JUMP TO RECIPE
Luckily, it is easy to make a vegan version of spaghetti bolognese. I have tried a lentil bolognese made with lentils and my friends love their vegetarian bolognese pasta recipes. A classic pasta bolognese is a rich Italian dish with a spaghetti sauce made with ground beef, tomato sauce, veggies, and spices.
Sozy's vegan spaghetti bolognese is made with textured vegetable protein or TVP in place of the ground meat and the rest of the ingredients is basically the same as a traditional bolognese sauce.
What Is TVP?
TVP is a plant-based protein that looks like soy curls out of the bag. The soy mince is dried and has to be reconstituted before it is used in a recipe. Once it has soaked it ends up looking like ground beef and can easily be used in recipes that need ground beef like pasta sauce and tacos. You can amp up the flavor of the TVP by adding soy sauce and veggie broth when reconstituting it.
Give It Some Flavor!
This vegan bolognese sauce can be made with Italian seasoning if that's what you have in your spice rack. And any type of tinned tomatoes can be added to the sauce whether it is tomato puree, diced tomato, crushed tomato, what is important is to use tomato paste for extra tomato flavor. You can also add a splash of non-dairy nut milk or coconut milk to give the sauce some richness.
If you are trying to eat fewer carbs or are allergic, zucchini noodles are wonderful with this vegan pasta sauce. And if that isn't something that concerns you, then enjoy it with some toasted garlic bread and maybe a glass of wine too.
SHOP SOZY
Vegan Bolognese Pasta with TVP
Serves two
Ingredients
- 1 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)
- ½ cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic or garlic powder
- ½ cup celery, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- 2 cups cooked pasta
- ½ cup pasta cooking water
- Parsley, optional
Directions
- Heat oil in a medium skillet. Once hot add onions and cook for two to three minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the celery and carrots and cook until soft.
- Season with salt and black pepper. Then add oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes, if using.
- Add the TVP and soy sauce. Stir until the TVP browns, then add the mushrooms. Stir to combine.
- Mix in the tomato paste, tomatoes, and broth. Crush the tomatoes and make sure the tomato paste dissolves into the broth.
- Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the pasta cooking water and nutritional yeast, mix and simmer for five minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan and simmer for a minute or two.
- Serve with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast and parsley on top.
And that's another recipe to try with TVP as a protein substitute. This vegan bolognese is so flavorful that even your friends and family who are not vegan will gladly have a bowl (or two!).
TOP
