What makes this sauce awesome!
Simple, minimal ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Well perhaps minus silken tofu, but hey! This recipe just might entice you to include it as a fridge staple. It makes for a great healthier substitute to heavy cream and adds an extra boost of protein and iron, a super duper important nutrient for babies, especially. Budget-friendly Easily customizable – toss with pasta and whatever vegetables you wish, enjoy with a bowl of oatmeal/lentils, or serve as a sauce for vegetables! If you have a picky eating toddler or older child, it might do the trick in encouraging them to give the food in question a lick! And of course, it’s delicious!
You should totally try this butternut squash pasta sauce with beans too! And here are more no tomato pasta sauces to try!
Ingredients
Sweet potatoes – I recommend using red or orange-fleshed varieties. I especially heart the garnet ones Red bell pepper– this isn’t an absolute must BUT I encourage you to include it. Not only does it add another element of flavor, it’s an excellent source of vitamin C, which greatly helps increase the absorption of plant-based iron sources. Silken tofu – Such a quick and inexpensive way to add protein, iron, and calcium into your family’s meals! It also serves as a great healthy alternative to heavy cream. I do like to use sprouted tofu as it contains more protein and less antinutrients compared to the non-sprouted ones. Smoked paprika– if you’ve tried any of my recipes here on my blog or from my cookbooks, you know how much I adore this spice! A little goes a long way and adds that je ne sais quoi note to the dish.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Tips for Success
While you can boil or steam the sweet potatoes, I HIGHLY recommend you roast them. Magical things happen in the oven. Be sure to cook until they’re easily mashable with a fork. Time saving tip: Roast the sweet potatoes and red bell pepper ahead of time! That way, it’s one less thing to do when it comes time to make the sauce and thus will take less than 5 minutes to whip up.
How to Cook Vegetables for Babies and Toddlers
How to serve this creamy sauce to babies and toddlers
You will love how versatile this sauce is!
Toss with pasta (large shapes work best for 6-8 month old babies) Combine with cooked grains, like oatmeal, quinoa, and barley Combine with lentils Drizzle over cooked vegetables Mix it into yogurt Serve by itself – will be especially great if your baby is teething or ill. The sauce is pretty thick so it’s also perfect for spoon practice.
Sweet Potato Pasta Sauce
If planning to enjoy the sauce with pasta, here are some tips! Be sure to reserve some pasta water. You may not need it, but it’ll come in handy if you want to thin out the sauce once it’s tossed with pasta. Feel free to add whatever vegetables you wish. Frozen vegetables work great! So convenient and equally nutritious as the fresh ones. Pictured above – frozen chopped spinach For an additional boost of iron and protein, you can add beans, chicken, beef, shrimp, etc. 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. For older children and adults, it will be even more scrumptious with cheese (especially parmesan). You can add a little bit for babies but do be mindful of sodium content. Fresh herbs like cilantro and parsley will really brighten up the dish! 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!
