Veggie-Loaded Meat Sauce

5 from 3 votes

We’re whipping up this cozy, oh-so-easy, veggie-loaded meat sauce! Ground beef is simmered with riced cauliflower, zucchini, and carrot in your go-to jarred sauce for an easy, delicious meal. It’s an inviting (and simple!) way to add extra veggies to pasta night—especially when it's topped with grated cheese, of course!

Prep Time15

Cook Time22

Course: Main Course

Servings: servings

Calories: 198kcal

Author: Taesha Butler

Ingredients

1½ Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 medium zucchini grated (about 136g)
1 medium carrot grated (about 136g)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups frozen cauliflower rice
24 ounces jar marinara sauce or any tomato-based pasta sauce
ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Add the oil in a large high-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the grated carrots and zucchini to the skillet and cook for another 5 minutes or until the onion has softened and the veggies have released all of their liquid.
Once most of the liquid in the pan has evaporated, add the ground beef. Cook, breaking the meat into crumbles, until the beef is cooked through, about 6 minutes.
Stir in the salt, garlic powder, and tomato paste. Cook for 30 seconds to develop the flavors.
Stir in the cauliflower rice and marinara sauce. Simmer for at least 10 minutes but up to 30 minutes, depending on how much time you have. The longer you simmer, the deeper the flavors get.
Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Serve right away with pasta of your choice or allow to cool fully before packing up and storing in airtight containers.
The sauce can be refrigerated for 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition