Dr Pippa Gibson has created this delicious Easy Beef and Tomato Sauce recipe, which is fantastic with pasta but can also be used in lots of other meal such as Chilli Con Carne and Cottage Pie. This recipe is also perfect for batch cooking and storing in the freezer. If you don’t eat meat, you can easily swap out the beef mince for some Quorn or lentils, making it great for everyone.
Serves 8 adults or a family of four 2-3 times
Ingredients
- 2 large onions
- 3 sticks of celery
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 500g minced beef
- 800g tinned tomatoes – option to use peeled tomatoes or passata if serving to young babies
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 150g mushrooms
Method
- Blend the onions, celery and garlic together in a food processor.
- Add the blended vegetables to a large saucepan and cook with the oil for 5 minutes.
- Chop or blend the mushrooms and add to the pan. Cook together till dry.
- Push the mixture to the edge of the pan and add the minced beef in the centre so it sears. Flip to sear the second side.
- Add the tomato puree and tinned tomatoes. Mix well
- Simmer for 30 minutes till cooked through.
Delicious served with cooked pasta and peas. Option to serve with cheese on the top.
Options to make veggie or vegan:
- To make this vegetarian swap beef mince for Quorn mince
- To make vegan use 250g lentils (red, green or a mixture) or 150g dried soya mince with 350ml extra water, or 500g vegan mince.
Ideas behind this recipe:
Cooking preparation – this makes at least 2 different meals. Cook 1 large batch and either freeze the leftovers or add a few extra ingredients to create a different meal.
You can easily adapt the leftovers into other meals such as:
- Chilli Con Carne
- Spaghetti Bolognese
- Cottage Pie
- Lasagne Roll Ups
Find more great recipes in my book How to Wean Your Baby – Out Now!




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