healthy pasta sauce?

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carbons2k
carbons2k Posts: 383 Member
in Recipes
Does anyone have a recipe for some healthy pasta sauce? Ive tried looking but cant find anything thats super healthy. I was thinking of making some turkey meatballs too!

Is there even such thing as healthy pasta sauce? lol

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  • lanavabkny
    lanavabkny Posts: 24
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    I normally just make sauce using crushed tomatoes and tomato puree...add a touch of olive oil, onion, fresh garlic, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and a touch of sweetener if you like sweet sauce. Boil the meatballs in the sauce for more flavor, rather than frying or baking them. If you want to get fancy, make a primavera sauce and add some zucchini or other fresh veggies to the sauce. Nothing really unhealthy about tomato sauce, its just how much fat you're adding into it. Its all veggies.
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
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    Copy and pasting! Also, if you're looking for really tasty, low cal meatballs, watch this. They are AMAZING! I freeze a whole bunch of them and when I want spaghetti and meatballs, I just add them to the pasta sauce as I reheat it for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Quick, easy, and super delish! I like frozen meals I can pull out on a busy day!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJrQvTzQpog

    2 cans whole peeled tomatoes (or 12 fresh tomatoes, peeled)
    1 white onion
    1 carrot
    2 celery stalks
    4 cloves garlic
    1 12oz can tomato paste
    2 cups chicken broth
    pinch of oregano
    salt and pepper

    Chop up the onion, carrot, celery stalks and garlic, and put them in a caserole dish with the canned tomatoes. Cut up the tomatoes a little bit. Put in a 425 degree F oven for about an hour. Take out, put the roasted veggies and the rest of the ingredients into a large pan, blend with a stick blender (or do this in a blender before you put it in the pan) and let it simmer for 30 minutes. I make a huge batch of this about once a month. It keeps in the freezer for up to 6 months and in the fridge for about 1 month. It's so yummy and you can turn it into cream sauce by adding yogurt (and maybe even a little vodka), meat by adding anything ground, or use it plain. It's SO versatile.
  • MexicanOsmosis
    MexicanOsmosis Posts: 382 Member
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    What's your definition of healthy? I mean, it's tomato, garlic, onion and seasoning...not sure how this is UNhealthy.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Just about all pasta sauces are healthy, except probably American Alfredo.
  • fuzzieme
    fuzzieme Posts: 454 Member
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    I find it hard to make an unhealthy tomato sauce, heh :)

    I put a little olive oil in the pot, add onions, chopped carrots, celery and saute for a bit.

    Add a few cloves of garlic and a mild chili pepper, saute one minute

    Add unsalted passata and a tin of tomatoes, or all tinned, two bay leaves and about a tablespoon of dry basil and oregano, a tiny pinch or thyme and rosemary and a good bit of black pepper.

    Add a cup of water, cover and cook for about 45 minutes over a low heat. At this point, I like to puree it and add chopped spring onions and if I want chunk, I quickly saute up some mushrooms and peppers and add in. Mmmmm.

    Stir through some fresh basil at the last minute and it's just lovely
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    If I'm making my own its 2 tins chopped tomatoes, added to browned drained beef mince (5-10% fat) with softened onions, peppers, mushrooms (whatever I have which needs using up), bit of tomato puree, 2 bay leaves, other herbs etc. I mostly put it all together in the slow cooker.

    I also do the same thing but put the meatballs on top instead of stirring in the browned mince - you can skim the fat off the top with kitchen paper.

    ETA as others said its only US Alfredo (and of course carbonara) which is unhealthy. Even jar sauces can be fine - just watch for levels of oil (I'm looking at you Lloyd Grossman!) and added parmesan. Pick one without parmesan and add a tablespoon of your own at the table.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    I'm pretty sure pasta sauce is one of those things you don't have to stress about. If you want to make your own, this one sounds good:

    http://www.marthastewart.com/337008/roasted-tomato-sauce

    Ingredients

    3 pounds tomatoes (beefsteak or plum)
    1 medium onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
    2 carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
    4 cloves garlic, peeled
    1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    Coarse salt and ground pepper

    Directions

    Step 1

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use a sharp paring knife to core the tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half; transfer to one large (or two smaller) rimmed baking sheet; add onion, carrots, garlic, and thyme.

    Step 2

    Toss tomato mixture with oil; season generously with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer (turn tomatoes cut side down). Roast until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. If vegetables begin to brown too quickly, push them toward the center of the sheet.

    Step 3

    Using tongs or your fingers, peel off tomato skins; discard. Transfer mixture (including juices) to a blender; pulse several times, until chunky. Let cool completely; transfer to an airtight container.
  • channi_c
    channi_c Posts: 47 Member
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    im abit stuck on this aswel, when i make it there just tasting like a waterey tomato sauce, am i not cooking for long enough?
  • erinea905
    erinea905 Posts: 4 Member
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    Whenever I have a lot of vegetables that I don't want to go to waste (my eyes are bigger than my stomach at the farmer's market), I do a large roasting of anything I have - tomatoes, onions, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms etc with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I puree it all together and freeze in individual serving sizes. It makes the most amazing pasta sauce.
  • yaseyuku
    yaseyuku Posts: 871 Member
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    Tomato sauce is nice. But usually for a bit more flavor I'll use avocado (or avocado salsa), chopped tomatoes, a bit of basil, and whatever else I feel like. It tastes good with a bit of mandarin orange as well.

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