Making your own pasta sauce has never been easier, more delicious, or more veggie-filled! Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce is my favorite way to add hidden vegetables into pasta night. It tastes amazing, my kids ask for seconds, and I'm a happy mom!
A quick browse through the dinner section of my site will clue you in: I LOVE a pasta night! Once I realized how easy it is to make your own pasta sauces from scratch, my pasta world changed forever. It's so much easier than you'd guess, and the result is a million times better than a jarred sauce! This Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce is the perfect topping for your favorite pasta. It has tons of hidden veggies, and every one adds incredible savory and sweet flavor. Since the sauce is blended until smooth, my kids don't even question what vegetables they're eating, and they gobble it all up!
Ingredients in Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce
Let's talk grocery list. This recipe uses a lot of fresh vegetables, but it's also great for using up anything in your fridge that needs to be eaten ASAP! Use this recipe as a base, and then experiment with your favorite vegetables as add-ins.
- Caramelized onion - Caramelize one medium yellow onion for this recipe. This takes about an hour, but you can prep it ahead of time and store the onion until you're ready to use it for this sauce. Caramelized onions also freeze well so you can make a large batch and portion out in your freezer for recipes like this.
- Roasted garlic - This is my favorite way to boost the incredible garlic flavor in any dish! Roasting the garlic removes all bitterness, leaving only delicious, nutty, garlicky flavor.
- Campari or Roma tomatoes - These only need to be washed and halved before roasting. There is nothing like freshly roasted tomatoes as a base for pasta sauce!
- Carrots - ends removed, peeled, and chopped into ½-inch pieces.
- Red bell pepper - Cut the stem and seeds and chop it up.
- Zucchini - Remove the ends but keep the skin on!
- Extra virgin olive oil - When it comes to pasta night I always say to use the good olive oil. You can always taste the difference!
- Salt and pepper - You can adjust these to your taste! Start small and then add spices as desired.
All About Roasted Veggies
This pasta is jam-packed with beneficial nutrients! I love that it's an easy dish that's VERY kid-friendly...while also having hidden veggies in every bite. Blending everything up makes a smooth tomato sauce that I've found is easier to get little ones to try!
- Carrots are a total powerhouse veggie! They add a subtle sweetness and beautiful color that's surprisingly delicious with tomato sauce. Carrots are low in calories and offer dietary fiber. They’re high in beta-carotene, which your body turns into vitamin A. This is good for eye health but also your immune system as well as healthy skin. It's a great addition!
- Zucchini is super high in water content, which makes it great for digestion. It's also high in vitamins A and C as well as manganese, copper, and folate. I love adding it in whenever possible!
- Red bell peppers contain 11 times more beta carotene and four times more vitamin C than green bell peppers! Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds and keep teeth and gums healthy, while beta carotene benefits your immune system, vision, skin health and bone health.
The Best Gluten-Free Pasta
Pasta is one of my favorite meals, and going gluten-free didn't change that! I have a full post of my gluten-free product recommendations and resources that have made going wheat-free as easy as can be. My favorite pasta brand is Jovial, especially their capellini or spaghetti noodles. I also love Andean Dream Quinoa Orzo and Quinoa Pasta as well as Olo Foods Chickpea Pastas.
Pasta Sauce Add-Ins
There are so many ways to add your favorite flavors to this Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce! Pretty much any veggies in your fridge that are nearing their end can be tossed into this dish and enjoyed.
- A roasted golden beet
- Pumpkin puree (I love to make my own!)
- Sweet potato
- Raw blanched and slivered almonds would make it a bit creamier!
- Fresh basil
- Italian seasonings
- Cauliflower
- Mushrooms
Pasta Sauce with Caramelized Onion & Roasted Garlic
The most time-consuming part of this recipe is caramelizing the onions and roasting the garlic, but this is actually what creates the depth of savory flavor in this dish! You can actually make the caramelized onions and roasted garlic ahead of time (and freeze) so they're ready to go on a busy evening, or layer the tasks and start the garlic and onions 15-20 minutes before you begin roasting the other veggies.
I hope you enjoy this Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce! It's a perfect weeknight pasta sauce and I love sneaking veggies into meals that my kids enjoy. This dish is vegan (no dairy or eggs!), gluten-free, soy-free, and can be made nut-free as long as you don't add the optional almonds. It is also whole30, paleo, grain-free, and refined sugar-free, too! Please tag me on Instagram so I can see your delicious pasta night, and don't forget to leave a review below!
Roasted Veggies Tomato Sauce for Pasta
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Making your own pasta sauce has never been easier, more delicious, or more veggie-filled! Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce is my favorite way to add hidden vegetables into pasta night. It tastes amazing, my kids ask for seconds, and I'm a happy mom!
Ingredients
For the veggie tomato sauce
- 1 batch caramelized onion (from one medium yellow onion)
- 1 head roasted garlic
- 12 ounces campari or roma tomatoes, halved
- 4 carrots, ends removed, peeled, chopped into ½-inch pieces (measures 1 cup when chopped)
- 1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, chopped (measures 1 ¼ cups when chopped)
- 1 zucchini, ends removed, skin on, chopped into 1-inch pieces (measures 2 cups when chopped)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional Add-Ins
- 1 golden beet, roasted
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ small sweet potato, peeled and roasted
- ¼ cup raw blanched slivered almonds (to make it creamy)
- handful fresh basil
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasonings
- ½ cup filtered water (to thin the sauce)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a half sheet baking sheet with parchment paper.
- If you haven't already start the process of roasting the garlic and caramelizing the onion.
- Place prepared veggies (tomatoes, carrots, bell pepper and zucchini) on baking sheet and use two spoons to toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add Italian seasoning if desired. Spread the veggies into one even layer and space them out as much as possible. Roast for 25 minutes. No need to toss halfway through.
- Note: Start to boil your pasta water and then cook your pasta while the veggies roast so that the noodles are cooked when the sauce is ready.
- Add roasted veggies to a high speed blender. Add the caramelized onion and roasted garlic cloves. Blend on the highest speed until smooth.
- If desired, add any of the optional add-ins and blend again. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add water to thin if a thinner sauce is desired. Add almonds for a creamier sauce.
- Serve hot overtop cooked pasta noodles.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to two months. For freezer storage be sure to leave at least 1-inch of space at the top of the storage container to allow room for expansion.
Equipment
Measuring Spoons [use code ELAINE-10 for 10% off]
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knife set (code ELAINE for 10% off)
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- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Condiment/Sauce
- Method: Oven and Blender
Keywords: Veggie Tomato Sauce
Lucy says
Fabulous recipe! Simple, packed with flavor. Loved that there are so many veggies in here. This will definitely be a weeknight staple.
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Lucy! I'm so happy to hear you loved this one and that you plan to make regularly 🙂
Samantha says
This was delicious! The caramelised onion made it for sure!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much! I am obsessed with caramelized onions and agree! 🙂 Thank you for the review! Best, Elaine
Timothy Woods says
Hello!
Just wanted to let you know that my wife and I tried this recipe the other night. It so happens that my inlaws were there too. They like the recipe so much that they ask for the leftovers to go!
Anyways, thanks a lot for sharing this. Excited to send the next recipe here to my wife.
Have a great day!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Timothy! I'm so happy to hear that you, your wife and your in-laws all enjoyed this one so much! Sounds like you all nailed this recipe 🙂 I hope you enjoy the next recipe you try from my website just as much! Happy holidays!
Arti says
This sounds awesome! Can I ask how many it serves?
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much. 4-6 servings depending on how much sauce you like on your pasta.