Shortcut Vegetable Ragu is a healthy, veggie-packed pasta recipe that goes from fridge to table in just 30 minutes. This weeknight-friendly recipe is perfect for busy nights!
“If I could give this recipe 10 stars, I would! It’s easy, delicious and everyone loves it. … This has been a favorite in our family for years!”
One dish (besides hot dogs) that I can always count on my crew to devour at dinnertime is spaghetti and meat sauce. Rain or shine, summer or winter – it’s always a win.
In my never-ending quest to get my family to eat more vegetables, I decided to sneak a bunch of ’em into my go-to meat sauce to see if they would notice.
Happily, they did not.
Vegetable Ragu has all the familiar flavors of spaghetti and meat sauce, and is PACKED with healthy ingredients!
What is Ragu?
Ragu is an Italian pasta sauce made from simmering big hunks of meat with vegetables, herbs, wine, and sometimes milk or cream until it becomes thick and rich. It’s a perfect slow-cooked Sunday supper, and I happen to have an EXCELLENT recipe.
My shortcut Vegetable Ragu is the busy weeknight version!
Fresh vegetables including carrots, celery, and mushrooms are cooked with onions and garlic, high-quality marinara sauce, chicken stock, fresh basil, and ground beef to create a crowd-pleasing pasta sauce that goes from fridge to table in just 30 minutes.
Serve with cooked pasta and dinner’s done!
Wine and Dairy-Free Ragu
Although ragu is traditionally made with both wine and dairy, I nix both in this weeknight-friendly version of ragu, and don’t miss them.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItMake-Ahead + Freezer-Friendly
Vegetable Ragu gets better as it sits in the fridge, so feel free to make the recipe ahead of time. It also freezes beautifully, so you can double or triple the recipe then freeze for later.
- To make-ahead: Cool then scoop the sauce into a glass storage container with a lid (plastic will stain) and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat in a pot on the stove.
- To freeze: Cool then scoop the cooked ragu into a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze flat for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge then reheat in a pot on the stove.
Pair with Gluten-Free Focaccia
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Prep and soften the vegetables.
Start by mincing fresh vegetables in a food processor, which saves a ton of time. If you don’t have a food processor, mince the vegetables finely.
To the bowl of your food processor, add onion and garlic then pulse until they’re finely minced.
Add the mixture to a large skillet over medium heat with extra virgin olive oil then saute until tender, 5 minutes.
Next, add carrots, celery, and mushrooms to the food processor then process until the vegetables are finely chopped.
Finely chopping the vegetables ensures they soften quickly and kind of melt into the sauce.
Add the vegetables to the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, season with salt and pepper, then saute until tender, 5-7 more minutes.
Step 2: Add the ground beef.
Add ground beef to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, then saute until it’s no longer pink, breaking the ground beef up as it cooks.
Step 3: Add the liquids, then simmer.
Time for the star of the dish – a jar of high-quality, store-bought marinara sauce, which will make your Ragu taste slow cooked in a fraction of the time.
Be sure to use a high-quality marinara sauce like Gino’s (regional), Rao’s, or Bove’s. This is no time for Prego or, ironically, Ragu brand tomato sauce!
Simmer the marinara sauce with a splash of chicken broth for 10 minutes with the lid partially on top, then stir in chopped fresh basil. Love the pop of fresh flavor the basil brings to the dish.
Toss the ragu with cooked spaghetti and dinner’s done. I hope you love this easy, tasty way to healthify spaghetti night – enjoy!
More Easy Italian Recipes
- Pasta Pomodoro
- Gluten Free Meatballs
- Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
- Chicken Meatballs
- Italian Rice Ball Skillet
- Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers
- Pastina Soup (aka Italian Penicillin)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large carrot, peeled then roughly chopped
- 1 rib celery, roughly chopped
- 4 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 lb ground beef
- 24 oz high-quality marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 lb spaghetti
Directions
- To a food processor, add the onion and garlic then pulse until minced, or finely mince by hand. Heat the oil in a large skillet with high sides over medium heat then add the onions and garlic and saute until softened, 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the carrots, celery, and mushrooms to the food processor then pulse until minced, or finely mince by hand. Add to the skillet then turn the heat up to medium-high. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper then saute until tender, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, then saute until the beef is no longer pink, breaking it up finely as it cooks. Add the marinara sauce and chicken broth to the skillet then stir to combine, turn the heat down to medium, place a lid partially on top, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in fresh basil then taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil then add the spaghetti and cook until it's all dente. Drain then scoop into bowls, top with the vegetable ragu, and then serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
This was awesome! Love being able to stock up my freezer with healthy and (dairy-free!) food…coming from a newly lactose intolerant person!
Not sure why, but when I access your site via mobile (either from safari or pinterest links) it goes to your site, but then automatically opens up to an app in the itunes app store…thought i’d pass it along in case it’s something you can fix on your end!
Love your recipes, thanks!!
Hi Steph – so sorry for the trouble! This is being caused by a rogue Google Ad but if you make sure your phone/tablet is upgraded to the latest iOS it should fix it for you!
This makes my mouth water!’n
Love this recipe and can’t wait to make it! Question for you – we don’t like mushrooms – OK to leave out? or is there a substitute you would recommend? Also, have you tried this with ground turkey vs. beef? We don’t eat red meat and substitute with ground chicken or turkey when possible. Love your blog and have made many recipes that are always great and healthy!
The sauce is definitely still great without the mushrooms – though I will say their texture/flavor is undetectable and they do add bulk to the sauce. You could use turkey instead of beef, too!
I’m so excited to try this recipe. So delicious! So inspirational!
http://www.trangscorner.com
Love the veggies! I always wanted to make my own sauce too. Yum!
C.
Hey Kristin!
Loving the sled pictures…too cute and looks like he had a blast!
Question about the ragu…would love to do this but trying to watch the calories right now and I was wondering if you think this could be made with quinoa instead of pasta? If so, would you just cook the quinoa separately with chicken stock or could it be adapted to a one-skillet type of meal?
Totally! Since I haven’t tested the recipe as a one skillet meal, I’d recommend cooking it separately then mixing.
This is my favorite way to get veggies in the winter. I love how you shortened the cook time. Delicious!
This looks great! Wow, your son is growing up too fast..what happened to that little baby? LOL
I’m so excited to try this recipe. So delicious! So inspirational!
http://www.trangscorner.com
Magnus has the same sled in blue! So cute!
Wow, I didn’t know Lincoln was allergic to dairy. Add your gluten intolerance, I had no idea how many hurdles you had to overcome as a food blogger.
Love how fast and easy this is! It proves that the Ragu classic can be altered for our time-crunched schedules. I can’t wait to make it!
Love this recipe idea! I’m going to add it to this week’s meal plan.
My 14 month old son is allergic to dairy as well. I’ve love to hear about some of the meals you feed Lincoln.