If you have some fussy eaters who always want pasta and red sauce, or simply want to boost the nutritional value of your everyday marinara, this ‘hidden veg’ Lentil and Sweet Potato pasta sauce is for you. With red lentils and sweet potatoes, this tasty pasta sauce is perfect for pasta, pizzas, or as a base for so many other family dinners.
Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce
Feeding kids can be hard! I know the struggle when it feels like all your kid wants to eat is beige food or something from a packet. That is where Hidden Veg Sauce comes in. It tastes like a basic marinara sauce, but has extra nutrients packed in like fiber and protein from lentils, beta carotene and antioxidants from sweet potatoes, and vitamins c, b6 and k1 from red pepper, to name a few.
And it’s not just for kids. Lentil and Sweet Potato sauce is a great basic red sauce for everyone – make a batch and freeze in portions for an easy dinner anytime.
Ingredients
Full ingredients list with quantities is included in the recipe card below. These are some helpful notes about the main ingredients including some swaps and substitutes where applicable.
- Lentils – specifically dried red lentils. These go nice and soft and almost melt into the rest of the ingredients.
- Sweet Potato – peeled and cut into small cubes for quick cooking.
- Bell Pepper – adds a nice sweetness to the sauce.
- Canned Tomatoes
- Onion and Garlic – the base of all good sauces. I recommend using fresh garlic cloves, though since we are blending the sauce you don’t need to dice too finely.
- Tomato puree (tomato pasta) – to make the sauce taste really tomatoey.
- Dried basil and oregano – for flavour. You can switch up the herbs, or try using an ‘Italian Herb’ blend.
Serving Suggestions
This lentil sauce is excellent sauce to use with pasta – simply stir in cooked pasta and season to taste with salt, pepper and fresh herbs then top with cheese.
For some variations you could try stirring in some cream or cream cheese, or adding your family’s favourite protein.
You can also use this lentil and sweet potato pasta sauce any way you would use passata or marinara sauce. Here are just a few ideas:
- As pizza sauce (try some easy tortilla pizzas – perfect for kids lunches)
- With spaghetti and meatballs
- Serve as a soup
- A puree for weaning young babies
- Use as a dip for chicken tenders or dough balls
- In place of passata for pasta dishes like bolognese or lasagne
Storing Leftovers
Lentil and Sweet Potato pasta sauce is the perfect recipe for batch cooking.
I freeze in a large ice cube tray and defrost as needed. I find a block per person is typically enough if using as a pasta sauce. You can defrost either overnight in the fridge, or quickly in the microwave or over the stove.
More Family Friendly Dinner Ideas:
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Lentil and Sweet Potato Pasta Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 250 grams red lentils
- 2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes - 14oz cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper - roughly chopped
- 200 grams sweet potato - peeled and chopped
- 1 onion - roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves - diced
- 500 ml stock or broth - chicken or vegetable
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp tomato puree - (tomato paste)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper - optional, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven and add the onion (with an optional pinch of salt). Cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion starts to soften.
- Add the garlic, bell pepper and sweet potato and sprinkle over the dried herbs. Stir in the lentils and tomato puree.
- Pour in the stock and tomatoes, stir well and bring to a simmer. Pop the lid on and turn the heat down to medium/low. Allow to gently simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft.
- Allow to cool slightly then blend using a stick blender or by transferring to a jug blender.
- Season to taste and serve as desired.
Nutrition
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