Chunky Veggie Marinara Sauce – An easy marinara sauce loaded up with chunky summer veggies. Perfect over pasta, zoodles, rice, baked potatoes, or polenta.
If it seems like I’m posting recipes incorporating a lot of the same vegetables, it’s because I am. Our summer garden is thriving and I love that there are so many different ways to use them. If you think you don’t like a certain vegetable (or have a family member that doesn’t), try serving it up a different way. My son doesn’t much care for zucchini and, more often than not, he picks it out of whatever I’m serving. However, when I dish up this Chunky Veggie Marinara Sauce over noodles, he gobbles it down! Kids tend to think anything is good with noodles (and I don’t disagree!).
This is simply a basic marinara recipe combined with sautéed chopped summer vegetables. If you’ve never attempted to make your own marinara sauce, you must try it – it’s so easy! I use canned crushed tomatoes as a cheat, and they are great year round, but you could certainly use fresh.
You could also serve this tasty sauce over baked potatoes, zucchini “noodles”, polenta, rice, etc. It’s so delicious, you can’t go wrong! I mean, who doesn’t love red sauce?
Chunky Veggie Marinara Sauce
Don’t get tired of looking at those garden vegetables just yet, give this marinara sauce a try and let me know how much you love it! If you try it, please leave me a comment below with your feedback. You can also find me on social media. Be sure to tag @veggie_inspired and #veggieinspired so I’m sure to see it. Enjoy!
Chunky Veggie Marinara Sauce - An easy marinara sauce loaded up with chunky summer veggies. Perfect over pasta, zoodles, rice, baked potatoes, or polenta.
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 small zucchini (or 1/2 large) (diced)
- 3/4 cup diced eggplant (I used 3 mini eggplants which is probably about 1/2 of a large one)
- 1 large carrot (peeled and diced)
- 1 red sweet bell pepper (seeded and diced) (or color of choice)
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth (divided)
- Optional garnishes: fresh basil (vegan parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast)
Sauté the onion, carrot and garlic in 1/4 cup vegetable broth for 5-7 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add the bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant and additional 2 tbsp vegetable broth ad sauté another 5-7 minutes. (If the mixtures starts to dry out, add 1tbsp of veggie broth at a time).
- Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, dried basil, balsamic vinegar and the remainder of the veggie broth and stir to combine.
- Simmer the sauce on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over your favorite cooked noodles.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes to Love:
Lentil Mushroom Healthy Bolognese
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
This post has been submitted to Tinned Tomatoes: Meat Free Mondays.
I love simple, easy, and fresh recipes like this one. You don’t even need a salad because it’s filled with veggies. 🙂
Absolutely right! It’s definitely a complete meal all on it’s own!
Wow, Jennifer. This looks SOOO good. I’ll have to try it. Love the chunkiness — makes a dish so much more filling.
Thanks, Audrey! I’m a huge fan of making just one dish for dinner as opposed to the main part of the meal plus 1 to 2 sides. With this chunky sauce there is no need for any veggie sides. Maybe some crusty bread, but that’s another story!
funny – I made something so similar the other night! (not on the blog) Who needs meat when you have such lovely fresh veggies!
I’m sure there are a ton of different versions of this out there! It’s so good and fresh veggies are the best! Thanks for stopping by, Mimi!
This is my kind of recipe, Jenn! SO hearty and comforting. I tend to use the same summer veggies as well and the ones used in this recipe are my favorites 🙂 YUM!
Thanks, Ceara! I saw you said basically that exact same thing in your recent artichoke salad post, too….that you tend to go for the same veggies time and again. But, it’s because they are soooo good! 🙂
This looks great Jenn! And I love how you sneak in all those veggies!
I’m not exactly being sneaky in this recipe…they are there in all their glory. But, I do love a good sneaky recipe from time to time too!
No matter how many times I tell and SHOW my family how easy it is to make your own sauce…they refuse and always buy gross sugar and sodium filled jarred…I just shake my head 😛
I know the feeling! Someone once asked me (I won’t mention names!!) if I bought Prego or Ragu….um, yeah, NEITHER! LOL!
I love throwing veggies into my marinara sauce, but I have never tried all these veggies! Zucchini and carrots are good in everything! And I used to love eggplant parmesan so that one sounds great too! Never would’ve considered bell pepper, but I bet the flavor is amazing in there! Chunky tomato sauce is always the best 🙂
Thanks, Natalie! I’m not sure I would do a green bell pepper ’cause it’s a pretty strong flavor, but the red, orange, yellow are all mild enough they just blend right in!
As always, this looks super delicious, Jenn! Pasta is one of my favorites and I love that you’re using eggplants! 🙂 Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Thanks, Sina! You are so sweet! We eat so much pasta around here…gotta switch up the sauces to make it interesting! The eggplants in my garden are growing like crazy!!