Toddler Carrot Pasta
A fun, tasty, and nutritious recipe that your child will love. You only need a few ingredients and this dish comes together quickly and easily. As a bonus, it is freezer-friendly so it is excellent for meal prep.
Ingredients
- 4 Carrots Peeled and sliced into rounds
- 2 tbsps Olive Oil Divided
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 tsps Minced Garlic
- ½ Yellow Onion Cut Into Quarters
- 1 14.5 ounce Can Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 21 ounces Small Pasta Noodles Cooked (Or any pasta of your choice)
- A pinch of pepper to taste (And or salt)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside. If the package gives a tender option for cook time opt for that time. (You may add a little olive oil to slightly coat the pasta to keep it from sticking).
- Wash and peel carrots. Then slice into thin rounds and place on a baking sheet.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top of the carrots and work the olive oil in to coat the carrot slices. If needed, add a little more olive oil as needed to lightly and evenly distribute over the carrots.
- Roast the carrots in the oven for 30 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown.
- Once carrots are done remove them from the oven and set aside.
- Cut the ½ yellow onion into quarters.
- Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the onion quarters, pepper to taste, and minced garlic into a skillet and sauté until the onion is slightly transparent (about 5 minutes).
- Add to the skillet ½ a cup of low-sodium chicken broth and the tomato paste and bring to a simmer stirring occasionally. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
- Add the carrots and the tomato paste mixture to a food processor or blender.
- Add more chicken broth as needed until you reach your desired consistency. (Sauce should be thick and creamy but liquid enough to pour over pasta - I usually end up using the entire 14.5 oz can).
- Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and stir until pasta is evenly coated with sauce.
- Serve warm, or refrigerate. If freezing allow to cool slightly prior to freezing.
Notes
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- Leftovers: This pasta is excellent for meal prep as it makes a ton! You definitely do not have to make as much as the recipe calls for if you are not looking to meal prep. I have made the recipe by using less pasta and less carrots and it still turns out great; however, the ease of having frozen pasta on hand is so helpful as a busy parent! If you are looking to make the full recipe and are going to refrigerate and or freeze the extra pasta here is what I do and recommend:
- Storage: After I make the pasta I will place pasta into individual servings by using a silicone tray that has 3 ounce sections and put into the freezer. I use the Wee Sprouts Silicone Baby Food Freezer Tray - 3 oz Sections. I have two of these trays so that accounts for 12 servings, but the rest I will place into a glass Tupperware container and store in the refrigerator. Once the portions that are in the freezer have frozen I will take them out and place them into a plastic baggie and place them back in the freezer. I will then put some of the refrigerated pasta into the freezer trays again. I will rotate through like this until I have frozen all of the pasta. In the meantime, the pasta that is in the refrigerator is convenient to scoop up and reheat in portions for meals.
While I have not done this myself, if you do not have freezer trays like this you could likely use muffin tins to freeze portions. I have used individual glass jars from Wee Sprouts to freeze the pasta and those work well but are bulky and eat up more freezer space.
- Reheating: Reheating the pasta from the refrigerator is super simple and like you would do with any leftovers. You can simply place the pasta into a microwave safe bowl and heat to your desired temperature. Alternatively, if you prefer avoiding use of the microwave you can place the frozen pasta into a stovetop safe bowl (I love these and they match perfectly with the Wee Sprouts freezer trays) and fill a small saucepan about halfway with water. Place the stovetop safe bowl with the pasta into the saucepan and cover the saucepan with a lid. Allow the water to simmer and heat the pasta until cooked through. You may want to stir the pasta occasionally. Allow to cool before serving.
- The toddler carrot pasta will last in the refrigerator approximately 3 to 5 days. The pasta will last in the freezer for approximately 3 months.