Hidden Veggie Beef Bolognese
Note: Blender required
- Wheat
- Milk
Bust out your blender or food processor and load up your beef Bolognese with a big dose of “hidden” veggies! You’ll boost your sauce by blending in carrots and zucchini, where they can’t be seen (but can be devoured!). Swirl with créme fraîche for an extra-rich texture, then toss with tender rigatoni and Parmesan for a bowl that can’t be beat.
Ingredients
6 ounce
Rigatoni Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
14 ounce
Marinara Sauce
2 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
4 ounce
Shredded Carrots
1 unit
Tomato Paste
1 unit
Zucchini
4 tablespoon
Crème Fraîche
(Contains: Milk)
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
6 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
Ground Beef
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
Not included in your delivery
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Trim, peel, and halve zucchini lengthwise; cut crosswise into 2-inch- thick pieces.
• Place zucchini, carrots, marinara, stock concentrates, garlic powder, Italian Seasoning, a big pinch of salt, and pepper in a blender (or food processor). • Blend, scraping down the sides as needed, until mostly smooth and no large pieces remain, 60-90 seconds.
• Once water is boiling, add rigatoni to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water (2 cups for 4 servings), then drain.
• While pasta cooks, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add beef* and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. TIP: If there’s excess grease in your pan, carefully pour it out.
• Add tomato paste to pan with beef. Cook, stirring, until evenly coated, about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium low. • Add hidden-veggie sauce to pan and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, until sauce has thickened slightly, 3-5 minutes. • Stir in crème fraîche and 1⁄2 cup reserved pasta cooking water (1 cup for 4 servings) until fully incorporated and sauce is smooth. Remove from heat.
• Add drained rigatoni to sauce and stir until pasta is thoroughly coated. (If needed, add additional pasta cooking water a splash at a time.) Taste and season with salt and pepper. • Divide pasta between bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.
Ground Beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Some found it bland or carrot-forward; others enjoyed the hidden veggies and homemade taste 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Many appreciated the simple preparation, though blending veggies caused issues for some without food processors.
- Suggestions: Consider sautéing veggies before blending, adding fresh garlic and onions, and adjusting carrot-to-zucchini ratio for better flavor.
- Portions: Several noted an excess of sauce compared to pasta; consider increasing pasta or reducing sauce quantity.
- Texture: Some found the sauce grainy or watery; cooking blended veggies longer might improve consistency.
Reviews from our home cooks
Very simple to make and a great way to hide veggies.
One of the best recipes I have ever made for my family. We loved the hidden vegetable sauce.
This recipe was so easy to put together and is absolutely delicious!! First time trying it. Will get again. The only thing I would say is there's a lot more of the Bolognese sauce than noodles.
My husband and I are both Italian, like so Italian I make my own marinara. I figured this would be okay and I was wrong. It was AMAZING, and tbh you can't taste the added veggies. 10/10. Perfect for anyone that doesn't like veggies but loves pasta 🍝
So good! Would have never guessed there were veggies in that sauce if I hadn't put them in there myself.
Very tasty & you wouldn't even know there were added veggies in there.
Another fantastic meal! Great sauce, veges make the sauce seem like it cooked all day
This was so easy to make and tasted very good. Would definitely make it again! The only thing I would probably do differently, and this is just a personal preference, I would swap the noodles for either macaroni or medium shells. But it was delicious even warmed up again the next day!
I love the hidden veggies but this was another meal that was more extensive & took more time than anticipated. Dinner was late this night.
Really easy to come together. It made SO MUCH sauce, but I prefer a saucier dish rather than drier, so this was a huge win for me. Flavor wise was pretty solid but I did add more garlic (raw) and cooked it down with the meat and also additional seasonings. It was fine as is, but was a little bland for my palate. Overall, I think this would be worth adding to HF's menu. Another twist on this that I would LOVE: Add meatless crumbles instead of beef for a vegetarian meal!!
