Recipe: Veggie Pasta With Homemade Marinara Sauce

If you’ve never made homemade marinara sauce before, this recipe will be an absolute gamechanger. It’ll go well on anything, but today we’re pairing it with its good friend: pasta. And in this case, we’re getting a healthy dose of veggies by featuring zucchini and squash.

A Veggie Revelation

Over the past few years, I had often seen veggie pasta in stores and had read some recipes that subbed out normal spaghetti or angel hair pasta for veggies. At first, I thought that was pure craziness. How could anyone think zucchini, squash, or carrots could possibly substitute for all of that carb-loading I love to do with pasta?

But then I actually tried it and loved what I tasted. Even better, I didn’t feel completely useless after the meal, like I often do when I gorge on pasta. And when you have a happy belly and feel like you can conquer the world, that’s an amazing feeling.

It’s super easy to make your own veggie pasta, too. I’m a fan of the Veggetti Pro Table-top Spiralizer, which is just a fantastically easy way to turn your vegetables into thin, thick, or ribbon-cut spirals. Squash and zucchini work best for pastas but you can also make your own potato chips and the device even comes with some recipes you can try out. Plus there’s something quite satisfying about turning a crank to make food. Especially when you pair it with some magical sauce.

Homemade Marina Sauce = Making Dreams Come True

My favorite homemade marinara sauce recipe, meanwhile, is inspired by the wonderful ibitefood’s Instagram and his Pomodoro sauce. I’ve made a few tweaks to it and have been more than satisfied with the results. If you think red sauce from a jar is good, putting your own flair into it is a thousand times better.

Combine the veggie pasta with your homemade marinara sauce and you’ll have the makings of a satisfying meal. Grab a fork and dig in!

Ingredients:

For Pasta:

3 large zucchinis

2 large yellow or butternut squashes

For Sauce:

7-8 San Marzano tomatoes – Roma tomatoes are an acceptable substitute if San Marzano tomatoes aren’t in season. In a pinch, you can also substitute a can of crushed red tomatoes.

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 clove crushed garlic

1 minced shallot

½ tablespoon of pepper

½ tablespoon of butter

1 tablespoon of basil

Salt to taste

Instructions (serves 4):

1. If you want the true taste of fresh tomatoes, start here. If you want to save some time and use a can of crushed tomatoes, skip on over to step 4.

2. Manually remove the skins from each tomato. A little trick that makes me absolutely giddy: boil a large pot of water, then put your tomatoes in for 30 to 45 seconds. Take them out and dunk them into a bowl filled with ice water. The skin slides off smoother than Kool & the Gang.

3. Once the skins are off, cut each tomato in half. Use your finger or a spoon to scoop out the seeds. You don’t have to have surgical precision here, just getting rid of the majority of seeds is fine. The end result will be a nice batch of crushed tomatoes.

4. Put the crushed tomatoes in a colander to let some additional water drain. Combine butter and one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and minced shallot for about 5 to 6 minutes.

5. Add your crushed Roma tomatoes, pepper, and basil. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes.

6. Using your Veggetti or other veggie pasta spiralizer, get crankin’! I prefer to make thin ribbons for this pasta, but it’s really up to you how thick you want to go. To add some heat to the veggies, toss them into a skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, tossing them throughout.

7. After the sauce simmers, add a bit more olive oil and voila! Your sauce is ready to serve on top of your freshly made pasta. Enjoy!

You know what goes even better with pasta? Podcasts (and drinking)! I host the Parks n Wrecked podcast and I’d love for you to check it out. Subscribe below on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

See other Recipes here.