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Meatballs and marinara has been one of my favorite meals for years, but this homemade ragu sauce over fresh pasta has easily taken its place as a go-to meal when I want something classic, cozy, and utterly delicious.

It doesn’t hurt that my kids proclaim it as “BEST PASTA EVER” whenever I serve this dish, usually alongside garlic knots, one-hour focaccia, or soft warm French bread.

Summer is a great time to enjoy homemade ragu sauce, too, because of the abundance of fresh tomatoes and peppers that taste better now than any other time of the year. (Though, canning tomatoes is a great option to enjoy a hint of summer taste later on when they aren’t growing fresh.)

Keep reading for the recipe and some tips and recommendations for sauce, pasta, and summer produce– a serious trifecta of goodness!

Homemade Ragu Sauce

While I still love meatballs, I really enjoy the simplicity and ease of homemade ragu sauce, especially when paired with a great marinara. Everything cooks together in one large pot, and once you get it going, it’s just a matter of letting it simmer for a while to develop the flavor.

Not to mention, it makes your home smell amazing!

The mix of ground beef and Italian sausage add a lot of depth to the sauce, so I absolutely recommend using both! (My boys very much appreciate the meatiness of this homemade ragu, too).

My first choice for the marinara I add is always homemade. I am a bit obsessed with homemade marinara sauce and always say I could drink it with a straw– even if I’ve yet to do so. I use the recipe from my Instant Pot cookbook for big batch marinara. The recipe makes enough for a batch of ragu and to have sauce leftover.

If I’m not using homemade marinara, my first pick for jarred sauce is Rao’s. It’s really good, and Costco now carries it too!

Likewise, my first choice for pasta to pair with homemade ragu is fresh, homemade pasta. There’s nothing quite like the silky, tender, deliciousness of fresh pasta noodles. If you’ve never tried making pasta at home, you should totally give it a try at least once!

That said, fresh pasta doesn’t always fit into the schedule so I always keep convenient package pasta on hand. A bag of spiral pasta is what I paired my last batch of homemade ragu with.

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Classic Homemade Ragu Sauce

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• Author: Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 10-12 servings
• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

This rich, homemade ragu sauce is full of flavor, filling meat and veggies, and incredibly delicious served over pasta. This recipe is a great way to make jarred or homemade marinara sauces so much better!

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Ingredients

• 1–1.25lb ground beef
• 2–3 sweet Italian sausage links
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium green pepper, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups marinara sauce
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried basil
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano

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Instructions

1. Heat a large dutch oven or similar style pot over medium heat. Add the ground beef and sausage to the pot and brown until the meat is no longer pink, using a spoon or spatula to break up the meat as it cooks. Drain any grease from the pot. 

2. Push the browned meat to the edge, then add the onion, peppers, and garlic to the center of the pot. Flatten the vegetables down, then let them cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes. Once the vegetables are beginning to soften, stir them together into the meat mixture. Add the herbs and kosher salt and stir again. 

3. Pour in the marinara sauce and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Bring the sauce to a low boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low/low and let the ragu simmer for at least thirty minutes. (You can simmer it longer, just keep the heat low so the sauce does not reduce too much). 

4. Taste and add extra salt or herbs to your preference. Serve over pasta, potatoes, or polenta. Top with fresh basil and/or grated parmesan. 

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I saw a popular kid-food influencer on Instagram share about making a smooth (blended) veggie-rich broth to cook with noodles for kids who may be adverse to pieces or chunks of vegetables in their soup (or just ever in general).

While I do have a child who is in a very picky stage when it comes to her food, the soup also just looked so cozy and inviting that I wanted some myself.

Almost every soup I make is in the Instant Pot because the process is so quick and hands-off, so I decided to make my own version of vegetable noodle soup in the Instant Pot. I focused on vegetables high in vitamins with typically kid-friendly, mild flavors– carrots, yellow onion, and fresh garlic. (Making this soup a really great option for sick days too, since it’s hydrating, easy on the stomach, and full of nutrition).

This vegetable noodle soup has been a big hit in our home, from my husband down to my littlest kids. It will absolutely go on the rotation for easy lunches and simple dinners!

Easy Vegetable Noodle Soup in the Instant Pot

The Instant Pot makes cooking the vegetables down really easy, and of course, hands-off. This will be the longest step of the recipe as the stock/broth heats up so the pot can come to pressure. Feel free to get it started early, leave it until you’re ready to continue, or make the veggie-rich stock ahead of time (and keep in the fridge or freeze in Souper Cubes).

If you want to make your vegetable noodle soup even more nutritious (and frugal), try making it with your own homemade chicken stock! 

After the vegetables are finished cooking, blend the whole mixture until very smooth. I usually just use my immersion blender for this, but you could also carefully transfer it to a blender.

The final step is to cook the pasta. (We can’t add the pasta in the first step since we want to be able to blend the vegetables). Because the mixture will already be very hot, returning the pot to pressure will not take very long. Even so, the additional time it takes to bring all that liquid back to pressure, plus the pressure release time, will be sufficient to cook the pasta. (If its not, just simmer the soup for a few more minutes).

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Easy Vegetable Noodle Soup in the Instant Pot

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• Author: Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 portions

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Description

This veggie noodle soup in the Instant Pot is super easy to make with a smooth, nourishing broth with blended veggies making it both kid-friendly and cozy.

