All forms of pasta make a regular appearance in our house, as it’s easy to make and our carb loving boys can’t get enough! Our four year old has been a little picky lately when it comes to what food he will eat, and I have to admit watching him inhale this Hidden Veggie Bolognese gives me a lovely sense of satisfaction!
This is my go to bolognese recipe and I use it for my Lasagna, simply served with pasta, as a toasted sandwich filling or added to the top of a baked potato. If you are worried about your kids turning their noses up to this veggie laden dinner, simply cut/grate your veggies as finely as you can so that they are too hard to spot for little eyes.
It’s also a great way to clean out those veggies sitting at the bottom of the fridge and you can add/omit any vegetables depending on you and your families preferences. What I LOVE most about this recipe is that it’s freezer friendly and we ALWAYS have a container or two in the freezer for those nights when I just can’t be bothered cooking, which is becoming much more frequent the further into this pregnancy I go!
Hidden Veggie Bolognese
Ingredients
- 500 g beef mince
- 1 brown onion – finely diced
- 2 carrots – grated
- 2 stalks of celery – finely chopped
- 4 button mushrooms – finely sliced
- 100 g of pumpkin - grated
- 1 zucchini - grated
- 2 garlic cloves – crushed
- 4 slices of rindless bacon – diced
- 800 g of crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables as above and set aside until needed.
- In a large saucepan over a medium high heat, add a dash of olive oil and then add the bacon, onion and crushed garlic. Stir and cook for 2 -3 minutes until the onion starts to become translucent.
- Add the mince and using a wooden spoon, break up into small pieces – you don’t want any lumps. Reduce to a medium heat and cook for approximately 5 minutes before adding the grated pumpkin, zucchini, carrot and celery. Stir and cook for a further 3 – 4 minutes or until the mince has browned and cooked through.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, extra herbs, mushrooms and sugar. Cover the saucepan with a lid and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the hidden veggie bolognese has reduced slightly, remove from the heat and serve immediately with cooked pasta, use it to make lasagna, or transfer into freezer friendly containers and pop into the freezer for when you need it.
What’s your favourite way to smuggle veggies into your kids?
Lisa @ Chocolate Meets Strawberry
Wow, looking at the ingredient list, this bolognese really is laden with veggies! Definitely a great way to get those veggies into fussy little ones, and also fantastic for the grown ups too I think! Sometimes it can be a little tricky getting enough veggies into one day of meals, especially when the weather starts to cool down and a big green salad just doesn’t appeal the way it did in summer. Love your work Lauren!! x
Lauren
Thanks Lisa, I love that the kids will wolf this down and not realise how many veggies they are eating.