Last updated on March 31st, 2021 at 08:20 am
Hearty, full-bodied and so delicious, this vegan bolognese is a wonderful riff on the Italian classic. Serve over your favourite pasta for a satisfying plant-based dinner the whole family will love.
While many of my pasta recipes are one-pot and easy like my one-pot mushroom pasta, my mushroom stroganoff or my one-pot spaghetti with lemon and olives, this vegan bolognese takes a little longer. But boy is it worth it. It's big, bold and super delicious.
Things to Love About This Sauce
If you want get more plants in to your diet or just miss the taste of traditional Bolognese, this recipe is for you. My whole family - vegan and non-vegan- loves this recipe! It's:
- hearty
- abundant! you can get 2 meals out of a single batch.
- high in protein
- completely kid-friendly
- naturally gluten free
- adaptable and
- freezable.
Ingredients and Substitutions
TVP: textured vegetable protein is a hydrated product made from soy flour. It's high in protein and fibre and when cooked, is an awesome substitute for mince meat. You'll want the smaller crumbs not the chunks. They can be found in most supermarkets these days.
Source: The Spruce Eats
TVP is processed so we call it a "sometimes food". However, that "sometime" is now because TVP is perfect for vegan bolognese. But, if you don't want to use processed products, you can sub out the TVP for 2 cups of cooked brown lentils.
Dried porcini mushrooms: these mushrooms add so much depth to the dish - we're going to use both the hydrated mushrooms and the broth. You can find dried porcini mushrooms in most good grocers or whole food stores. If you can't get porcini mushrooms, skip them in the recipe and add a tablespoon of miso paste.
Mirepoix: the combination of diced onion, celery and carrot is called "mirepoix" - it adds a strong base to any dish. Take your time cooking the vegetables to ensure you get big flavour.
Soy milk: I know, it's a total curve ball but adding milk creates this lip-smacking silky texture to the vegan bolognese. You can skip it, but it wouldn't hurt to try it, would it? You can also use oat milk or cashew milk.
Red wine: make sure to get a vegan red wine - one that you would happily drink. The alcohol is cooked away during the cooking process so adding it is safe for kids. If you would prefer to abstain, just omit it.
Step-By-Step Instructions
You'll find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. The following is a summary of the steps to go along with the process photos.
Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add your mirepoix and mushrooms with a good pinch of salt to the pan and cook until tender and beginning to brown. This may take up to 10-minutes.
Step 2: While your vegetables are cooking away, add the dried porcini mushrooms to the boiling water and set aside for 5-minutes for the mushrooms to soften.
Step 3: When your vegetables are ready, add the garlic, sage, nutmeg and tomato paste and cook until fragrant.
Step 4: While the garlic is cooking, strain the porcini mushrooms, keeping the liquid. Pop the dried TVC in to a bowl and pour the reserved mushroom liquid over the top through a sieve. Set aside.
Step 5: Okey-dokey, now you can chop up the hydrated porcini mushrooms and add them to the skillet. Next stir in the TVP and stir to coat well.
Step 6: Throw in the milk and the bay leaves. Cook until the milk is almost cooked away and then add your red wine and cook for around 3 minutes, stirring regularly
Step 7: Now you can go ahead and add the canned tomatoes, soy sauce, stock and nutritional yeast.
Step 8: Give it a good stir and bring the sauce up to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the liquid has reduced and the sauce is thick and "meaty" - around 25-30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and you are good to go.
Serving Suggestions
Over pasta: OK, yes...totally obvious 🙂
Over gnocchi: the meatiness of the sauce is delicious with soft puffy potato gnocchi
On toast with melted cheese: when I was little my mother used to serve leftover bolognese sauce over a thick piece of toast with cheese. The hot sauce melted the cheese. So good.
In a pie: this recipe makes a lot of sauce so we use the leftover in small hand pies.
Lasagne: this is the perfect vegan bolognese sauce for a hearty lasagne.
FAQs
Yes! Cook up a batch or even double the recipe. Allow it to cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-proof container. Freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw, transfer the container to the fridge for 24-hours and re-heat gently on the stove to serve.
Want more pasta recipes? Try these easy vegan recipes:
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Vegan Bolognese
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 celery rib finely diced
- 1 carrot peeled and finely diced
- 1 yellow onion peeled and diced
- 200 g mushrooms cremini, Swiss or Portobello
- ¼ cup porcini mushrooms
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup TVP (dry)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fresh sage chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup soy milk
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup red wine
- 400 grams canned chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 and ½ cups vegan stock beef style if you can get it
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and mushrooms with a good pinch of salt to the pan and cook until tender and beginning to turn golden, around 7-10 minutes.
- While the vegetable base (mirepoix) is cooking, add the dried porcini mushrooms to the boiling water and set aside for 5 minutes for the mushrooms to soften.
- When the vegtables are soft and beginning to brown, add the garlic, sage, nutmeg and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, around 2 minutes.
- While the garlic is cooking, strain the porcini mushrooms, keeping the liquid. Pop the dried TVP in to a bowl and pour the reserved porcini liquid over the top through a sieve. Set aside.
- Chop up the hydrated porcini mushrooms and add them to the skillet, stirring through well.
- Add the TVP to the pan and stir. Add the the milk and the bay leaves and cook until the milk is almost cooked away and then add your red wine and cook for around 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the canned tomatoes, soy sauce, stock and nutritional yeast. Give it a good stir and bring the sauce up to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking with a lid partially covering the pot until the liquid has reduced and the sauce is thick and "meaty" - around 25-30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve over pasta.
This was so hearty and delicious and so easy to make. We had enough for two meals at least!