Quick!! hide the veggies in the comfort of the pasta and watch your picky eater plough through. Enjoy this easy weeknight dinner where you don’t have to pick your fights.
It is not new that as a mum we try our best yo sneak in a bit more veggie into the food for the children. My children have long grown from this stage and are happy with veggies. However this hidden veggie pasta resurfaced after many years as my daughter is current having her braces fixed and needs some soft food ideas.
We went though a whole lot of soups and smoothies and it is time for a bit of bite. So here is it, dairy free hidden veggie pasta.
Ingredients to make this pasta.
Vegetables: I have roasted a handful of veggies that I had in the fridge to make this batch. Red peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin and eggplant were my main vegetables. Along with this I roasted an onion and a few cloves of garlic. You can use additional veggies from the list below.
Pasta: dry pasta varieties, fresh pasta or gnocci all taste so succulent with this recipe. I have chosen, ziti. The tubular shape allows the sauce to be trapped in making every bite perfect.
Seasoning: salt and pepper go a long way in just making the sauce perfect. That’s all the seasoning you actually need as the herbs will take care of the rest.
Herbs: the best herbs that mask the vegetable flavour and bring forth the pasta taste is always basil and oregano. At times I add some rosemary to mg veggies when they are being roasted especially if using string flavoured vegetables.
Beans: ideally beans are not a part of this pasta,however if your kids don’t mind them add then in. I prefer black beans, white beans or kidney beans to add. You can use a canned version or cook and drain your own batch to add to the pasta
Let’s make hidden veggies pasta
- Roast the vegetables: once you have the veggies you like to add, wash and cut them (if needed). You can roast them in a pan, airfryer or the oven. I have baked my batch.
- Drizzle a bit of olive oil, sprinkle a pinch of salt.
- Toss the veggies around to coat it.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes. This timing may vary depending on your batch size and the vegetables used.
- Cool and blend the sauce once roasted set the vegetables to cool. Once cooled remove the peel of the vegetables. Add them to a blender and blend smooth.
- Cook the pasta cook the pasta as per pack instructions. Short cut and fresh pasta cooks really fast.
- Add the sauce, the beans and he pasta into the sauce pan and simmer till the sauce bubbles.
- The pasta is ready to be eaten.
Should I be adding only these vegetables?
Not at all. Anything that can be roasted is perfect.
Here is just a few vegetables that I would avoid if your kid is a bit picky. Any vegetable that will take away from the original colour of pasta sauce ( like beetroot) will instantly tell them you have sneaked in some veggies. So I would avoid, spinach, green peppers, beetroot and purple cabbage to start with. As for what you can add,taste test each batch and add whatever you can or like. So in addition to the pumpkin, carrots, Bell papers and eggplant , I would add celery, leeks, zucchini, cauliflower, sweet potato etc.
Why make it dairy free?
It is not essential take this pasta dairy free. However, it is so creamy and tasty, you really won’t miss the cheese or cream in it. There is no harm in adding some cheese if you absolutely need it.
Does the sauce thicken on its own?
This actually depends on the vegetables you add. If you have pumpkin or sweet potatoes, the pasta sauce will be fairly thick.
What if my sauce feels sour?
Depending on the type and acidity of tomatoes, the sauce can slightly vary in the level of acidity. If the sauce feels too sour, neutralise it with some sugar or mashed sweet potato. Add a little st a time so you can balance the flavours.
Hidden veggies pasta
Equipment
- Pasta pot.
- Roasting tray
- saucepan
Ingredients
for the pasta sauce
- 6 large tomatoes
- 1 medium onion brown
- 2 large capsicum red
- 1 ,medium carrot
- 1 slice pumpkin
- 1 small zucchini
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
for the pasta
- 1.5 cups pasta
- 4 cups drinking water
- salt to taste
for beans
- 1/2 can black bean drained
to finish the pasta
- italian basil
- oregano
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Cut the vegetables into big chunks.
- Place them on the roasting tray and coat with oil.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
- Remove the tray and let the vegetables cool.
- Once cooled, remove the skins of the tomato and garlic.
- Blend to a smooth paste.
- Using the box instructions cook the dry pasta.
- Drain when al dente and set aside till needed.
- Into the sauce pan, add a tsp of oil, add the pasta sauce, drained black beans and the pasta.
- Mix well and remove when the pasta sauce starts bubbling.
- Serve warm.
Must try pasta recipes from this blog
We love making a bit of pasta for weeknights. Here are some that we make often
Goat cheese pasta
One pot ziti with peas
Cabbage pasta
Lemon macaroni
Stay connected
Recipes like these that your kids have grown up from small almost never miss a moment. They become comfortable not just for the kids but for the whole family. Hope you will try out this pasta recipe and let us know if your kids found out it was not a regular sauce. Share your thoughts in comments or on instagram.
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Totally making this dish using roasted eggplant from my garden that’s tucked in the freezer waiting just for a recipe like this! YUMMMM.
Laurie, This is one of my favorite recipes when I have odd veggies in the garden which I don’t know what to do with. It is totally worth the effort.