Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese - a true comfort food, and great for a cozy winter’s night. Quick, simple, and oh so good - you can throw this together in less than 25 minutes after work. Grab some garlic bread and a glass of red wine, turn the fire on (or look one up on YouTube) and tuck in.
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Introduction
After fine-tuning the “ground beef” recipe I was working on, I was pretty excited when I noticed how adaptable it was to different recipes - Taquitos, Shepherd’s Pie, Tourtieres, and more. I thought to myself, why not try it in a pasta dish? A pasta dish that is very near to my heart - the humble Spaghetti Bolognese.
It’s a home pasta. A pasta you can rely on. A tried and true dish that’s packed with real flavour - pasta that everybody can make. If it were a first date, it wouldn’t be pulling up to your house in a Rolls Royce then flying you to Paris, but it would make you laugh - and that’s what you’re really looking for, isn’t it? A pasta that will make you laugh. A pasta you can be yourself around.
So, be yourself with it. Get in your PJs (or lack thereof - just be careful for hot pasta sauce), grab a bottle of red wine (preferably purchase it before you take your pants off), throw the fire on, and make this super easy dish that’ll take you on the first date you’ve always wanted.
The secret to this recipe is heat control and timing. We’re finishing off our pasta in the sauce, so we’ll cook it about 1-2 minutes less than the package says. We want to cook our “Bolognese” sauce first by cooking our ground beef, removing that from the pan, cooking our pasta with the sauce, and adding the ground beef back in to the pasta and sauce. Then, we’ll mix it about, serve it up, and enjoy.
Check out the Spruce it Up section for ideas on how to take this recipe to the next level.
Before we Get Started
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients
2 Yellow Onions
4 Garlic cloves
1 Carrot
250g Mushrooms
I used White Mushrooms
1/2 cup Lentils, uncooked
1.5 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tbsp. Chili Powder
3/4 cup Vegetable Broth
Not vegetable stock. It has a very different flavour.
Spaghetti
Jar of Pasta Sauce
Your favourite kind.
Handful of Spinach
Method
Finely dice one of your onions, 2 cloves of garlic, and your mushrooms.
Go as fine as you can with the mushrooms. I recommend slicing them all first, separating into two, easy-to-manage piles, then mincing them both one at a time.
Preheat a pan over medium-high heat, with oil. Add your onion and garlic, and sprinkle with a good pinch of salt. Cook for approx. 2 minutes until translucent, then add your finely diced mushrooms. Add another good pinch of salt, and allow the water content to come out of the mushrooms and evaporate. Stir every couple of minutes.
You’ll know you’re finished when all the water is gone.
While your mushroom is cooking, rinse your lentils in a sieve with water, then add to a pot. Add enough water to cover your lentils by about 1-2 cm. Add a pinch of salt, bring your lentils to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook for approx. 5 minutes. Drain.
Add your cooked lentils your your cooked mushrooms. Throw in your soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, cumin, and chili powder. Give it a good stir, then add 1/2 cup of your vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, season with salt, and reduce to a consistency of your liking. Turn everything out in a bowl.
Clean out the pot you cooked the lentils with, and fill 80% with water. Salt heavily, and bring to a boil.
While your water is coming to a boil, dice your second onion, your other two cloves of garlic, and your carrot. Throw your ground beef pan back onto the heat at a medium-high. Add a 1/3 cup vegetable stock to the pan, as well as a splash of oil.
Throw your onion, garlic, and carrot in, and cook for approx. 2 minutes, using your stirring instrument of choice to scrape any of the bits off the bottom of the pan.
Once your water has come to a boil, add your spaghetti. Check the label for the cook time (usually 5-7 minutes), then set a timer for 2 minutes less than that.
Add the jar of pasta sauce to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and season with a couple pinches of salt and some black pepper.
Drain your pasta when your timer goes off, holding onto about 1/2 cup of your pasta sauce. Add your pasta to the pan with the sauce and vegetables, and give it a good mix. Allow it to cook for another minute.
While you’re allowing the pasta to cook, roughly chop your spinach, and add to the pan, as well as your “ground beef”. Mix thoroughly, have a taste, and adjust your seasoning if necessary.
Enjoy.
Spruce it Up
If you have it on hand, substitute the vegetable broth you use to deglaze the pan with red wine. It’ll add a great flavour.
Chop up some parsley for some herby, crisp, light flavour.
Sprinkle with red chili flakes for some spice.