28- ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes pureed in a food processor with all the juices
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic. Saute until onions are softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Related Posts
Filter by
Post Page
gluten-free healthy choices Clean Eating Super Bowl Holidays appetizers Parade Magazine Dinner main courses vegan Cooking For Cancer vegetarian dairy-free vegetables dips and sauces Liquid/Soft Food Diet Pureed Food Diet New Year Cancer Sponsored Post Chemotherapy Recipes chicken
Sort by
40+ Healthy Superbowl Recipes

40+ Healthy Super Bowl Recipes

2019-01-26 05:00:55
jeanette

18

15+ Healthy Super Bowl Recipes

Healthy Super Bowl Menu

2018-01-26 05:00:13
jeanette

18

12 Healthy Snacks for Super Bowl - these are all Game Day favorites, lightened up so you can enjoy yourself at the party!

12 Healthy Super Bowl Snack Recipes

2015-01-30 05:00:00
jeanette

18

Super Healthy Pumpkin Turkey Chili - this bowl of comfort is packed with nutrition and flavor

Super Healthy Pumpkin Turkey Chili Recipe

2014-10-29 05:00:15
jeanette

18

Super Vegetable Blend-In Sauce Recipe

2014-10-21 05:00:00
jeanette

18

Cancer-Fighting Oven Roasted Mushrooms and Thyme

Cancer-Fighting Recipe: Roasted Mushrooms and Thyme {Superfood Research at City of Hope}

2013-10-21 05:00:59
jeanette

18

Easy Fresh Tomato Burrata Cheese Pesto Dip © Jeanette

Super Easy Fresh Tomato Burrata Cheese Pesto Dip

2013-05-15 11:58:02
jeanette

18

9 Layer Mexican Superbowl Dip © Jeanette

9 Layer Mexican Dip Recipe for Super Bowl

2013-01-31 05:00:26
jeanette

18

A Healthy Italian Submarine (“Hoagie”) Dip Recipe for Super Bowl

2013-01-29 05:00:27
jeanette

18

Gluten-Free Buffalo Chicken Nuggets

Gluten-Free Buffalo Chicken Nuggets Recipe for Super Bowl Sunday

2012-02-01 06:00:56
jeanette

18

4.3K shares
  • Facebook40
  • Twitter
  • Yummly

Filed Under: dairy-free, Dinner, dips and sauces, gluten-free, healthy choices, main courses, Pasta and Noodles, Pureed Food Diet, sauces, vegetarian Tagged With: healthier marinara sauce, healthier tomato sauce, healthy pasta sauce, how to get kids to eat more vegetables, myplate, sneaking in vegetables

« A Healthier Crock Pot Meat Lovers Pasta Sauce Recipe
Easy Ways To Feed Yourself and Your Family Healthier »

Comments

  1. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

    March 18, 2013 at 5:25 am

    This is not only healthy, also lipsmackingly delicious, Jeanette.

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 18, 2013 at 7:53 pm

      Thanks Angie – this is a great sauce to have on hand – I’ve been sneaking it in everywhere I can. The vegetables actually add a lot of flavor to the sauce.

      Reply
  2. Brian @ A Thought For Food says

    March 18, 2013 at 9:38 am

    I could see myself dipping huge hunks of bread in this sauce. Though, I wouldn’t pass up a big bowl of pasta.

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 18, 2013 at 7:56 pm

      Brian – I think this sauce would be good with just about anything, it’s super versatile.

      Reply
  3. Cookbook Queen says

    March 18, 2013 at 10:13 am

    My 8 year old son is SOOOO picky about his veggies…but he loves pasta and sauce. This is the perfect recipe for us!!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 19, 2013 at 10:10 pm

      I think your son should like this – I made this and served it to my son’s friends who said they don’t eat vegetables and they ate it all up with pasta.

      Reply
  4. Sommer@ASpicyPerspective says

    March 18, 2013 at 10:41 am

    Oooo, there’s nothing like a good tomato sauce. I like adding carrots to mine too. 🙂

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 18, 2013 at 7:58 pm

      Love that you add carrots to your tomato sauce too Sommer. I’ve been sneaking in vegetables left and right lately trying to get my kids and their friends to eat more veggies.

      Reply
  5. Russell van Kraayenburg says

    March 18, 2013 at 1:21 pm

    Now I want spaghetti and tomato sauce! Yum!

