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    Home » Dinner » Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce {Batch Cook & Freeze}

    Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce {Batch Cook & Freeze}

    Published: Apr 8, 2016 · Modified: Mar 5, 2021 by Steph · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · About 3 minutes to read this article.

    Sneaky Veggie Spaghetti Sauce
    Spaghetti sauce pin for Pinterest
    Spaghetti sauce pin for Pinterest
    Spaghetti sauce pin for Pinterest
    Spaghetti sauce pin for Pinterest
    Spaghetti sauce pin for Pinterest

    This batch style sneaky spaghetti sauce is jam packed with veggies and makes enough to fill your freezer. Win- Win. This recipe makes an appearance almost once a week at our house! 

    Fill Your Freezer Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce

    I messed with the man’s spaghetti sauce.

    He loves pasta sauce. I love pasta sauce.

    We eat it ALL.THE.TIME. I went THREE years making this before he noticed the zucchini in it. 10 years later, I don't even know if he knows I also put carrots in there.

    This is what makes this recipe a sneaky spaghetti sauce.

    All of the sneaky veggies hidden in it! 

    Once this sauce is made and in the freezer, I will use it for lasagna or other pasta casseroles too. This sauce is probably the most versatile sauce I have in my freezer.

    Fill Your Freezer Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce

    I have been cooking pasta sauce for years and have now perfected it to make it lean and healthy but not sacrificing any yummy factor.

    This is also a pretty budget friendly recipe if you get your ingredients at Costco.

    I buy the four pack of ground turkey for $20CDN.

    I also buy the flat of both crushed tomatoes and tomato paste as I use those ingredients in so many things.

    EXPERT TIPS FOR FREEZING SNEAKY MEAT SAUCE

     * Once the sauce is cooked, let it cool down before you package it up for your freezer.

    * You can use a Foodsaver vacuum sealer to make for easy flat storage and NO LEAKS.

    How can you vacuum seal a sauce?

    Use a canning funnel to get the sauce in the bag, and make my husband hold the rig while I load the bags! 

    Fill Your Freezer Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce

    Then to seal the sauce, I set it up on my foodsaver like below.

    Notice the sauce is below the sealing entry.

    Thank you gravity.

    Then, press the vacuum seal button and as soon as the sauce starts to move out, press seal.

    This doesn't fully remove the air, but it has been 100% leak proof and makes for super easy freezer storage.

    Fill Your Freezer Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce

    Are you ready to sneak in all those veggies without anyone noticing?! 

    When you make this sneaky spaghetti sauce, I want to see it! Tag me @mealplanaddict on Instagram!

    Fill Your Freezer Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce
    Print Pin
    4.2 from 10 votes

    Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce {Batch Cook & Freeze)

    This batch style sneaky spaghetti sauce is jam packed with veggies and makes enough to fill your freezer. Win- Win.
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American, Italian
    Keyword pasta sauce, Sneaky sauce, spaghetti sauce
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour
    Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
    Servings 4 L
    Calories 213kcal
    Author Steph | Meal Plan Addict

    Ingredients

    • 3 pounds ground turkey
    • 3 large cans 796ml diced tomatoes
    • 2 small cans 156ml tomato paste - if you like a thinner sauce, use only 1 can.
    • 1 cup diced onion
    • 3 garlic cloves minced
    • 1 cup finely diced or grated carrots
    • 1 - 1.5 cups finely diced or grated zucchini
    • 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
    • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
    • 2 tablespoons sugar
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
    • 1 cup water
    • pepper to taste

    Instructions

    • In a LARGE stock pot, brown the ground turkey until no longer pink.
    • In the last minute of cooking, add the onion and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
    • Add the remaining ingredients and turn up the heat until you reach a boil.
    • As soon as you get a boil, turn down the heat to low (or the bottom will burn).
    • Let simmer for a minimum of one hour, with the lid on.
    • If the sauce is not thick to your preference after the hour, take the lid off and let it reduce down.
    • Let sauce cool completely before storing in the freezer.

    Notes

    This recipe doesn't work well in the instant pot. It is too thick, and it burns. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 9g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g

    So, there you have it, Fill Your Freezer Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce so you can cook once and have many many easy weeknight dinners!

    Fill Your Freezer - Energy Bites »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Emily M says

      January 09, 2017 at 11:12 pm

      5 stars
      Had my neighbours over tonight and made your sneaky sauce. It was great and everyone really loved it! Lots of compliments and no mention of the sneaky sneaky!

      Reply
      • Steph says

        January 15, 2017 at 7:13 am

        Ha!!! thanks for trying it. Its a favourite over here. No mention of the sneaky sneaky LOL LOL LOL LOL

        Reply
        • Mo says

          June 26, 2019 at 4:46 pm

          Can I make this in my instant pot? If so, for how many minutes?

          Reply
          • Steph says

            June 27, 2019 at 4:37 pm

            No, I think it will burn in the instant pot.

            Reply
    2. Amanda says

      January 11, 2017 at 10:02 pm

      How spicy is this sauce? Would you say kid friendly grade spicy?

