I’ve been making a variation of this veggie-packed meat sauce for years- my family is just a little bit obsessed with it! Sauteed onions and mushrooms with lots of garlic are paired with ground beef (use whatever meat you like), 2 cups(!) of shredded vegetables (our favorites are zucchini and sweet potato) and your favorite sauce. It’s so delicious you’ll forget there’s five vegetables in it!

Five Veggie Meat Sauce
Makes 4 cups (about 6-8 servings)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
8 oz mushrooms (about 2 cups) chopped
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp sea salt
cracked pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup grated zucchini or broccoli stems
1 cup grated sweet potato or carrot
1 jar marinara sauce (or favorite jarred tomato sauce)
1 bay leaf
optional: rosemary or thyme sprig
optional: splash heavy cream to finish

parmesan to serve

1. Turn Instant Pot to saute function or heat a large saute/cast-iron pan to medium. Add olive oil.
2. Add diced onion and mushrooms and cook until translucent. Add in ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook until meat is no longer pink.
3. If using slow cooker: transfer mixture to slow cooker along with remaining ingredients (except heavy cream). Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours. Remove bay leaf and any additional herbs and serve.
4. If using Instant Pot: Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning and grated vegetables. Cook 2-3 minutes before adding marinara sauce, bay leaf and and parmesan rind (if using). Set Instant Pot to high pressure/manual and cook for 30 minutes. Release pressure, remove bay leaf and parmesan rind and serve.

Five Veggie Meat Sauce

• Author: Kristin Dovbniak
• Yield: 4 cups 1x

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Ingredients

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1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
8 oz mushrooms (about 2 cups) chopped
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp sea salt
cracked pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup grated zucchini or broccoli stems
1 cup grated sweet potato or carrot
1 jar marinara sauce (or favorite jarred tomato sauce)
1 bay leaf
optional: rosemary or thyme sprig
optional: splash heavy cream to finish

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Instructions

1. Turn Instant Pot to saute function or heat a large saute/cast-iron pan to medium. Add olive oil.
2. Add diced onion and mushrooms and cook until translucent. Add in ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook until meat is no longer pink. 
3. If using slow cooker: transfer mixture to slow cooker along with remaining ingredients (except heavy cream). Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours. Remove bay leaf and any additional herbs and serve.
4. If using Instant Pot: Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning and grated vegetables. Cook 2-3 minutes before adding marinara sauce, bay leaf and and parmesan rind (if using). Set Instant Pot to high pressure/manual and cook for 30 minutes. Release pressure, remove bay leaf and parmesan rind and serve.

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