Veggie-Loaded Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

Name: Veggie-Loaded Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8 oz whole wheat pasta; 1.5 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, diced; 5 cloves garlic, minced; 3 stalks celery, diced; 1 medium red bell pepper, diced; 2 medium carrot, diced; 8 oz cremini mushroom, sliced; 1 medium zucchini, diced; 3 cups spinach; 14 oz crushed tomatoes; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp dried basil; 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes; 0.25 tsp black pepper; 1 oz parmesan cheese, grated; 4 leaves fresh basil

Whole wheat spaghetti tossed in a simple crushed tomato sauce loaded with
bell peppers, celery, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, onions, and fresh
spinach. A vegetable-packed weeknight dinner that comes together in 40 minutes.

Sometimes the best way to eat more vegetables is to hide them in plain sight
inside a dish you already love. This spaghetti is built around that idea.
Instead of relying on meat for substance, the sauce gets its body from a
generous pile of diced vegetables that soften into a rich, chunky base.

Bell peppers and carrots bring natural sweetness, mushrooms add a savory
depth that makes the sauce taste like it simmered for hours, and celery
provides a subtle backbone of flavor. Zucchini melts into the sauce while
a handful of fresh spinach stirred in at the end adds color and a boost
of iron and potassium.

A key choice here is skipping jarred tomato sauce entirely. Most store-bought
pasta sauces pack 400-600mg of sodium per half cup. Instead, this recipe
builds its sauce from no-salt-added crushed tomatoes and a small amount of
tomato paste, letting the vegetables and spices do the flavoring. The result
is a sauce with a fraction of the sodium and none of the added sugar that
sneaks into many commercial sauces.

Built on whole wheat spaghetti, this dish delivers 10 grams of fiber per
serving. With six different vegetables in every bowl, it's a simple way to
get a wide range of nutrients without any complicated technique. The sauce
comes together in the time it takes to boil the pasta.

✅ Why This Recipe Is Healthy

• High fiber: 10g per serving from whole wheat pasta and vegetables
• Low sodium: Only 320mg per serving — made with no-salt-added crushed tomatoes instead of jarred pasta sauce
• 6 different vegetables in every serving
• No added sugar: All sweetness comes from the vegetables themselves

📊 Why This Recipe Scored 88/100

With an overall health score of 88/100, this recipe is a solid, balanced option. Its strongest area is sodium balance (100/100), where just 187mg of sodium per serving is exceptionally low. The main thing holding the score back is blood sugar stability (87/100), because the carbohydrate profile could be slowed with more fiber.

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Veggie-Loaded Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

⏱️

Prep Time

15 min

🍳

Cook Time

25 min

🍽️

Servings

📊

Difficulty

easy

Ingredients

✓ 8 oz whole wheat pasta
✓ 1.5 tbsp olive oil
✓ 1 medium yellow onion, diced
✓ 5 cloves garlic, minced
✓ 3 stalks celery, diced
✓ 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
✓ 2 medium carrot, diced
✓ 8 oz cremini mushroom, sliced
✓ 1 medium zucchini, diced
✓ 3 cups spinach
✓ 14 oz crushed tomatoes
✓ 2 tbsp tomato paste
✓ 1 tsp dried oregano
✓ 1 tsp dried basil
✓ 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes
✓ 0.25 tsp black pepper
✓ 1 oz parmesan cheese, grated
✓ 4 leaves fresh basil

Veggie-Loaded Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce cooking in progress

Instructions

1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the whole wheat spaghetti according to package directions (usually 8-10 minutes). Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining.
2
While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet or deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and celery, and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
3
Add the diced bell pepper, carrots, and sliced mushrooms to the skillet. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their liquid and the carrots begin to soften.
4
Add the diced zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the no-salt-added crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, dried oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender.
5
Stir the fresh spinach into the sauce in handfuls, letting each batch wilt before adding more. This takes about 1-2 minutes. The spinach will reduce significantly in volume.
6
Add the drained spaghetti to the sauce and toss to coat. Add a splash of reserved pasta water if the sauce needs loosening. Serve topped with grated Parmesan and torn fresh basil.