Healthy Meat Sauce with Carrots and Zucchini
A comforting classic meat sauce recipe with a twist of added veggies!
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 2 cups sliced carrots
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 tsp garlic powder divided
- 1.5 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2.5 tsp dried basil divided
- 1.5 tsp salt divided
- 3/4 tsp black pepper divided
- 4 Tbs tomato paste
- 3 cups crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups strained tomatoes
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 cups sliced and quartered zucchini ( this was 2 medium zucchini for me )
Instructions
- Add olive oil and sliced carrots to a large pot and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Add ground beef, 1.5 tsp garlic powder, 1.5 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, and mix. Cook until meat is browned.
- Add the tomato paste to the pan and mix.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, strained tomatoes, and water, and then lower the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the zucchini, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp basil and cook for 15 minutes more, until the carrots and zucchini are tender.
Notes
Note: you can use 1/2 of a diced onion instead of onion powder and 2-3 cloves of minced garlic instead of garlic powder if you choose.
Nutrition
Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 796mg | Potassium: 1074mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 5886IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 5mg