Brighten up your pasta dishes with this vibrant carrot pasta sauce. Packed with nutrients and bursting with sweet and savory flavors, it's a delicious alternative to traditional pasta sauces that will leave you feeling satisfied and nourished.
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Easy Carrot Sauce
While my family loves a classic marinara, I find it so fun to experiment with non tomato-based sauces to make pasta dishes more nutritious, flavorful, and varied.
If you haven't tried vegetable-centered pasta sauces, oh I'm so excited for you as a whole new door of possibilities has now been opened! They’re such a great way to get more veggies into your family's diet.
So far, I've shared sweet potato sauce, green pasta sauce, butternut squash sauce, and now it's time for the carrots to take center stage!
Made from fresh carrots, this creamy pasta sauce is not only loaded with vitamins and minerals but also packs a sweet and savory flavor that complements pasta dishes perfectly.
It's a kid-friendly weeknight meal perfect for the whole family. And if you don't feel like eating pasta, there are so many different ways to enjoy this creamy carrot sauce! Let me show you.
Extra bonus - As we eat with our eyes first, the bright orange color will help grab your little one's attention and get them more excited about trying this sauce.
Ingredients
I am highlighting just the ones that need further explanation. The complete list is in the recipe card below.
- Carrots - you will need a pound (about 5-6 medium carrots) of firm, bright colored carrots.
- Onion - you can use yellow or red onion.
- Beans - white beans, such as great northern or cannellini, will work best.
- Coconut milk - adds creaminess and incredible flavor! See "Substitutions" section for alternatives.
- Tahini - complements the other flavors in the pasta sauce and adds depth and complexity. Also provided substitutions below.
Related: Carrots for babies
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep the vegetables - Slice the carrots into ½ inch rounds and quarter the onion. Leave the garlic cloves in their skin.
- Roast the vegetables - Toss the carrots with olive oil. Take the time to rub oil all quartered onion and drizzle some over the garlic. Place on a baking tray. Roast for 25-30 minutes.
- Once slightly cooled, add all the roasted veggies (peel the garlic) to the food processor or blender along with the rest of the ingredients.
- Blend until smooth. Pour into a pan and heat over medium to medium-low heat for several minutes until heated through.
- Add cooked pasta. Be sure to reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water before draining and use it to thin out the sauce, if needed. Stir in some yogurt or cheese, like ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, or cheddar cheese.
Substitutions
- No coconut milk? You can use any milk of choice or even vegetable stock. The texture and flavor will change but will be delicious in its own way.
- No tahini? I've tried with white miso (like in this miso pasta) and it was so delicious too! Or add some tomato paste. You will need one of these to give the sauce an extra oomph.
- No white beans? Use chickpeas or even cooked red lentils or silken tofu. They will all add creaminess and a boost of protein.
Related: How to Cook and Serve Chickpeas to Babies
Tips for Success
- There is no need to peel the garlic cloves before roasting as they will just pop right out perfectly caramelized and delicious once roasted. A fan of garlic? Go ahead and roast a whole head and add more to this sauce or save to enjoy throughout the week!
- Meal prep - Since roasting the vegetables is what takes the longest, feel free to prep over the weekend for a super easy weeknight meal.
- Be sure to save some pasta cooking water before draining the pasta. This starchy water really helps the sauce stick to the noodles as well as adds silkiness to the dish.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this creamy carrot pasta with some cheese, fresh lemon juice, and herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, or basil, which will really help brighten up the dish. Toasted nuts would be delicious too.
The husband really likes it with some freshly cracked black pepper and sriracha.
If you'd like, you can enjoy the dish with an additional protein source, such as:
BUT this creamy sauce isn't just for pasta. Try serving with:
You can also spread onto toast, this high protein pizza dough, cheese quesadilla or add to sandwiches for toddlers and kids!
It's actually super delicious as a soup too!
Tip: if your child doesn't like mixed foods, try serving the pasta and sauce separately. Here are some more dinner serving suggestions for toddlers and kids.
Is your toddler becoming picky?
Arm yourself with these strategies that will transform your mealtimes!
Equipment
Using a powerful blender makes ALL the difference when making smooth sauces.
I've had my Vitamix for 7+ years and it's worth every penny! I use it to make all my blender muffins, dips/sauces, smoothies, veggie nuggets, pancakes...it's hands down my number one workhorse.
