The vegetables are already in the sauce and nobody has noticed
Grate the zucchini and carrot on the big holes of a box grater, cook them down with the onion and pepper, then pour in the jar of marinara. Blend it smooth and it looks like sauce.
Portion matters here more than the vegetables do. A cup of penne with sauce sits fine before a 6:30 practice. A heaping bowl with a second helping does not, and they will tell you about it in the car.
Ingredients
The recipe serves 4 to 6. Plan on about 30 minutes (sauce makes ahead).
- 1 lb penne or rotini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, grated
- 1 medium zucchini, grated
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, for serving
How to Make It
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot, zucchini, and bell pepper for 8 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and oregano and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Stir in the marinara and salt, bring to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes.
- Blend the sauce smooth with an immersion blender or a regular blender so the vegetables disappear.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain.
- Toss the pasta with the warm sauce and serve topped with Parmesan.
Timing Before Practice
If the sauce is already made, this is a 15-minute meal, so start when the pasta water is on.
- T-minus 30: bring the pasta water to a boil and reheat the sauce
- T-minus 15: drain the pasta and toss with sauce for early eaters
- T-minus 5: water bottles and shoes, no new cooking
Make It Ahead or Save Leftovers
The blended sauce is the whole point of making ahead and it freezes beautifully.
- Make the sauce up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it
- Freeze sauce in 2-cup portions for future practice nights
- Reheat saucy leftover pasta with a splash of water to loosen it
- Serve with: garlic bread, steamed broccoli
Parent Tip
Grate the zucchini and carrot on the large holes of a box grater so they melt into the sauce when blended.
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
Two-cup portions in the freezer
Freeze the sauce flat in bags and one thaws in a bowl of warm water while the water boils.
Rotini instead of penne
The twists hold more sauce per bite, so a smaller serving still tastes like a full plate.
Parmesan on the table, not in the pot
Let each kid add their own quarter cup and the picky one stops picking through their bowl.
A splash of water on the reheat
Leftover sauced pasta drinks everything overnight; a tablespoon of water brings it back at 8:15.
Garlic bread only on the late nights
Save it for practices that start after seven, when there is time to walk it off before warm-ups.
Plan the next step
Make a sauce-ahead plan
Batch the blended sauce on a quiet day so this becomes a 15-minute meal all week.