Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
The best spaghetti meat sauce recipe you’ll ever need! Onions, garlic, bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and 100% Italian tomatoes are pureed in a food processor and sautéed with ground beef and seasonings for a thick and rich meaty sauce.
A nutritious spaghetti meat sauce full of hidden vegetables. If you have picky vegetable eaters and are looking for a creative way to add more vegetables to your family’s diet then you need this homemade spaghetti sauce in your life!
At a young age, my daughters would always devour a bowl of spaghetti topped with sauce. For this reason, spaghetti dinners appeared often in our meal rotation. Since they weren’t keen on cooked vegetables, I had to come up with a plan that would give my girls a good dose of veggies in their spaghetti dinner.
That’s how I came to create this homemade spaghetti meat sauce packed with hidden vegetables. The first time I served it, it was a great success. My little darlings devoured their spaghetti dinner and the camouflaged vegetables were not detected!
At some point when the girls were older, the secret was disclosed. They openly agreed that this veggie-enhanced beefy spaghetti sauce tastes better than any other! Even though they now love eating vegetables au naturel, I still make this sauce on a regular basis because it’s so darn good!
What’s in this fabulous sauce?
The hidden gems in this recipe are onions, garlic, colourful bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and 100% Italian tomatoes. All these garden fresh vegetables are pureed in a food processor and sautéed with ground beef and seasonings. Although you can’t see the ground vegetables in this bright red sauce, they add flavour, texture, and tons of nutrition.
A surprise ingredient is added at the end of the long simmering time. That ingredient is balsamic vinegar which gives the sauce a pleasant sweet-tart acidity that hits your taste buds in a special way. This sensation is called umami which is simply “deliciousness”.
How to make this sauce
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven.
- Process onions, garlic, bell peppers, zucchini and mushrooms in batches in a food processor.
- Add processed vegetables to heated olive oil in batches and cook until tender.
- Add ground meat and cook until no pink remains.
- Grind tomatoes in a food processor. Add ground tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings to the pot and stir.
- Bring to a full heat then reduce heat. Simmer low and slow for 1 hour to allow the flavours to concentrate, thicken and reduce.
- Add balsamic vinegar and simmer a few minutes longer.
- Let sauce rest for 10 minutes then stir before serving.
Tips for making the sauce
- This recipe makes a big batch so use a large 6 or 7 quart Dutch oven, ideally a cast iron one.
- Use a food processor to ensure the vegetables are well minced and the tomatoes are ground.
- Use good quality extra lean ground beef so as to reduce the fat.
- Use good quality imported Italian tomatoes. My favourite brand is Mutti (see What Kind of Tomatoes to Use below)
- Swish the ½ cup water in the recipe in the empty tomato cans to clear out any residue before adding it to the sauce.
- Always save Parmesan cheese rinds; adding rinds gives the sauce additional umami flavour. The rinds will soften but won’t melt. Be sure and fish them out before serving the sauce.
- Don’t skimp on the simmering time as the flavour of the sauce gets better as it slowly concentrates and reduces.
- Wait until after the simmering time before adding the balsamic vinegar; you don’t want the balsamic to reduce – but rather to enhance the flavour.
What kind of tomatoes to use
I’m pretty sure I know a thing or two about Italian tomatoes. I grew up in an Italian family surrounded by a mother, grandmother, and aunts who are all natural cooks and taught me about good Italian tomatoes.
When it comes to canned tomatoes, domestic brands are very watery, acidic and often contain unripe tomatoes and skin. I prefer Italian tomatoes because they are always harvested at their peak of ripeness. The also tend to have thicker flesh, no peel, fewer seeds, are sweeter and less acidic. This is why I advise using only imported 100% Italian peeled tomatoes. My favourite brand of Italian canned tomatoes that I recommend is Mutti.The extra price you pay for imported Italian canned tomatoes is definitely worth it!
How to use this sauce
The most traditional way to use this sauce is to ladle it over spaghetti or any other pasta shape you desire. There are so many choices! Besides just a spaghetti dinner, here are other ways to use this sauce:
- Lasagna
- Stuffed Shells
- Baked Pasta Casseroles
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Spaghetti Squash
- Spiralized Vegetables
- Sloppy Joes
How to store and freeze this sauce
The sauce freezes well. Since the recipe makes a big batch (yields about 14 cups of sauce), some of it can easily be portioned. Store it in mason jars, glass storage bowls, BPA free plastic containers or zipper bags. Keep it in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for a longer time. This makes it so convenient on busy weeknights to get a pasta dinner ready in a flash. For this reason, you will always find portions of this sauce safely tucked away in my freezer!
Since the sauce has meat in it, you should cool it in the refrigerator first before storing or freezing. Whichever vessel you choose for freezing, be sure and leave an inch or so of space because the sauce will expand as it freezes. To use frozen sauce, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator then reheat and use as desired.
A spaghetti sauce to Love
This spaghetti sauce is by far my family’s most loved recipe. You need to believe me when I say “this is the best and only spaghetti meat sauce recipe you will ever need!” Your life will change forever. Make up a batch of this scrumptious veggie-packed spaghetti sauce and watch your family lick their plates clean!
Recipe
Hidden Vegetable Spaghetti Sauce with Meat
Onions, garlic, bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and 100% Italian tomatoes are pureed in a food processor and sautéed with ground beef and seasonings for a thick and rich meaty sauce. This is the best spaghetti meat sauce with hidden vegetables recipe!
Servings 14 cups
Ingredients
- 2tablespoonsolive oil
- 2medium onions, cut into chunks
- 4large garlic cloves, peeled
- 1each: red, yellow and green bell peppers, cut into chunks
- 1medium zucchini, cut into chunks
- 250gcremini mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 900gextra lean ground beef
- 2x 796mLcans 100% Italian whole peeled tomatoes
- 1x 156mLcan or tube tomato paste
- ½cupwater
- 1tablespoonkosher salt
- 1teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
- 2tablespoonsdried oregano
- 2bay leaves
- 2pieces2” x 1” approximate size Parmesan cheese rinds (optional)
- 2tablespoonsbalsamic vinegar (last addition)
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large 6 or 7 quart Dutch oven (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat.
In a food processor, process the onions and garlic until finely minced. Add them to the heated olive oil and sauté for 3 - 4 minutes while preparing the next batch of vegetables. No need to clean out the food processor bowl.
Process red, yellow and green bell peppers until finely minced. Add them to the Dutch oven, stir and continue cooking, about 3 - 4 minutes while preparing the next batch of vegetables. Again, no need to clean out the food processor bowl.
Process zucchini and mushrooms until finely minced. Add them to Dutch oven, stir and continue cooking until all the vegetables are tender, about 3 - 4 minutes. Again, no need to clean out the food processor bowl.
Process the canned tomatoes until ground. Set aside until needed (see step 7). Now you’ll be done with the food processor!
Add the ground beef to the cooked vegetables in the Dutch oven, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook over medium-high heat while stirring occasionally until no pink remains in the meat.
Add ground tomatoes and tomato paste. Swish the ½ cup water in the empty cans then add it to the sauce. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaves and Parmesan rinds (if using). Stir well to combine.
Cook uncovered over medium-high heat while stirring often until fully heated and bubbling, about 7 - 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, and reducing heat to low halfway through. The sauce will concentrate, thicken and reduce.
After the simmer time, add the balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Cover and simmer over low heat for an additional 10 minutes.
Let sauce rest, covered for 10 minutes then stir well before serving. Remove bay leaves and Parmesan rinds (if used).
Ladle sauce over spaghetti or other pasta shapes. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, if desired.
