Kid-Friendly Easy & Delicious Meat Sauce Spaghetti Recipe with Hidden Veggies: A Parent's Secret Weapon

Diced tomatoes for the perfect sauce

Creating meals that satisfy both kids and adults can sometimes feel difficult. Fortunately, there's an enjoyable and sneaky way to help those picky eaters eat their veggies without even realizing it.

Welcome to the world of homemade meat sauce spaghetti! This delicious sauce hides the flavor of vegetables while giving your family a nutritious meal. Let’s explore how to create this delightful dish from scratch.

Ingredients

Before you start cooking, gather all your ingredients. For this recipe, you will need:

• Ground beef

• Onions, carrots, and celery* (the holy trinity of cooking)

• Mushrooms (optional, but a great nutritional boost)

• A can of diced tomatoes

• White wine (optional, but it enhances the sauce)

• Chicken bouillon

• Ketchup

• Nutmeg, salt, and pepper

  
  

*DO NOT waste celery leaves. Chop the celery leaves and include them, as celery, particularly its leaves, is known for its natural preservative qualities, i.e. works as a natural preservative.

Instructions

1. Chop vegetables (onions, carrots, celery and mushroom) into pieces. You can use a food processor to save time. The combination of onions, carrots, and celery, often called the “trinity,” is crucial for building flavor, plus they are cheap!!

   
   

   Tip: If your kids tend to shy away from mushrooms...when chopped and cooked well, they blend right into the sauce and you won't realize it. My daughter, who doesn't like mushrooms, was amazed when I revealed the secret ingredient—she didn't taste a thing!

   
   

   

   *Cooking utensil: T-fal pan

   
   

2. Heat a medium-sized pan over medium heat. Add a generous pat of butter (or olive oil if you want to cut down calories) to the pan. Once melted, toss in your chopped onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Stir them around, letting them sauté for about 5-7 minutes until the vegetables soften and the onions turn translucent.

   
   

   

   *Cooking utensil: Kobo Aizawa wooden spatula and T-fal pan

   
   

3. Add your ground meat to the pan with the sautéed vegetables.

   
   

   

   *Uensil: Kobo Aizawa wooden spatula and T-fal pan

   
   

4. Using a spatula, break up the meat as it cooks, ensuring it browns evenly. This process should take around 7-10 minutes.

   
   

5. As it starts to brown, season the meat with a dash of nutmeg, salt, and pepper. While nutmeg may seem like an unusual choice, it adds a warm flavor that rounds out the sauce beautifully and mask the strong odor of meat.

   
   

6. Open a can of diced tomatoes and pour them into the pan. For added flavor, deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine, which will add deep mellow flavor.

   
   

   

   *Utensil: Kobo Aizawa wooden spatula and T-fal pan

   
   

7. Next, add chicken consomme (powder is totally fine) and two tablespoons of ketchup. The ketchup adds sweetness and helps thicken your sauce.

   
   

8. Reduce the heat to low, cover the lid and let your meat sauce simmer for about 40-45 minutes.

Delicious meat sauce simmering on the stove

This simmering time allows all the flavors to meld into a rich, hearty sauce. It’s the perfect opportunity to cook your pasta or prepare a simple salad as a side dish.

Serve It Up!

Once your sauce is bubbling and fragrant, it's time to serve it over al dente spaghetti. This classic dish is sure to please the whole family!

Tips for Serving

• Add Cheese: A sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese on top can make the dish even more irresistible.

• Add Red Pepper Flakes: For a grown-up who likes spicy food, sprinkle some red pepper flakes.

• Add Tabasco Sauce: Tabasco is ideal for enhancing the flavor of this meat sauce. Being someone with a low tolerance for spicy food, this is the only occasion when I reach for Tabasco!

What To Do With Left-Over

Another good thing about this meat sauce recipe is that you can store this meat sauce in a refrigerator about 2 weeks thanks to the natural preserving ability of celery! I usually keep them in the fridge about a week and then freeze them, and use them for other recipes.

Noda Horo Enamel Food Container

Final Thoughts

Cooking for kids doesn’t have to be a struggle, especially with this flavorful meat sauce spaghetti recipe in your toolkit. By sneaking in vegetables like mushrooms alongside the savory holy trinity, you can create a dish where nutrition meets deliciousness.

So next time you’re wondering how to encourage your kids to eat more veggies, remember this recipe. They’ll be too busy enjoying their spaghetti to even notice the added goodness in their meal. Happy cooking!