    Reply
  6. Julia says

    March 18, 2013 at 3:13 pm

    This looks very yummy–we eat a lot of pasta sauce in my house. Homemade is the best! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says

    March 18, 2013 at 7:41 pm

    This looks like a great all-purpose tomato sauce to keep in the freezer.

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 18, 2013 at 8:04 pm

      That’s a great idea Lydia – I haven’t frozen any yet, but I’m sure it would freeze well.

      Reply
  8. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says

    March 19, 2013 at 12:00 am

    Sneaky! Sounds delicious.

    Reply
  9. Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says

    March 21, 2013 at 9:02 am

    What a great recipe, Jeanette! I love packing in more nutrition and flavor in spaghetti sauce. Will definitely be making this recipe! 🙂

    Shirley

    Reply
  10. Kelly Williams says

    March 22, 2013 at 10:14 am

    Thanks for the recipe! I love pasta dishes! I’ll definitely try this one of these days!

    Reply
  11. Jane Hermann says

    March 24, 2013 at 10:56 am

    Now why haven’t our schools been doing this for lunch programs? our government wants healthy and this is the way to provide it. when i scrape trays, all the vegtables go to the trash, they won’t eat them and we are so wasting food and money ! its not rocket science!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 24, 2013 at 9:24 pm

      That’s a great idea Jane – I know what you mean – I hate seeing the kids throw their trays away full of fruits and vegetables.

      Reply
  12. Lindsey says

    June 25, 2013 at 7:17 pm

    I made this sauce and it was delicious. I had so much extra that I froze the leftovers. When I tried to reheat it, it was really runny. Any ideas of how to thicken it after its been frozen?

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      June 27, 2013 at 8:45 pm

      Lindsey, so glad you liked this sauce. I just made a big batch last week and used the rest to make lasagna for my kids while I was out of town. Did you try reblending the sauce? If not, tomato paste usually does the trick. Would love to hear what you try.

      Reply
  13. Jen P says

    October 12, 2013 at 2:54 pm

    What kind of can tomatoes do you use?

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      November 1, 2013 at 7:58 pm

      Jen, it depends. I try to buy organic whenever I can. I also use boxed tomatoes if I see them. The tomatoes I used are whole, peeled tomatoes.

      Reply
  14. Liz says

    January 18, 2014 at 4:35 pm

    Thank you, Jeanette. I don’t use facebook otherwise you know I would vote for you.

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      January 21, 2014 at 8:21 am

      Thanks for your support Liz – I appreciate it whether you can vote or not 😉

      Reply
  15. Colleen says

    April 13, 2016 at 12:16 pm

    How many cups does this make? I’m guessing 4 or so?

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 14, 2016 at 11:37 am

      I think it makes about 10 cups of sauce. You can freeze extras or halve the recipe.

      Reply
  16. Bonita says

    February 18, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    I make a similar homemade sauce. My kids are a little older and have gotten much more open to veggies. As such, I’ve discovered you can easily add EVEN MORE “hidden veggies. ” For example, they are ok with small chopped green pepper in the sauce. I took that and ran with it! So my sauce includes fine chopped zucchini and spinach in addition to the other veggies. (They always assume it’s pieces of green pepper!) You truly can’t taste any of added veggies and have yet to have a single person notice. The recipe works for picky adults that say that they don’t like this veggie or that veggie.
    1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini added into your standard brownie mix also makes for the moistest, tastiest brownies I’ve ever tried. My kids actually say that it’s the best brownie…of course I had them try I’m home before they found out what exactly it was in them. LOL now they even love helping me make the “healthy brownies” as they call them.

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      February 19, 2017 at 8:56 pm

      Love all the additional veggies you add to your sauce, and zucchini to brownies! Thanks so much for sharing!

      Reply
  17. Darlene says

    April 23, 2017 at 10:15 pm

    Wow, I just tried this sauce with my picky toddler and preschooler and they love it! Thank you so much! I’ll be freezing the leftovers tonight for sure 🙂

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      April 30, 2017 at 6:18 pm

      Darlene, so glad your kids enjoyed this sauce – I’ve made this for my son’s friends who refuse to eat vegetables and they love it ;).

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi! I'm Jeanette - welcome! Step into my kitchen, where you'll find healthy dishes packed with flavor and goodness.

[Read More …]

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get Your Free e-Book!

Weekly College Meal Planner

Good recipes come to those who subscribe!

Archives

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

4.3K shares
  • 40Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Yummly