Simple Vegan Bolognese
With its hearty, meaty red sauce made from 100% plantbased ingredients, this is the most simple vegan bolognese recipe you’ll come across.
Bolognese is a meat-based pasta sauce made with ground beef. Which means in order to make it vegan, we have to find a good substitute for ground beef that mimics the same texture and taste…
Bring in the textured vegetable protein, aka TVP.
Textured vegetable...what?
If you’ve never heard of TVP before, you’re not alone. I’ve been vegan for almost 4 years and only recently learned about it.
Textured vegetable protein aka TVP is basically dehydrated and defatted soy flour. Sounds weird, but it’s actually a complete protein and has zero fat.
One serving of TVP contains 12g of protein and 15% of your daily value of iron. Not bad!
There was a lot of emphasis on shelf-stable, pantry staples this year, and in my opinion, TVP is one of the best! One cup of textured vegetable protein is enough to feed 4, and it has all the same benefits of tofu and other soy products without going bad.
Like soy and tofu, textured vegetable protein is like a neutral-flavored sponge that soaks up any flavor you add to it, which makes it incredibly versatile.
To cook with it, you simply rehydrate it with boiling water or vegetable broth and let it sit for 5 minutes. Piece of cake!
Once it’s rehydrated, TVP closely resembles the texture of ground meat. To me, it’s actually an excellent vegan dupe for ground chicken or turkey. It’s perfect in tacos, bowls, chili, and of course, this vegan bolognese recipe!
The texture is a close match to ground meat, but if you want the taste, I highly recommend using vegan chicken or beef bouillon.
The brand I use and love is Better than Bouillon, and they have a base for vegan chicken broth, as well as vegan beef broth that’s made from all vegetables! This is another shelf-stable, pantry staple so you always know you have a veggie broth on hand that won’t go bad.
Just make sure you’re getting their vegetarian bases, as they have nonvegetarian bases too.
How to cook Vegan Bolognese Sauce
The first step to any recipe with TVP is to rehydrate it and bring it back to life! Add ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons of veggie broth (or boiling water with Better than Bouillon) to 1 cup of TVP, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil on a large skillet with a lid on medium heat, then add half of a diced onion. Saute until fragrant.
Next, add the rehydrated TVP to the skillet, then add 1 tablespoon each of tomato paste, soy sauce and Worcester sauce. This will help give it its meaty flavor. Saute for 5 minutes.
Then, pour in a can of crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. If you like your pasta sauce on the thin side, use the can to add a bit more water. Stir in the garlic powder and black pepper, then taste to adjust the salt. The veggie broth from the TVP and the soy sauce already adds a lot of salt to the dish, so sometimes no additional salt is needed.
Turn the heat down to low-medium, close the lid, and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the sauce is done, plate up a serving of al dente spaghetti noodles, then spoon some of the delicious vegan bolognese on top. Serve with some chili flakes if desired, and enjoy!
Simple Vegan Bolognese
Ingredients
- 500g or 17.6 oz spaghetti noodles
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup TVP or textured vegetable protein see notes
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp boiling veggie broth or boiling water + 1 tbsp of Better than Bouillon
- ½ medium sized brown onion diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp worcester sauce optional. Use extra tbsp of soy sauce instead
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- Salt to taste if needed
Instructions
- Boil a big pot of salted water and cook the spaghetti noodles until al dente.
- To rehydrate the TVP, add 1 cup in a bowl and pour in ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Add 1 tbsp of Better than Bouillon and stir. If you don’t have Better than Bouillon, then sub with ¾ cups + 2 tablespoons of hot veggie broth. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
- On a large skillet with a lid, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute the diced onion on medium heat until fragrant. Next add the rehydrated TVP, then add the tomato paste, soy sauce and Worcester sauce. Saute for about 5 minutes.
- Pour the can of crushed tomatoes into the skillet and stir to combine with the TVP. If you prefer a thinner sauce, use the can to add a bit more water. Stir in the garlic powder and black pepper. The veggie broth and soy sauce already adds a lot of salt, so only add more salt if needed. Turn the heat down to low-medium, close the lid, and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the sauce is done, plate up a serving of al dente spaghetti noodles, then spoon some of the delicious vegan bolognese sauce on top. Serve with some chili flakes if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
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