3.9 of 5 (27)

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Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 4
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 112.5
  • Total Fat: 3.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
  • Sodium: 0.8 mg
  • Total Carbs: 14.1 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 4.2 g
  • Protein: 4.0 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Veggie-Packed Tomato Sauce calories by ingredient
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Veggie-Packed Tomato Sauce

Submitted by: CHEF_MEG
Veggie-Packed Tomato Sauce

Introduction

What? Canned tomatoes in a tomato sauce? Yes, that's right. Garden tomatoes are only available for a short time, but crushed canned tomatoes are on shelves year-round and packed with flavor.
 What? Canned tomatoes in a tomato sauce? Yes, that's right. Garden tomatoes are only available for a short time, but crushed canned tomatoes are on shelves year-round and packed with flavor.
Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

    1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
    1 small onion, grated (about 1/2 cup)
    1 medium zucchini, grated (about 1 cup)
    1 clove garlic, grated
    1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    Pinch red pepper flakes
    2 (14.5 ounce) cans no salt added crushed tomatoes
    1/4 teaspoon sugar
    2 tablespoons fresh basil, shredded
    1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper



Tips

Be sure to choose no salt added tomatoes.
You'll love this over lean turkey meatballs!

Grate the vegetables! You will find the flavors come alive quickly in the sauce by the simple technique of grating the onion and zucchini. Bonus: Picky eaters will never know that it's packed with extra vegetables.

Serve over polenta, spaghetti squash, or whole-wheat pasta.

Make a double batch and freeze in air-tight containers so you'll have homemade sauce any time you need it.


Directions

Grate the vegetables using a box grater or the shredding attachment of a food processor.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the onion and zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, for three to four minutes.
Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes, stir to combine, and cook another two minutes.
Add the tomatoes and sugar, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in the basil, black pepper, and remaining teaspoon of oil.


Serving Size: Makes 4 cups, one cup per serving.






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Member Ratings For This Recipe

  • COPPETHEDOG


    30 of 31 people found this review helpful
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    I would suggest grating in some carrot as a natural sweetener to offset the bitterness of the tomatoes rather than sugar. Just a thought! - 9/25/12

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  • I_AM_EEVIE

    O.K.
    19 of 27 people found this review helpful
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    Personally, I find that using canned tomatoes adds a lot of salt and preservatives that we do not need. Use some fresh Roma tomatoes in place of the canned for a more healthy alternative. About 5 Roma's per can. Delicious and better for you! - 9/25/12

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  • SANDYGWEE1


    15 of 15 people found this review helpful
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    Disappointing when I saw 'packed with veggies' I was expecting more than an onion and zucchini. You can buy organic unsalted tomatoes and I would add pepper, carrot, mushroom, spinach, even squash to up the veggie content - 9/27/12

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  • POPEYETHETURTLE


    7 of 7 people found this review helpful
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    Am I wrong? I've always thought that 1 "tablespoon, divided" meant it was maybe spit into teaspoons. If I were writing this recipe down, I'd list the ingredients as "3 tablespoons oil, divided". I'm a guy who has been cooking for 37 years. Have I been screwing up recipes all this time? - 10/3/12

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  • SARAHTHEPARK


    5 of 6 people found this review helpful
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    @MNTWINSGAL INCLUDE the liquid --- unless you want sauteed tomatoes instead of sauce.

    Random thought: isn't tomato sauce by definition packed with veggies/fruits?

    Try this: Replace half the pasta with diced vegetables (onions, mushrooms, zucchini, peppers.) - 9/25/12

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  • DEBICGA

    Incredible!
    3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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    I haven't tried this yet but if you do watch your sodium intake you can always use tomatoes with no salt added. This reduces the sodium probably by about 300mg if not more. - 9/26/12

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  • CATINCJ

    Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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    More veggies (carrots, celery, peppers) make it even more flavorful. Dicing/slicing veggies as small as possible before simmering also assures more flavor.

    Also, beware that quite often, NO SALT canned tomatoes has added sugar.

