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Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce for Kids

baby bowl with spiral pasta coated with hidden veggie pasta sauce.
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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!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 head garlic, unpeeled
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 small yellow squash
  • 1 small zucchini
  • 1 medium red bell pepper
  • 6-8 fresh Roma tomatoes
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 4-6 oz white mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. Cut about 1/4 inch from the top of the garlic. Drizzle lightly with oil and wrap tightly in foil. Set aside.
  3. 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.
  4. 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. 
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Serve sauce with your favorite cooked pasta.

Equipment

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 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 tbsp 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.

Find it online: https://babyledbliss.com/hidden-veggie-pasta-sauce-baby-kids/