Veggie Loaded Bolognese

Sauce pan of bolognese on benchtop next to a dinner bowl and a baby plate with serving inside.

4.62 from 147 votes

A rich, veggie-loaded spaghetti bolognese made with three times more vegetables than meat. Kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, and perfect for babies, toddlers, and busy families.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: New Zealand

Keyword: Spag Bol, Spaghetti bolognese, spaghetti bolognese for kids, kid friendly spaghetti bolognese, hidden vegetable recipe

Servings: People

Calories: 338kcal

Author: Stacey

Ingredients

200 g mushrooms
1 medium carrot 150g
1 medium zucchini 150g
1 medium onion 150g
2 tablespoon olive oil
500 g minced beef
2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ Cup tomato paste 55g
800 g tinned tomatoes 2 x 400g can
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
100 g chopped spinach frozen or fresh
500 g dried spaghetti

Instructions

Prepare the vegetables: Grate the carrot, zucchini, and mushrooms. Finely dice the onion, you can choose to grate the onion if you prefer.
In a large pan heat the olive oil. Sauté the onion, grated carrot, and zucchini until softened and starting to go golden.
Add the tomato paste, sauté for 2-3 minutes this helps deepen the flavour.
Add the mince and the mushrooms, cook until the beef mince is browned.
Add the tinned tomatoes, dried herbs and spinach. If your kids are a little weary of green specks in their food please check out the tip section in this post as I have a great hack for that
Simmer for 25-30 mins until everything is well cooked, the sauce has thickened and flavourful. While the spag bol is simmering cook your chosen pasta as per the packet directions.
Serve with cooked pasta.

Notes

It can be tempting to just add all the veggies at the same time as the tinned tomatoes. The spaghetti bolognese will taste so much better if you add them in the order I've described and sauté them.
Take the time to cook off the tomato paste for a couple of minutes, it really does improve the flavour (it gets rid of the very acidic flavour tomato paste can add to a dish and instead gives richness to the spag bol sauce)
I used diced tomatoes but tomato purée or passata adds the same veggie content but will give a smoother sauce.
If your kids are weary of green things in their sauce then my tip is to make a quick smoothie. Yes, blend the tinned tomatoes and the spinach in a blender before adding them to the browned mince and mushrooms.
This spaghetti bolognese sauce can be stirred in the fridge for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Thank You! https://logic-hatch.live/spaghetti-bolognese/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-10586":{"type":"food","name":"Veggie Loaded 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