Clean-Eating Hearty Pasta Sauce

Chopped zucchini gives a lower-fat pasta sauce made with lean ground beef extra heartiness. Great served over whole grain spaghetti or brown rice pasta.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 436 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ pound lean ground beef
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
• 1 gallon water
• salt
• 1 (16 ounce) package whole-wheat spaghetti
• 1 ½ tablespoons dried basil
• 2 small zucchinis, chopped
• 2 tablespoons sucanat (crystallized sugar cane juice), or to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef, zucchini, onion, and garlic in the hot skillet until beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease.

Step 2

Stir crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, sucanat, basil, sea salt, oregano, and black pepper into beef mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until flavors have blended, at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour for better flavor.

Step 3

While sauce is simmering, bring salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package directions. Serve sauce over hot pasta.