    Canned tomatoes can also be seasoned and used in place of salsa - 3/6/13

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  • SAPHIRA1207


    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
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    I make my own sauce at home (kids prefer it - go me!) and I always put in a LOT more veggies than that. I never use carrots though. That would be far to much Vit A and increases the risk of Vit A poisoning. (Yes, there is such a thing). Hmmm, maybe I should add my recipe to the collection! :) - 3/6/13

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  • LH1234

    O.K.
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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    With a name like "veggie-packed", I expected more. Like other reviewers, I would add carrots (rather than sugar), mushrooms, & leafy greens. As far as the canned tomatoes, I think they're great - as long as you find a good, low-sodium, brand. There are quite a few good ones out there! - 3/6/13

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  • ALLABOUTLOVE

    Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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    mine is similar, but I use an Italian seasoning that has bell pepper, carrot, and onion in it. - 1/22/13

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  • LOUISE3518

    Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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    I do not add the sugar. We do not like a sweet tomato sauce... it actually takes away from the fresh tomato flavor we all love. The onions add enough sweetness to this sauce. There are times I omit the onions too.... makes for a different flavor for a change too. - 10/7/12

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  • SANDESIGN2

    Very Good
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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    I think the directions should read, "Heat 2 TEASPOONS of olive oil" rather than "2 TABLESPOONS" when you saute the onion and zucchini as the ingredients only call for 1 TABLESPOON total. - 9/26/12

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  • REEGEE257

    Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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    Great idea, grating the vegetables...that's even better than mincing, especially if you grate into the pot to capture all the juices. That's my next tomato sauce. TY - 9/25/12

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  • PATRICIAANN46

    Incredible!
    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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    This is so good!!!!! Sometimes I put rice in the meatballs too. - 9/25/12

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  • JUDIMEL

    Very Good
    1 of 3 people found this review helpful
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    I make this also but with lots more veggies. Any veggie will work and I generally cook a bit longer than suggested. @ Sarah, no tomato sauce is just that, tomatoes cooked down and pressed so that it is a much thicker consistency than say tomato juice. You may be thinking of V8? - 9/25/12

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  • ALDAHLQUIST

    Very Good
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    I added fresh mushrooms to the sauce, left out the sugar completely (although shredded carrots sounds like a great idea!) I'm serving this with homemade low-sodium turkey meatballs on a bed of spaghetti squash. A sprinkling of parmesan makes it feel like a real pasta dish. - 4/14/13

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  • NIKESHA22

    O.K.
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    Not as tasty as I thought it would be, quite disappointed, will stick to my own recipe which is much more tasty and great with wheat free pasta or rice noodles - 3/11/13

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  • ANU_20

    Incredible!
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    Incredible!... It turned out to be a restaurant quality dish! I added a lot of other veggies too like Pak Choy, Spinach, Bell peppers n mushrooms! ...Thank you! - 3/8/13

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  • FLORIDAGHOST


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    I've been canning tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes for years and I lived in WA so had to do it in the summer when the tomatoes were ready. We made 24 quart jars to make anything we wanted and they lasted the entire year until it was time to can again. We had the control of the ingredients! - 3/6/13

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  • TCHNCRFT


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    Be careful when reading the directions. The list of ingredients says "1 tablespoon olive oil" yet the directions say "Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil." I'm pretty sure it's supposed to say "Heat 2 TEASPOONS of oil." If you're not careful, you'll be adding lots more calories and fat than calculated. - 3/6/13

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  • MRSCORRIE


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    I wouldn't exactly call this veggie packed......More of a false advertising title than anything else.
    I was looking forward to a veggie loaded, quick to make(with a small amount of servings) addition to my recipes but I guess I will just stick with my bulk sauce recipe. - 3/6/13

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  • KENDALLSPENCER

    Very Good
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    Grated carrot, chopped spinach, mushrooms, like many other people have mentioned are wonderful additions and I personally love them, but some people are tomato purists and the grated zucchini is practically undetectable especially by kids..lol. I take off one star for the addition of sugar ...sorry. - 3/6/13

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  • GRACEISBEST

    Incredible!
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    This is an awesome sauce an dkeeps well for use over a couple of weeks time. - 3/6/13

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  • PLAYINJANE1

    Very Good
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    I use virtually the same recipe and add loads of mushrooms. Split a brown pitta bread in half, top with the sauce and a little grated parmesan and hey presto, you have a pizza with loads less calories - just when you feel like cheating..!! :) - 3/6/13

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  • JULES3819


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    Can't rate recipe, I haven't tried it but was dissapointed to see there was hardly any veggies in here. When my kids were small, I would put squash in my homemade sauce, they never knew it was in there and was a natural sweetner. Always looking for good recipes though, this could work w/ more vegs. - 1/22/13

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