Spaghetti Bolognese? Lol

[foodie145]

What side dishes do you serve with spaghetti Bolognese?
I want to get some more vegetables into the kids, But the only thing to me that goes is garlic bread!!
I do carrots, onions, and celery in the sauce But I make a cracking Bolognese so I don’t want to add in hidden veg.
peas? Salad? What do you do?

we have lentils instead of beef.

We love bolognese and eat it most weeks! I think the onions, carrots, tomatoes and garlic in it are enough. We like fresh basil on top.

Personally I think you can't go wrong with peas, either added into the sauce (I do know the purists will not approve!) or on the side. My kids love 'em. I love 'em. What's not to like?

I always serve ours with steamed green beans. It still feels weird to me, but my children know no different as I’ve done it since they were little. I wanted to add more fibre so I’ve just tried to normalise it in the same way it was normal for me not to have any veg on the side.

Salad leaves from a bag (lazy) but it goes well

You could add finely chopped mushrooms / peppers / courgettes to the sauce for more hidden veggies, but there’s already a lot of veg in the sauce if you use carrots, onion and celery as a base with passata
or chopped tomatoes. I sometimes have a side salad with pasta. Would the kids eat some cherry tomatoes / carrot or cucumber batons? Even if not, I think there is a healthy balance of veg in spaghetti Bol as it is.

We add all manner of veg and other into our Spag Bol and lasagne - mushrooms, peppers, chickpeas, lentils, carrots, peas, spinach etc. Purists would hate me but the dc lap it up. Bizarrely we also do a side salad to go with it - no idea why, we certainly wouldn’t have a side salad with pie and mash yet for some reason we all enjoy the salad with the Spag Bol/lasagne 🤷🏽‍♀️ We also have garlic balls/garlic bread or tortilla chips as a side but I really need a crunch when eating a saucy tea.

I include a courgette and handful of spinach in my soffrito and blitz with passata and tinned tomatoes. I know you don't want hidden veg, but this doesn't affect the taste and gets more veg in v effectively. Noone but me will eat veg on the side!

Sorry @Denim4everI don't know how that quoted you!

We always have a salad or green veg. The green veg goes in the bowl with the sauce and pasta. Salad in a salad bowl. Only one of us really eats garlic bread so only youngest shows much enthusiasm for it.

Have the bolognese on chips instead of pasta. HTH

Not a veg but you could add black lentils for fibre among other things.

Can anyone share a really nice bolognese recipe (with no wine included)?

Swap out half the mince for lentils and jobs a goodun.

I’d probably add in sweetcorn, mushrooms and onions and have with a salad on the side. I always love a salad with pasta!

As an adult a salad before or after.

When I was feeding kids they had broccoli alongside, in the bowl, next to the pasta with shaved Parmesan on top

Mixed leaf salad.

I know you said you don’t want to add anything extra to the sauce, but grated courgette won’t alter the flavour and nobody would know 👌🏻 Also…spag bol definitely requires mushrooms!!

Why would you want less meat. I'd rather not have lentils.

I would have salad

Jamie Oliver and other chefs have recommended adding lentils. They’re good for you, adds fibre to the meal and are also cheaper than meat. Also good for the planet if we all cut back on our meat consumption.

Not a side, but as well as the sofrito I grate a courgette into the sauce, it honestly disappears!

Bolognese with lentils isn’t as nice. You’d never be served that in an Italian restaurant. I think loading up with onions, carrots, tomatoes and garlic is plenty. If I want to go mad with the veg, soups and other dishes are better suited.

I usually have some tender-stem broccoli or green beans sautéed in olive oil and salt as my side dish.

I make it with lots of veg (grated courgette vanishes) and replace some of the mince with lentils or beans.
serve salad before a meal on a nice little plate with dressing on it - my kids then eat some of it rather than none if served alongside the pasta/main.
ditto crudités with any dip/condiment as a ‘starter’

Just put what you want on the side?! Whatever they’re more likely to eat. We have broccoli, peas or green beans if I’m on a veg boost!