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Rich, bold and savory, this Vegan Bolognese is reminiscent of the Italian classic we all love. The filling combines mushrooms, ground walnuts, grated carrots, and onions for a meaty mince that is hearty and satisfying!
I love to veganize meat-based classics, especially when they taste just as good as the original. A few months ago, I created this Vegan Shepherd's Pie that I adapted from Gordon Ramsay's recipe. It was downright delicious!
Well, his Bolognese Recipe has a very similar base and method, so I decided to veganize that too. I've made Vegan Bolognese before but it was never as good as this one. You guys are going to love it!
I replaced the ground meat with finely chopped mushrooms and ground walnuts and used the rest of his recipe as a guide. His version calls for grated onions and carrots which broke down and added to the texture of the vegan mince.
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
(full ingredient amounts in recipe card below)
- Preferred Cooking Oil
- Mushrooms
- Onion
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Tomato Paste
- Tamari
- Red Wine
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Vegetable Broth
- Walnuts
- Nutritional Yeast
- Italian Seasoning, Bay Leaf, Salt & Pepper
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BOLOGNESE SAUCE
- Heat a Large Pan (with high sides) over medium-high heat. Once heated, add the oil and wait until it's shimmering. Add mushrooms and sauté until they have released their moisture, reduced in size and are slightly browned. The pan should be mostly dry (see photo #2 above).
- Now, reduce heat to medium and add onions, carrots, and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until cooked down (see photo #4 above).
- Make a small open space in the pan to add the tomato paste and make sure it's touching the surface. Cook for 30 seconds before combining. Add tamari and Italian seasoning and cook until the herbs are fragrant about 30-60 seconds.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and pour in the red wine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until it's almost completely reduced. Turn the heat back to medium.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, walnuts, nutritional yeast, and bay leaf. Combine and bring to a simmer then reduce to a low simmer.
- Cook until sauce thickens and flavor deepens for about 10-15 minutes (longer for deeper flavor). Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let the sauce sit a few minutes to thicken.
Now you can top it on freshly-cooked pasta then sprinkle it with fresh basil and Vegan Parmesan Cheese. It pairs nicely with a medium-bodied red wine, too!
You can also use this Bolognese Sauce for Vegan Lasagna. It's heavenly!
TIPS FOR THE PERFECT VEGAN BOLOGNESE SAUCE:
The carrots need to be finely grated to soften and add to the texture of the ground "meat" texture, so don't use matchstick carrots.
Nutritional yeast helps to deepen the flavor and thicken the sauce. If you don't have it, you can omit it. Cook longer if the sauce needs to thicken more.
If you want extra richness, you can add a few tablespoons of full-fat canned coconut milk or a pat of vegan butter the last 5 minutes of cooking.
This sauce should be thick and saucy (not dry). Cooking it down should thicken it beautifully. However, if you want a thicker sauce, you can add a cornstarch slurry the last 5 minutes of cooking. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and then add to the sauce.
Feel free to add more seasoning to taste. I like to add ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper for a little heat.
LOVE PASTA? HERE ARE MORE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don't miss it.
Recipe
Vegan Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoons grapeseed oil or preferred oil
- 16 ounces cremini mushrooms , finely chopped (sub baby bella mushrooms)
- 1 medium onion , grated
- 2 medium carrots finely grated (*see note)
- 4 cloves garlic , minced or crushed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free tamari , low sodium (sub soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup red wine
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable broth , low sodium
- 1 cup walnuts , ground into a course meal or chopped finely (measured whole)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast * Optional (see note)
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and fresh-cracked pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Heat a Large Pan (with high sides) over medium-high heat. Add oil and wait until it's hot and shimmering. Now add mushrooms and sauté until they have released their moisture, reduced in size and are slightly browned. The pan should be mostly dry (about 7-8 minutes).
- Reduce heat to medium and add onions, carrots, and garlic. Sauté until cooked down about 3-4 minutes.
- Make a small open space in the pan to add the tomato paste (make sure it's touching the surface of the pan). Cook for 30 seconds and then stir into the veggies.
- Add tamari and Italian seasoning. Cook for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and pour in the red wine. Cook until almost completely reduced, about 2-3 minutes. Turn heat back to medium.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, walnuts, nutritional yeast bay leaf. Bring to a simmer then reduce to a low simmer. Cook until sauce thickens and flavor deepens, about 10-15 minutes (longer for deeper flavor). Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove bay leaf and remove from heat. Let the sauce sit a few minutes to thicken. Top over freshly-cooked pasta if desired.
Liz
Hi - this looks delicious but there is a walnut allergy in our home (all other nuts are fine) - can you please suggest an alternative I can use? Thanks so much!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Liz, pecans are the perfect replacement. I hope this helps. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Dawn
This was absolutely delicious!!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Dawn! We are so happy that you loved the recipe! Thank you for trying it out 🙂
NS
Pretty good, substituted tamari sauce to umami. and red wine to 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar. Most of the times if you try to limit salt and remove oil in recipes they become inedible, but this once was still pretty good. However, mushrooms took ages to become dry, I wonder if it's because I did not put oil. At the end the dish was still pretty wet, I wonder what could have I changed.
Kathy
This recipe was super easy and turned out delicious! I’ve tried other vegan bolognese recipes and this one is just the best. Also, my partner is a meat lover and he told me to add this recipe to our go to list of meals for the week.