You can also use a food processor to make this sauce, although won't be as smooth. I mainly got it to make a ton of different energy balls, like these easy bliss balls, peanut butter balls and apricot balls. But I'm finding more uses for it like when I want to make a more chunkier, textured sauce, like pesto.
Storage
While you can refrigerate leftovers once the pasta is tossed in the sauce, it tastes best with fresh cooked pasta.
So I strongly recommend combining enough pasta and sauce for one meal and reserving the rest of the sauce to enjoy in various ways throughout the week, as mentioned above.
Store leftover sauce in an airtight container or jar and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
They freeze really well too. I personally like to freeze in individual portions. This freezer tray is really great! Once frozen, you can pop the molded sauce out and transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container.
Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
You can also add individual cubes straight from the freezer and mix with freshly cooked pasta to help cool it down faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want the sauce to really cling to the pasta, I highly recommend going for ruffled or ridged shapes, like fusili, rotini, cavatappi, and penne. But you can use any shape and type of pasta. I used regular penne pasta in this post.
Try with regular, whole wheat, gluten-free pasta, or legume based pasta (e.g. chickpea, edamame, lentil) for extra protein, iron, and fiber.
It depends on how you want to enjoy it. Warm it up if combining with pasta as the recipe suggests. Otherwise, you can eat it as soon as it's blended. It's tasty served cold, too.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating below and let me know how you liked the recipe! Your feedback means so much to me!
Carrot Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots (about 5-6 medium), cut into ½ inch rounds
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 4-5 garlic cloves, with peel on
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 15 ounce can cannellini beans
- 15 ounce canned full fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon tahini (see note)
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables - Slice the carrots into ½ inch rounds and quarter the onion. Leave the garlic cloves in their skin.
- Roast the vegetables - Toss the carrots with olive oil. Take the time to rub oil all quartered onion and drizzle some over the garlic. Place on a baking tray. Roast at 400°F for 25-30 minutes.
- Once slightly cooled, add all the roasted veggies (peel the garlic) to the food processor or blender along with the rest of the ingredients.
- Blend until smooth. Pour into a pan and heat over medium to medium-low heat for several minutes until heated through.
- Add cooked pasta. Be sure to reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water before draining and use it to thin out the sauce, if needed. Stir in some yogurt or cheese, like ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, or cheddar cheese.Â
Ivy says
How much pasta do you use for this recipe??
Min says
Hi! I usually cook about 8 ounces of pasta and combine with enough sauce to coat the pasta, then refrigerate or freeze the leftover sauce.
Iris says
Made this tonight and was surprisingly well received by all of us in the family! Because of the coconut milk, it reminded us of almost a curry!
After blending the sauce, we sautéed some capsicums and then mixed the sauce in and stirred some baby spinach and kale at the end. It was a delicious meal, it will definitely be on rotation in our household. Thank you Min!
Min says
Yay! Thanks for taking the time to share!!
Maureen says
Looks delicious! Love finding dairy free recipes. How much pasta should be cooked up?
Min says
You can cook as much as you need! You can add as much or little sauce as yo wish. I recommend storing the leftover sauce and pasta separately.
Alyson Hendler says
Is there a substitute for the coconut milk?
Min says
You can use any milk of choice, although will result in a different flavor profile. I would definitely add some cheese at the end 🙂
Jen says
Easy, delicious, and healthy! My son is allergic to garlic so I left that out. Used a little tomato sauce instead of tahini because that's what we had. I also added a couple of different spices to the carrots. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Min says
So happy to hear that you guys enjoyed this recipe!
Jessy Chow says
Can tahini be substituted for something else?
Min says
Try with any nut or seed butter like almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or even sesame oil
Amy says
Hi! What temp should I roast the carrots for? Do you recommend steam roasting them?
Min says
Hi at 400°F and whatever you prefer! Either way will work. If cooking for your baby and want to roast a big batch of carrots then I would steam roast - use some for this sauce and then save the rest to serve as a great finger food.
Sue Kim says
I didn't have carrots, so I replaced them with red and yellow bell peppers. Turned out delicious! Thank you for making such healthy recipes!
Min says
Oh! I will have to try with peppers next time too!