Good-for-you bolognese

Good-for-you bolognese

This delicious pasta sauce is packed with veg- but the kids will never guess

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

Low-fat

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion. Cook gently for a few mins, then add the carrots, courgettes and mushrooms and fry for 5 more mins. Stir in the garlic with 1 min to go. Tip in the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and 300ml boiling water, then season to taste. Bring to the boil, cover, then simmer for 15 mins until tender. Meanwhile, heat a non-stick pan and add the mince. Break it up with a wooden spatula and cook for 10 mins, stirring until browned all over.
  2. Add the basil leaves (reserve a few) to the veg sauce, then put a stick blender into the pan and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce and gravy granules into the mince, then stir to thicken. Cover and simmer for 15 mins.
  3. Meanwhile, boil the pasta. Reserve a small cup of the cooking water, then drain. Mix the spaghetti with the sauce and reserved water, then serve, topped with a few more basil leaves.

Per serving

597 kcalories, protein 43g, carbohydrate 89g, fat 10 g, saturated fat 3g, fibre 7g, sugar 16g, salt 0.9 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • 2008-09-07 10:53:57.549943

    Porri rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This tasted nice, but looked nothing like the picture, maybe I processed the vegetables far too much, but the end result didn't look very appetising. Kids loved it and it did freeze very well so I will probably make it again...perhaps not going puree mad next time.

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  • 2008-09-15 10:21:20.049309

    Beth rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 2008-09-15 10:21:56.740028

    Beth commented on this recipe

    I used red wine instead of water and I felt it needed some extra tomato so added some tomato puree at the end.

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  • 2008-09-18 22:11:41.032392

    Abu Amin rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • 2008-10-09 16:51:59.849054

    Paul commented on this recipe

    Didn't enjoy this at all. Very disappointing.

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  • 2008-12-21 11:53:38.508937

    fiona rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    This was horrible and looks NOTHING like the picture.

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  • 2009-01-06 13:14:53.867461

    Mrs H rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    We weren't that impressed with the results of this recipe. The sweet carrot flavour overpowered that of the other ingredients.

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  • 2009-01-09 19:28:07.690621

    cazzawatto rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    This didn't look anything like the picture and didn't taste much like spaghetti bolognese. In fact the other half is going to be turned into shepherds pie! Carrot overpowered it completed and I'm not convinced it need that much water? Mine ended up looked very orange.

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  • 2009-06-28 21:44:29.670951

    fluffyhelen rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    We use this recipe but also add cans of baked beans, kidney beans and sweetcorn. We also crumble over 2 beef stock cubes. Delicious!

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  • 2009-06-29 22:29:56.79979

    Rhea rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Good idea with the blending of the vegetables but lacking in taste. I added a chilli and tomato puree and but was still disappointed with the flavour at first. We didn't eat it until later on though by which time the flavour had developed a bit. I put it in an ovenproof dish with tricolour pasta, topped with cheese and ovenbaked which it made it much more appetising.

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  • 2009-08-04 09:06:23.699093

    CloClo rated this recipe

    1 stars

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  • 2009-08-12 18:49:34.304347

    Neppy commented on this recipe

    Yuk, yuk, yuk! No flavour, and very disappointing.

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  • 2010-08-15 18:10:07.872611

    mcjools rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    One of the best bolgnaises I have had. Mine was quite orange (I guess it depends on the size of the carrots you use). But it tasted great. And we have been eating cold leftovers for a couple of days because it is so delicious!

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  • 2012-01-21 17:34:58.555235

    mittens rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this for my little girl, to try and get some veg into her. She absolutely loves it! I use meatballs instead of mince. I do agree it doesn't look anything like the picture, but I'm not too bothered. She eats something with veg in it! Next time I might try 3 carrots instead, to make it less orange :-)

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  • 2013-02-18 04:11:07.628019

    lonelywolf commented on this recipe

    healthy meal thank your post, i like it [url]http://healthymeal.asia[/url]

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  • 2013-04-04 12:44:21.034909

    Emmat1311 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This was really nice and tasty - don't have a hand blender, so we had a nice chunky vegetable sauce - added some extra gravy granules and worcs. sauce and it thickened up nicely - had with wholewheat spaghetti to make it that bit more healthier

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

Low-fat

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 onion , chopped
  • 4 carrots , chopped
  • 2 courgettes , chopped
  • 85g button mushrooms
  • 1 garlic clove , crushed
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 500g lean minced beef
  • handful basil leaves
  • 1 tbsp gravy granules
  • 400g spaghetti
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Per serving

597 kcalories, protein 43g, carbohydrate 89g, fat 10 g, saturated fat 3g, fibre 7g, sugar 16g, salt 0.9 g

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