Best Vegan Bolognese Recipes

VEGAN MUSHROOM BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; stir in onion. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add carrot, celery, and garlic; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Pour in red wine; cook until wine has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and season with salt, black pepper, sage, and bay leaves. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in basil.

VEGAN BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Pour 400ml boiling water over the dried porcini and leave for 10 mins until hydrated. Meanwhile pour 1 tbsp oil into a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt. Cook gently, stirring for 10 mins until soft. Remove the porcini from the liquid, keeping the mushroomy stock and roughly chop. Set both aside.
• Add the garlic and thyme to the pan. Cook for 1 min then stir in the tomato purée and cook for a min more. Pour in the red wine, if using, cook until nearly reduced, then add the lentils, reserved mushroom stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer with a lid on.
• Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan. Add the remaining oil, then tip in the chestnut, portobello and rehydrated mushrooms. Fry until all the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are deep golden brown. Pour in the soy sauce. Give everything a good mix, then scrape the mushrooms into the lentil mixture.
• Stir in the Marmite and continue to cook the ragu, stirring occasionally, over a low-medium heat for 30-45 mins until the lentils are cooked and the sauce is thick and reduced, adding extra water if necessary. Remove the thyme sprigs and season to taste.
• Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of salted water for 1 min less than packet instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving a ladleful of pasta water, then toss the spaghetti in the sauce, using a little of the starchy liquid to loosen up the ragu slightly so that the pasta clings to the sauce. Serve topped with fresh basil and some black pepper.

VEGAN BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
• Add the chopped onions and carrots and saute for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Don't add too much as you will be adding soy sauce later for color.
• Then add dry italian seasonings and crushed red pepper, if using. Mix well and add a bit more olive oil if pan looks dry.
• Add minced garlic and stir until fragrant.
• Next add the dry TVP, and stir to coat evenly with onion, carrot and spice mixture.
• Then add the soy sauce, which will give the TVP great flavor, and a bit darker color.
• Pan will be dry, so quickly add the cup of vegetable broth to rehydrate the tvp.
• Stir to coat all the tvp well, scraping the sides of the pan if needed.
• Let simmer for a minute or two.
• Next add your can of tomato paste, mix well and cook for a minute or two before adding the large can of crushed tomatoes.
• As sauce begins to bubble, be sure to stir in the tomato paste into the crushed tomatoes.
• Reduce heat to low, and simmer while you cook pasta.
• Cook whole wheat pasta in a large pot f boiling salted water for 7-9 minutes, or until al dente.
• Drain pasta and place in large serving bowl.
• Top with bolognese sauce, chopped fresh basil or parsley and serve.

LOW-CARB, VEGAN SPAGHETTI SQUASH 'BOLOGNESE'

Steps:

• Pierce spaghetti squash halves all over using a fork. Place in a microwave-safe dish and cook in a microwave oven until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook onion until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add vegetarian ground beef, tomato sauce, peanut butter, oregano, paprika, thyme, tomato paste, turmeric, salt, and pepper and mix well. Simmer until sauce is heated through and starts to thicken, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Shred squash flesh using a fork and distribute among 4 plates. Serve with the sauce.

VEGAN CREAMY SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the recipes crumbles and onion to the pan and sauté until the crumbles are defrosted and the onions are softened.
• Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and thyme. Simmer the sauce for 15 minutes, taste and add more thyme if it's needed.
• While the sauce is simmering, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain and return to the pot.
• When the 15 minutes is up, add the vegan cream cheese and stir well to combine. Let it simmer for a few more minutes, then pour onto the pasta and toss.

HEARTY BEAN & LENTIL VEGAN BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Set a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for one more minute.
• Squeeze the tomatoes to crush and add them to the pot along with the juices from the can. Add the water and honey and stir to combine. Add the lentils. Increase heat to bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are almost cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Stir in the beans and the sprig of basil and continue to cook until thick and rich, about 5-10 more minutes. Remove basil. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired.
• Serve over your favorite pasta (we're partial to whole wheat spaghetti with this sauce), spooned over spaghetti squash, or in a baked sweet potato.
• Sauce keeps refrigerated in an airtight container for 2-3 days. It also freezes very well.

VEGAN PASTA BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Finely dice the carrots, celery and onion.
• Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a deep frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the diced carrot, celery and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Tip the contents of the pan into a bowl and set aside. Return the pan to the heat.
• Using the coarse holes on a box grater, grate the mushrooms, stems and caps. Add the grated mushroom to the hot pan. Let this cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the water has come out of the mushrooms and has mostly evaporated. Add in the remaining oil and cook until the mushrooms have started to brown.
• Roughly chop the rosemary and sun dried tomatoes and add to the pan of mushrooms. Add the oregano, chopped tomatoes, soy sauce, balsamic, red wine, marmite (if using) and lentils. Fill the chopped tomato can with water and add that water to the pan too. Let simmer for 30 minutes, adding water if it's getting too dry. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
• Cook your pasta according to the directions on the packet. Drain and serve with the ragu on top.

VEGAN BOLOGNESE WITH MUSHROOMS AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Add the chopped nuts to a large Dutch oven or heavy pot and toast over medium, stirring frequently, until they visibly sweat and become fragrant, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
• Prepare the mushrooms: Stem the shiitake mushrooms (reserve the stems another use), if using, then wipe the mushroom caps clean using damp paper towels. Chop the caps into 1/4-inch pieces. (Resist the urge to use a food processor here, which will chop the mushrooms unevenly.)
• Wipe out the pot, then heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Add half the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the toasted walnuts, then repeat with the remaining mushrooms and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds. Stir the soy sauce into the mushroom mixture, then the balsamic (if using). Set aside.
• Wipe out the pot, then heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium. Add the onion, carrot and celery, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to caramelize and brown at the edges, about 7 minutes. Stir in the mushroom-walnut mixture, garlic, oregano and red-pepper flakes, and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and Marmite, and cook, stirring frequently, until darkened and caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Pour in the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the alcohol cooks off and the liquid reduces until thick and sticky, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, along with 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer over high.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are cooked through and flavors meld, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil, for richness, then season to taste with salt and pepper. (Makes about 6 cups.)
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta water.
• Toss the cooked pasta with the desired amount of sauce (about 3/4 cup to 1 cup per serving), adding pasta water as needed so sauce is glossy.
• Divide cooked pasta among shallow bowls and top with more sauce. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley or basil, if using, and serve immediately. (Leftover sauce will keep covered in the refrigerator for a few days, or frozen for up to 3 months.)

VEGAN BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Cook spaghetti squash according via your favorite method. (I like to cook mine in the microwave when the weather is hot, then in the oven when the weather is cool.) Shred into "noodles" when done.
• In a food processor, pulse or shred the cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, onions, and garlic until they are all shredded or pulsed into very fine pieces.
• Add the shredded vegetables to a large, deep nonstick or cast iron skillet on medium-high heat.
• Sweat/saute the vegetables until they reduce in volume and the water is mostly cooked out.
• Add the salt and dried herbs to the skillet. Stir to combine and "bloom" the seasonings.
• Puree 1 can of crushed tomatoes until smooth, then add to the pan along with the second can of tomatoes. Taste for seasonings, and add 1 teaspoons maple syrup if the sauce seems too acidic.
• Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through and slightly reduced.
• Serve sauce over warm, shredded squash. Top with parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!