      Reply
      • Steph says

        January 15, 2017 at 7:11 am

        You can control the spice with the Jalapeño. For a sure fire kid friendly version, just leave it out. Although, I don't find the recipe spicy as is, but it would depend on how sensitive your kid's tastes are. I hope you like it!

        Reply
    3. Phyllis says

      March 07, 2017 at 6:33 pm

      Just curious if you can advise how much sauce this recipe will make?

      Reply
      • Steph says

        March 08, 2017 at 5:32 pm

        Hi Phyllis, it usually makes 4-5 Litres for me.

        Reply
    4. Stephanie says

      July 04, 2017 at 5:00 pm

      5 stars
      I made this yesterday but cut the recipe in half, just in case. I really shouldn't have worried!! My guys loved it!!!

      Reply
      • Steph says

        July 04, 2017 at 5:23 pm

        oh fantastic!! happy to hear! Yes, its a big recipe!

        Reply
    5. Ann G. says

      September 02, 2017 at 1:02 pm

      Thoughts on using eggplant rather than zucchini? I've got some extra & thought this might be a creative use for them. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Steph says

        September 08, 2017 at 10:33 am

        oh well that is interesting, I never even considered eggplant. Honestly, I don't have a lot of experience with eggplant so am not sure. Give it a try and report back!

        Reply
    6. Meloney says

      December 08, 2017 at 3:41 pm

      5 stars
      Would you mind explaining how you seal your sauce with the Foodsaver? I have the newer model but I haven't figured out how to do liquids. TIA

      Reply
      • Steph says

        December 08, 2017 at 5:38 pm

        My model has a "wet function that I use. I just scoop it in the bag with a ladle and fill it no more than 3/4 full and then use the wet function. I wills stop it and seal it manually if it is headed for disaster!

        Reply
    7. Diana says

      November 25, 2018 at 10:13 am

      I’m going to make this today for the IP lasagna. Any suggestions on what else I can use it for aside from spaghetti?

      Reply
      • Steph says

        November 27, 2018 at 5:59 pm

        I use it as a basic sauce on spaghetti!

        Reply
    8. Sonya Fowler says

      January 07, 2019 at 7:58 pm

      Do you ever make this without the meat? More like a base that I can add different meats to when using it?

      Reply
      • Steph says

        January 07, 2019 at 8:47 pm

        I personally haven't made it without meat. I don't see why you couldn't though and make it like a marinara!

        Reply
    9. Anonymous says

      June 25, 2019 at 11:02 pm

      Oh my gosh! I've always wondered how to get my sauce to freeze in foodsaver bags! Next time I'll try this for sure!!!!!

      Reply
    10. Ray says

      August 03, 2019 at 6:42 am

      I have emailed foodsaver about freezing liquids, and their reply was to freeze the liquid in a plastic container first, then pop it and seal it in a bag.

      Reply
      • Steph says

        August 09, 2019 at 7:21 pm

        That is an option as well. I have no issue with this sauce, so I skip the extra step.

        Reply
    11. Stephanie says

      January 04, 2020 at 7:49 pm

      Have you ever tried making this with ground beef?

      Reply
      • Steph says

        January 05, 2020 at 6:35 pm

        Yes! and sometimes half turkey, half ground beef!

        Reply
        • Stephanie says

          January 06, 2020 at 11:42 am

          Thank you! Tried it with beef and it’s delicious. Great recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂

          Reply
    12. Kristen says

      October 23, 2020 at 5:12 pm

      Just making this for the second time and it’s amazing!! Total game changer to have this sauce in the freezer,I love it 😊 Thank you!

      Reply
    13. Aleasha Loblaw says

      February 23, 2021 at 9:34 am

      This is my new go-to bolognase sauce recipe. It is so delicious! I have been making huge batches and freezing in souper cubes, using for quick dinners, lasagna and everything!

      Reply
    14. Liz says

      February 28, 2021 at 9:32 am

      How much sauce do you freeze in each bag?

      Reply
      • Steph says

        March 02, 2021 at 8:44 am

        The best thing to do is freeze it in portions that make sense for your household. For us, that is about 4 cups.

        Reply
    15. Staci says

      June 07, 2021 at 8:06 pm

      This is a fav in our house. Admittedly, I measure with my heart so it's a bit different everytime and I skip the cayenne power, but it's so good. It is hard to screw up. My husband might divorce me if he knew I was feeding him zucchini, but he loves this sauce!

      Reply
    16. Susan says

      August 01, 2021 at 9:30 am

      How much sauce are the nutrition facts you listed based upon?

      Reply
    17. Erin says

      December 29, 2021 at 11:14 pm

      In the above you mention that you buy flats of crushed tomatoes at Costco then you state using diced tomatoes, just wondering which one to use.. diced or crushed tomatoes?

      Thanks

      Reply
    18. Sandra says

      January 19, 2022 at 9:30 am

      Dear Steph:

      I made the Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce Recipe and it is the BEST sauce. I made a few changes: I added 6 cloves garlic, instead of the zucchini, I added 1 cup diced celery, and I added 1 red pepper, diced. A VERY tasty recipe! It freezes well, too.

      Once again, thank you.

      Greetings from Ontario, Canada.

      Reply

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