My Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

Since a kid, I love to eat spaghetti, and I finally made this vegan spaghetti I have wanted to for a few weeks.

A little confession is this is my first experiment using Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP). I was so scared of using TVP because I had no idea how those little things worked. But after one, I’m all like, “This must be easy. Bring it on!”

I wonder if that ever happened to you like before you really knew how to make something, you just wanted to avoid it and not put it off until next time, but once you know how it works, you want to work with it? I used to be like that for stuff like bread and cookies too.

Bolognese is one of the spaghetti sauces I love. I just loved the meatiness of the sauce, and we used to be able to buy it for school. I am so having this is very nostalgic and exciting, especially when the TVP really does taste like minced meat.

I loved the extra flavors brought by the red wine, but you don’t have to add it or decrease the amount if you don’t feel comfortable with half a cup, though you may find that the sauce would be a little dry.

Oh, and Rao’s Arrabbiata is absolutely crucial, so please use that if you possibly can!

Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • A couple sprinkles Himalayan/sea salt
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 2 small celery stalks
  • ½ cup tvp (added with ⅓ cup boiling water)
  • 1 bottle Rao’s Arrabbiata sauce (or other high quality pasta sauce)
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • A few sprinkles ground pepper
  • 2-3 fresh basil leaves
Pasta
  • 1 packet spaghetti (I used Garden Delight vegetable enriched Spaghetti)
  • A few sprinkles vegan Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Pasta Sauce: Peel the garlic and onion, and dice it very finely into small cubes. Put it in the frying pan with a tablespoon of extra light olive oil and a couple sprinkles of salt.
  2. Turn the heat on high-medium high (6, but stove should not be read, so perhaps a little under). Cook the onions and garlic for about 10 minutes, stirring all the time.
  3. Meanwhile, dice the carrot and celery very finely and put them together in a bowl.
  4. Also, start boiling some water and pour ⅓ cup of hot water to ½ cup of tvp in a separate bowl.
  5. (It’s also a good idea to start cooking the spaghetti now)
  6. After the onion and garlic has been cooking in the saucepan for about 15 minutes, add the carrot and celery. Stir and cook for about 10 more minutes.
  7. Add the tvp crumbles in and stir and let it cook for 2 minutes, and start adding the pasta sauce, red wine, bay leaves, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano and pepper.
  8. Turn the heat to medium (4-5) and let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Chop the basil in small pieces and stir it in at the very end before turning the heat off.
  9. Spaghetti: Bring a large pot of water to boil, which can take about 15-18 minutes, then add the spaghetti and wait for it to soften before pushing it into the pot. Let it cook on high heat for a further 10-15 minutes until the pasta is soft to your liking. Drain the water.
  10. Assembling: Add the spaghetti on a plate, then top it with some bolognese sauce and sprinkle a little vegan Parmesan cheese.

Susanna

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