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 8 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock (I like to make my own)
• 1 lb small pasta noodles
• parmesan cheese for topping

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Instructions

1. Turn the Instant Pot on to Sauté. Add the oil, then the vegetables and the salt to the pot. Sauté the onion, carrots, and garlic together for 3-4 minutes until the begin to soften. Pour in the stock and stir. Place on the lid and turn the valve to sealing.
2. Cook the vegetables and stock together on high pressure for one minute. Quick release the pressure when the cook time is complete.
3. Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until completely smooth. Alternately, carefully pour the hot vegetable mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Return the blended soup mixture to the Instant Pot.
4. Add one cup of water and the pasta to the blended mixture. Place the lid back on the Instant Pot and turn the valve to sealing. Set the cook time for one minute on high pressure. Quick release the pressure when the cook time is complete.
5. Test the pasta for doneness. If it needs additional time, return the Instant Pot to sauté and simmer the soup for 3-5 minutes until the pasta is cooked according to your preference. (One minute on high pressure should be sufficient due to the extra time the IP will take to come to pressure and release pressure). 
6. Transfer portions of soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese (optional). Serve hot.

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Notes

*This soup makes a lot, so if you have leftovers to save, I would recommend saving the pasta and the broth in separate containers so the pasta does not continue to absorb the broth while it rests.

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The post Easy Vegetable Noodle Soup in the Instant Pot appeared first on This Pilgrim Life.

The links below may be affiliate links, meaning I earn a small compensation at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure policy here. 

We are in the middle of another garden and harvest season, and as usual, we have an abundance of yellow crookneck squash. After enjoying some fresh every week, we still have dozens of yellow squash to preserve for the rest of the year.

Typically, the only way I like to put up yellow squash is dicing, blanching, and freezing to use for squash casserole later on. This year, though, I’m excited to try a few new ways to preserve our squash.

This Summer Squash Curry Sauce is what I’m most excited about because after experimenting with easy curry recipes for my new teen cookbook, it’s now one of my favorite dishes to enjoy at home or out of the house. 

While I really like the jarred curry sauce I was getting at the store, being able to make a homemade sauce not only saves me money, this version is also packed with extra vitamins and nutrients thanks to the addition of the squash, carrots, and homemade chicken stock.

Summer Squash Curry Sauce

I have been making pot after pot of this squash curry sauce, then blending it in my Vitamix until it’s perfectly smooth. However, after the blending the first batch, I realized that for the foreseeable future (or maybe forever?), my Vitamix carafe will be stained yellow thanks to the turmeric.

You’ve been warned.

I really like using my enameled dutch oven pot for jobs like this because the large surface area and deep sides are perfect for sautéing and then simmering soups and sauces. I was even able to make a double batch in it without a problem.

When I was taking the pictures for this recipe (in the middle of canning, freezing, & dehydrating), I did not have some of our favorite extra toppings for curry. Things like fresh cilantro, minced red onions, and chopped peanuts are delicious on curry, but thankfully, it’s still quite good with lightly salted sunflower seeds and a dollop of homemade Greek yogurt.

White rice is an easy go-to base for curry and it’s easy enough to make a quick batch in the Instant Pot:

Instant Pot White Rice (how I do it): 

• pour a cup of water in the bottom of the Instant Pot pot
• rinse 2 cups of rice in a strainer until the water runs clear, then transfer to a round ceramic baking dish (that fits in the Instant Pot)
• pour 2 1/4 cups water in with the rice, then cover the bowl with a piece of foil
• set the covered bowl on the Instant Pot trivet, then transfer both to the pot
• cover the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes
• let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure

To save this curry for later:

Freeze in 1 cup or 2 cup portions (I like to use my Souper Cubes trays for easiest measuring and freezing!) . 

Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag, or even better, use a Food Saver to keep it in peak condition in the freezer. Be sure to label the bag with the date and contents (trust me, it will be harder to remember after a few months!).

Shop This Recipe :: 

• Cuisinart 7 Qt Enameled Round Casserole 
• 1.5 Qt Corningware Round Baking Dish
• Souper Cube Trays (Use my code THISPILGRIMLIFE10 for 10% off!)
• Food Saver Vacuum Sealer (using this all summer for anything I freeze from the garden)

More Like This ::

• Putting Up A Garden Harvest: Tips, Recipes, & Resources
• Garden Fresh Pasta Primavera
• Rosemary Parmesan Squash Casserole

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Summer Squash Curry Sauce (Freezer Friendly!)

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• Author: Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes

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Description

Delicious homemade curry sauce that uses yellow summer squash and carrots for an extra richness in nutrients and flavor! It also freezes well to enjoy all year long.

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Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ghee or olive oil
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups chopped carrots, about 4 medium carrots
• 6 cups diced yellow squash
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp curry powder*
• 4 cups chicken stock

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Instructions

1. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ghee or oil, then when it is melted and shimmery, stir in the chopped onions. Sauté the onion for about 3-5 minutes, until the onions are beginning to soften and look translucent. Stir in the minced garlic and ginger, and allow them to cook for about one minute before stirring in the tomato paste. Stir well until the ingredients are well-incorporated.
2. Add the squash, carrots, curry powder, and salt to the pot. Again, stir well until everything is well-incorporated. Pour in the chicken stock.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer. Return the heat to medium and cook the sauce at a low simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the sauce is very fragrant.
4. Remove the pot from the heat. Use an immersion blender to mix the sauce until smooth, or carefully transfer the sauce to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.
5. To serve, warm 2 cups of curry sauce with 1 cup of coconut milk. Simmer with chicken, peas, peppers, etc. Pour over rice or serve with naan. Top with fresh cilantro, toasted sunflower seeds, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, and/or minced red onion.

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Notes

Homemade Madras Curry Spice Mixture:

4 1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
4 1/2 tsp ground cumin
5 tbsp ground coriander
4 tbsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

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The post Summer Squash Curry Sauce (Freezer Friendly!) appeared first on This Pilgrim Life.