Big Batch Vegan Bolognese Sauce

5 from 11 votes

This rich and budget-friendly vegan bolognese is a hearty, big-batch twist on the traditional classic. By swapping minced meat for textured vegetable protein (TVP) and rehydrated dried porcini mushrooms, it achieves a deeply savoury, "meaty" texture packed with umami. This thick sauce yields 6 to 8 generous servings and freezes beautifully for up to two months. Main ingredients: TVP, dried porcini mushrooms, red wine.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Course: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: serves

Calories: 233kcal

Author: Amanda Logan

Equipment

1 large pot or skillet

Ingredients

3 tablespoon 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 tablespoon fresh sage chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
3 tbsp tomato paste
½ cup soy milk
2 bay leaves
½ cup red wine
400 grams canned chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 and ½ cups vegan stock beef style if you can get it
2 tablespoon 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.

Notes

A note on nutritional breakdown: I have set the servings to 6 for this recipe, but it will easily stretch to 8 as a pasta sauce.

Can I freeze this sauce?

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.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

TVP: 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: If you can't get porcini mushrooms, skip them in the recipe and add a tablespoon of miso paste.

Mirepoix (celery, carrot and onion mix) Take your time cooking the vegetables to ensure you get big flavour.

Red wine: make sure to get a vegan red wine - and 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.

Nutrition