Spaghetti Sauce with Squash
This spaghetti sauce with squash is made with a combination of zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and seasoning cooked with jarred pasta sauce.
Servings 6
Calories 382kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 medium Onion finely diced
- 1 Zucchini cut into bite sized pieces (quartered and sliced into ½ inch pieces)
- 1 Yellow Squash cut into bite sized pieces (quartered and sliced into ½ inch pieces)
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Salt plus 1 tablespoon for the pasta water and extra for the end if needed
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper optional leave it out if you don’t like spicy
- 1 24 ounce Jar Pasta Sauce use your favorite brand and variety of a meatless sauce
- 1 14 ounce Can Diced Tomatoes we use petite diced (do not drain)
- 16 ounces Spaghetti or favorite pasta
- 1-2 tablespoon Chopped Parsley for garnish optional
- Parmesan Cheese for serving optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet, saute pan, or pot over medium. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes, stir often.
- Next, add the zucchini and yellow squash. Cook 3 minutes, stir often.
- Add the garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.
- Add the diced tomato and jarred pasta sauce. Stir well. Raise the heat to medium-high and let the sauce come to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and cook the sauce gently for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally and keep the sauce at a simmer. Raise or lower the heat as needed.
- Cook the spaghetti while the sauce cooks. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt then add the pasta. Cook following the package directions for al dente.
- Reserve a cup or two of the pasta water before draining. Drain the spaghetti and return it to the pot. If it starts sticking, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water, stir and it will become slippery again.
- Taste the sauce and add salt if needed. As a reference we added ¼ teaspoon to ours.
- Serve the spaghetti with the zucchini squash sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
- Don’t slice the zucchini and yellow squash too thin so that they hold up during cooking.
- Cook pasta in a large pot with plenty of water to prevent sticking and uneven cooking.
- Add salt to the water when cooking pasta to season it. Add it in when the water starts boiling.
- Test if the pasta is done after a few minutes of cooking, don’t rely solely on the suggested cooking time on the package.
- To not overcook the pasta, remove it from the heat and drain when it’s still a bit firm in the center (al dente). Once drained, the pasta will continue cooking a bit.
Nutrition
Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1030mg | Potassium: 844mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 787IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 3mg