An easy and budget friendly hidden veggie pasta sauce made with frozen vegetables and red lentils
If you’ve been following my blog for a while you know I’m a massive fan of hidden veg pasta sauce. I first made this Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce years ago and my kids still love it now!
Last year I made a Slow Cooker Hidden Veggie Sauce using lots of fresh vegetables.
Given the cost of food at the moment and the shortages of some fresh veggies, I thought I’d try a version using frozen vegetables instead. So much cheaper to buy but still super nutritious.
I have also included red lentils to boost the nutritional value and add some plant based protein too.
The frozen veggies and lentils are added to the slow cooker along with garlic, chopped tomatoes, stock and oregano.
Cook on high for 2.5 hour or low for 4 hours.
Once cooked, use a hand blender to blitz the sauce until smooth.
If the sauce seems a little to thick at this point you can add some water or stock to thin it down to your desired consistency.
Mix with cooked pasta and serve with some grated cheese or any other toppings that your kids like.
It’s also great to use as a tomato sauce base for pizza.
Storing & Freezing
This sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
It can also be frozen either in freezer bags, containers or large ice cube trays. Defrost at room temperature and reheat before mixing with cooked pasta.
If you’d like to see more recipes like this you can check out all my Hidden Veggie Recipes here
Slow Cooker Hidden Veg & Lentil Sauce
Prep Time: 2 mins- Cook Time: 2.5 hours
- Total Time: 23 minute
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: Hidden Veg
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
An easy and budget friendly hidden veggie pasta sauce made with frozen vegetables and red lentils
Ingredients
- 250g mixed frozen vegetables
- 50g dried red lentils
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 300ml vegetable stock
- 1 tsp oregano
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and mix well.
- Cook on high for 2.5 hour or low for 4 hours.
- Blitz with a hand blender until the sauce is smooth.
- If the sauce seems a little thick you can add some water or stock to thin it down.
- Mix with cooked pasta.
Notes
This sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Defrost at room temperature and reheat before mixing with pasta.
Sarah Jane says
Kids loved this.
★★★★★
Kath says
Does this have a grainy texture? Trying to get my little one to eat more pulses but he does not like the texture, so no beans, peas or lentils. But this may work!?
Vicky says
This can be whatever texture you choose really, you can always blend a little more to get the perfect texture that you know your little would eat, hope this is helpful please let us know how it goes down, fingers crossed! 😉