Mom would always make pasta sauce from scratch and it was a family favorite. She added a glass of red wine which gives a wonderful, rich flavor and transforms a simple pasta sauce into a gourmet one. I make this often for the girls and they love it. I switch out the vegetables with whatever I have on hand so play around and use your favorites. Kale and spinach are great substitutes. Always use a good quality wine, it makes all the difference!
Since my oldest daughter does not eat meat, I cooke the turkey separately with garlic and onions, although I prefer cooking it all together so all the flavors are perfectly blended.
Serve with your favorite pasta. We use a gluten free option or my favorite: spaghetti squash sautéed with a little olive oil and garlic. Sinfully delicious!
Bon Appétit!
Scrumptious Veggie Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 2 large organic zucchinis
- 1 small head organic broccoli
- 16 oz. organic stewed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp organic tomato purée
- 1/4 dry good red wine I use a Cabernet Sauvignon
- 1 tbsp herbes de provences or fines herbes
- fresh ground celtic salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 lb. ground turkey -- optional
Instructions
- Heat skillet and add oil on high heat
- Coarsely chop onion.
- Wash zucchini and cut into cubes. Add onion and zucchini to skillet and sauté on high for 1 minute.
- Wash and cube broccoli stem and florets. Add to skillet and sauté 1 minute
- If you are using turkey add turkey and brown.
- Reduce heat and cook vegetables until tender.
- Add stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until flavors are nicely blended and you have a rich, thick sauce.
- Pour over your favorite pasta or sautéed spaghetti squash and enjoy!
Valerie- I love this recipe. I was trying to come up with something to make as side dish for Father’s Day. I love broccoli and plan to use this dish as the pasta dish. Thanks for sharing
Thank you Arleen! I’m thrilled you’ll be making this dish for father’s day 🙂 Enjoy!
This would be perfect for my kids. They absolutely love broccoli. I just grabbed two huge heads yesterday.
Broccoli seems to be a favorite with a lot of kids Holly and I am glad yours are crazy about it. I hope they love this recipe as much as my girls do. Happy cooking!
Oh, that does look scrumptious. I have to try it. Thanks~!
You are going to love it Virginia! Have a fabulous day!
Oh, Valerie! You and I are going to be GREAT friends if you keep making beautiful recipes like this, I won’t ever want to leave! DELISH!!
Yeah Lisa! There are plenty more scrumptious recipes where this one came from and I look forward to sharing them with you. Have a splendid day!
That looks really healthy. I love broccoli.
We all love broccoli in our house Jennifer! It’s a fun veggie for our girls and I love how nutritious it is. Enjoy this fun recipe 🙂
I do that occasionally with pasta sauce too. It’s really quite delicious!
Yummy and easy is always a winner in our house and sounds like it is yours as well Liz.
I’ve never made sauce from scratch, but that sounds so good! I love that it doesn’t really take that long and I could totally triple it to have some for later!
Oh you are going to discover a whole new taste to pasta Sara! As you can see my recipes are pretty lose when it comes to quantities of ingredients and are easy to adapt to your family’s needs. Enjoy!
Yum! We love to find ways to have meatless dishes some days and this one would be an easy adjustment for a regular night or meatless night!
It certainly is easy to adjust either way Beth. Enjoy!
I need to make more homemade pasta sauces. They are always so delicious with fresh ingredients. This one looks yummy for sure!
It really makes a difference when you can use fresh ingredients. If you are pressed for time, as we moms are all too often, sautée some fresh spinach and add it to your favorite marinara or bolognese sauce. It’s amazing how a little fresh veggies can transform a ready made sauce. Bon appétit!
That looks so good. I love that it’s meatless, even though we aren’t vegetarian, it’s nice to have a meatless meal sometimes.
Sounds delicious and a great way to get in those veggies!
Sounds delicous, I love lots of veggies in my pasta sauce
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do Anne!
I keep hearing about veggie pasta, I really want to try it.
Pasta with fresh vegetables is quite a treat indeed Raijean! I’m sure you’ll be delighted with the rich flavors. Enjoy!
Sounds delicious! I love that this has chunks of the veggies cooked right in.
It’s mouthful after mouthful of healthy goodness Crystal.. A treat the whole family can enjoy.
It looks gorgeous and so tasty! I bet you could even freeze some for another night!
What a great idea Trisha. Do the work once and enjoy it when you want a home cooked meal but don’t have the time for all the prep 🙂
I haven’t had a good, homemade sauce in a long time. This summer sounds like a great time to let a big pot simmer on the stove!
Summer is such a great time for cooking Mandi … especially if you are home and can enjoy life at a slightly slower pace 🙂 Enjoy!
This sounds delicious. Have you tried doing it without the wine? Does it make a big difference in the flavor?
The red wine is my “secret ingredient” Marina… It gives this pasta sauce a rich, velvety taste. It’s important to choose a good quality wine that you enjoy as the flavor of your sauce will change based on the wine you use. My daughters love the sauce with the wine and because it cooks a little you don’t have to worry about the alcohol, just bold, delicious flavor 🙂
What a great healthy family meal.
It’s a family favorite for sure Robin, and always changing as I play around with various vegetables.
This looks like a great meal for the family to eat. I love the fact that it’s made up of a lot of healthy ingredients.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do Crystal. We’re all about healthy, tasty and hassle-free 🙂
I love all of the fresh veggies in this, it looks fab!
Thanks Tiff.. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
Oh this sounds good! I love making my sauce from scratch, although I often have to puree things for my daughter’s sake. We are working on her acceptance of things by saying “by the way, that had broccoli and squash in it” after she says how good it was LOL