Thank you such much for sharing!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Kathy! We are so happy to hear that, and happy to hear that your partner was a fan as well! Thank you for trying it out 🙂
Matilda Shaw
game changer
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Thank you so much Matilda! 🙂
Niv
This is, by far, the best Bolognese I have ever had. Granted I've never had a real meat version but there was so much flavor and depth that even my boyfriend, who is a lifelong meat eater and will likely never give it up, loved it! Thank you for this recipe!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Niv! Wow - what a compliment! We are so happy to hear that you both loved the bolognese 😀 Thank you so much for stopping by!
Sara García
I actually wanted to rate it 5 starts sorry for that, anyways it was amazing
Victoria
I'm new to Vegan cooking and my husband still loves meat but we both ate this meal without missing the meat. It has a lovely dense texture and great flavor -- so happy to have found your website and this recipe!! Another thing, I had every ingredient called for already in the house so it was a great find convenience-wise as well!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Victoria! We are so happy to hear that you both loved the recipe and found it convenient to make! Thanks for giving it a try 🙂
Mallory C
Delicious! It came out so rich and tasty. Would definitely add more spices (oregano, garlic, etc) but otherwise delicious and hearty.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Mallory! We're so glad that you liked the recipe - thanks so much for giving it a try 🙂
Paul C
Wow...I am a big Bolognese fan - It is one of my go-to recipe's (meat and pork)...we are just new to Vegan and decided to try your take on Bolognese - honestly, couldn't tell the difference (except that after eating, felt a whole bunch better than after a meat based meal). I didn't have the marmite - here in Canada, one of our grocers just introduced Beef(less) plant based broth - used that instead of the vegetable broth...the meal was crazy good...I plan to serve on my meat friends without telling them...thank you for contributing to a better world.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Paul, thank you for such a lovely review! It made our day to hear how much you loved the recipe 🙂 Thanks so much for giving it a try and welcome to the vegan life!
Laura
I just have to leave a comment because this recipe is FANTASTIC!! I was so surprised how flavorful it was, just like the real Bolognese I grew up eating. My 6 year old loved it too! We will definitely be remaking this!
Laura
Meant to ask, could I freeze this?
Melissa Huggins
Yes, you can freeze it. The mushroom texture will change slightly but it's still really good. Just reheat on medium-low to a mild simmer until heated throughout. Add a splash of vegetable broth if it's too thick, or cook it down longer if it's too thin. 🙂
Melissa Huggins
Hi Laura, this is the nicest compliment! I'm so glad you liked it and it went over well with the little one, too. Thanks for sharing your feedback. 🙂
Lyndsey
Wow - this was even a hit with my meat-loving husband! It seemed to take a while longer to prep and cook than the time stated but that might just be because it was my first time making it - but it definitely wont be the last! Fantastic recipe, so tasty. Thank you!!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Lyndsey! We are so glad to hear that you both liked it! Approval from an omnivore is always exciting too 🙂 Thanks for giving it a try!
Jade
This recipe turned out delicious! I used Lea and Perrins instead of tamari and probably closer to a cup of red wine, which added loads of flavour. I'll be making this one again! Thanks
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Jade! We are so happy to hear that you loved it and will be making it again! Thanks for giving it a try 🙂
Jo
Best vegan Bolognese sauce ever.
I've been vegan for 5 years and Bolognese was one of my favourite meals to eat pre vegan. Naturally, when I stopped eating meat I experimented with tonnes of different vegan Bolognese recipes. I've found many that I've really liked but this one is hands down, the absolute best. The first few times I made this recipe I followed it pretty much exactly as written. Now I have made a few changes (no wine, no oil, addition of red lentils, extra tomatoes, celery, blended some of the mushrooms etc) but I always keep the method pretty much the same. I thought it was about time I wrote a review, as I am waiting for my lasagna to cook in the oven. (Yep this Bolognese makes a delicious lasgana!).
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Jo! Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review! We're so happy to hear that this sauce is your favorite. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Michelle
I made this for dinner tonight and even my meat eating husband loved. This was so good and I didn’t even need salt and pepper Thank you for the recipe. Can’t wait to make something.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Michelle! A seal of approval from a meat-eater is always exciting! So glad you both loved it, thank you for sharing! 🙂
Debbie
This is our favourite vegetarian recipe. Much better than the mince version.
Thank you
Melissa Huggins
I'm so happy you liked it. Thank you for giving it a try. 🙂
Cole
THIS IS AMAZING! Didn't have red wine so subbed a splash of lemon juice, a splash of balsamic vinegar and another splash of apple cider vinegar (didn't need to make up a whole half cup). A perfect recipe, had two meat eaters over as well and they loved it 😉
Melissa Huggins
Hi Cole, I'm so glad it went over well with everyone. Thank you for making it and sharing your modifications. 🙂
Rachael
Lovely recipe! So easy yet delicious. Subbed the tamari with coconut aminos due to a soy allergy, but will be making this again.
Melissa Huggins
I'm so glad you liked it. Thank you so much! 🙂
Lucy Philip
This recipe looks so delicious! Can't wait to try. However I don't keep alcohol in my house so I was wondering if there was something you could replace the red wine with or just omit it all together. Thanks!
Melissa Huggins
Hi there! Yes, you can omit it altogether. It does at depth of flavor, so you may want to taste at the end and give a splash of red wine vinegar. 😀