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Super Sneaky Veggie Spaghetti


  • Author: Figuring Out 30
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8

Description

A paleo spaghetti recipe packed with hidden vegetables that even the pickiest eaters will enjoy!


Ingredients

Scale

Sauce (you can also substitute your favorite jar)

  • 2 cans diced tomatoes with juices
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 4 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 4 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 4 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons rosemary
  • 3 tsp salt

Chunky Ingredients

  • 1/21 pound ground sausage
  • 3 cloves chopped garlic
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 4 ounces mushrooms
  • 1 cup loose (not packed) spinach

Instructions

  1. Chop 3 cloves of garlic, onion, bell pepper and mushrooms as small as you desire. 
  2. Add finely chopped vegetables and sausage to pan on medium heat. Use a 3 quart pan or larger so it will hold everything. 
  3. Brown your meat with the vegetables, stirring often. I also crumble the sausage as I am cooking to get it small because that’s what my family prefers. 
  4. Chop your spinach as small as you want and add to the sausage/meat once the meat is cooked through. 
  5. Cook the meat and vegetables until the spinach is slightly cooked. 
  6. Add in the sauce, reduce heat to low and let simmer for at least 15 minutes or so. The longer the better. Give it a little stir every once in awhile. 
  7. Prepare your noodles as the sauce simmers. 

Notes

I buy any flavor of Mulay’s sausage at my local market or I use the plain ground sausage from Trader Joe’s. 

Any color bell pepper will work, but I prefer a green one. 

My favorite noodles are from a spaghetti squash. You can cook one in your Instant Pot (I talk about this favorite kitchen tool of mine in this post). Just add a cup of water to the Instant Pot. Slice the squash in half, lengthwise. Remove the squash guts and add it to your Instant Pot. You can just stack the two pieces on top of each other with the open part facing up. Then press the Manual function and – to get to 8-10 minutes. I use 8 minutes for a small squash and 10 for a large one. You can use the quick release or let it slow release. Pull the squash out and shred with a fork.

If you tolerate lentils (technically a legume, which isn’t paleo compliant), Trader Joe’s has a really great, inexpensive bag of red lentil pasta.

If you are a fan of spinach, you can also eat the sauce over a bed of spinach. It’s delicious and simple. 

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes