• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
    • The story behind the name
    • My Journey to Veganism
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Sponsor

Fried Dandelions — Plant Based Recipes

Kid tested, family friendly, allergy safe vegan recipes!

  • Recipes
    • Appetizer
    • Beverage
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Entree
    • Kid-Friendly
    • Lunch
    • Salad
    • Side Dish
    • Snack
  • Food Allergies
  • Shop
    • Fried Dandelions’ Favorites
    • Veganize Me
    • Let It Snow E-Book
  • Articles
    • Vegan Resource Articles
    • Guest Posts & Press

Quick and Easy Pasta Sauce

March 24, 2013 By Sarah Leave a Comment

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

fried dandelions // easy pasta sauce

Some nights I really want a good, healthy meal, but I don’t want to do a lot of work. Doctoring up a jar of store bought pasta sauce is such an easy way to get a meal on the table quickly, without sacrificing quality. It’s also a great way to clean out your produce drawer! Finely grating the vegetables helps them to melt right into the sauce. This is a great trick for helping picky eaters too!

fried dandelions // easy pasta sauce

fried dandelions // easy pasta sauce

I also made a new “parmesan cheese” tonight. I found a recipe on the Lunchbox Bunch, but, as much as I like nutritional yeast, her combo was a little strong for my taste. I’m so glad I tried this idea though, because my tweaks made this combo a perfect balance for my tastes. The best part about this “cheese” is that David thinks it’s called “Carma John.” Kind of tempting to just call it that since it isn’t actually parmesan either ?

UPDATE: I made a recipe for my own parmesan sprinkles!  Two actually!  Get the recipes here —> nut based and nut free.

fried dandelions // easy pasta sauce

Feel free to mix and match as your fridge allows—no need to go buy a whole bunch of ingredients—that’s the whole point! Hope you enjoy this as much as we do—I’m so looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

fried dandelions // easy pasta sauce

Print Recipe

Quick and Easy Pasta Sauce

Doctoring up a jar of store bought pasta sauce is such an easy way to get a healthy meal on the table quickly, without sacrificing quality.
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Pasta Sauce
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Sarah De la Cruz

Ingredients

  • 1 jar store bought pasta sauce
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1-2 large carrots finely grated on a box grater
  • 1-2 small zucchinis finely grated on a box grater
  • 2 Field Roast Italian sausages or other veggie sausage (optional), cut into small pieces
  • 2 T capers
  • 10 green olives
  • 10 kalamata olives
  • ¼ t garlic powder
  • 1 t onion powder
  • 1 T vinegar—champagne or balsamic
  • 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt and add pasta. Cook according to package directions.
  • Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add sausages to pan and heat through. Add capers, carrots and zucchinis and let the vegetables cook down a little. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, and olives. Mix well.
  • Once all veggies have had a chance to cook down a bit, add the marinara sauce. Add vinegar and mix well.
  • When pasta is finished cooking, add to the pan with the sauce and mix well (be patient so that you can really mix everything in well).
  • Top with parmesan cheese!

fried dandelions // easy pasta sauce

 

parmesan-2

spaghetti4

 

Filed Under: Entree, Recipe Tagged With: carrots, easy, olives, pasta, quick, spaghetti, zucchini

Previous Post: « Pudla Pie
Next Post: Hummingbird Waffles »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

FREE DELIVERY!

Sign up to receive new blog posts hand delivered to your inbox! PLUS you'll receive a free downloadable kitchen art print when you subscribe!

Hi! I'm Sarah.

Welcome to my corner of the internet, where I share family friendly vegan recipes with an allergy safe spin. I'm so glad you're here! Read more about Sarah »

Instagram

Are you on Facebook?

Footer

Affiliate Notice

This site contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you make a purchase through those links. I only recommend brands I personally use and trust. Thanks for supporting Fried Dandelions!

Copyright Notice

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sarah De la Cruz and Fried Dandelions with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

PRIVACY POLICY

Please click here to view Privacy Policy.

Copyright © 2025 Fried Dandelions · CONTACT · ABOUT

MENU
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • About Me
    • The story behind the name
    • My Journey to Veganism
  • Contact Me
  • Articles
    • Guest Posts & Press
    • Reviews
    • Vegan Resource Articles
  • Food Allergies
  • Shop
    • Fried Dandelions’ Favorites
    • Veganize Me
    • Let It Snow E-book
  • Sponsor