Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese – the most popular classic pasta dish, and even in the vegan version this recipe is easy & quick to make and always delicious. So it’s time to share this recipe on my blog.
My favorite vegan spaghetti bolognese
Since my childhood spaghetti bolognese has always been one of my favorite dishes ever. Whenever my mother or grandmother asked me what dish I wanted to eat, it was almost always spaghetti. Either with the classic bolognese sauce or with a creamy carbonara. But even with a simple ‘tomato sauce‘, I was always very satisfied.
Vegan and delicious!
From time to time, I’ve “veganized” almost every pasta dish, because I think they taste great even without meat and dairy products. Instead of the carbonara sauce made of conventional cream, I now prefer serving my vegan ‘Mac and Cheese‘, which is mainly made from potatoes or I serve a creamy vegan ‘mushroom sauce‘ which is made from white beans. But also my beloved ‘avocado pasta‘ is on my menu at least once a week.
It‘s hard to believe that I couldn‘t do anything with avocados some time ago. With this example you can really see how preferences or tastes can change over the time. So my tip to you: “Tasting is about studying!” So at least I wouldn‘t say that I definitely and never will like a food or dish.
Ingredients for vegan spaghetti bolognese
Back to the dish: fruity sun-ripened tomatoes are definitely part of an aromatic and tasty bolognese. For the sauce I prefer to mix tomato passata and sliced tomatoes from the glass in organic quality, but you can also prepare the sauce completely from fresh tomatoes (depending on the season). Onions, garlic, (optional soup vegetables), good olive oil and Italian spices provide the perfect flavour. Many people often think that sugar is bad, but in my opinion, the sweet taste is just necessary for a perfect sauce. And if you use a good organic raw cane sugar, then you don‘t need to have a guilty conscience. Especially since the required amount isn‘t much as I see a lot of truth in the quote “Balance is key”! Otherwise, you can of course just leave out the sugar.
With or without tofu / soy – both options are possible!
As a ‘meat alternative’, I usually use normal natural tofu or soy granules / soybean shred. If you don‘t like or tolerate tofu or soy, you can also use lupine granules, seitan, green spelt grain or any other vegetable products. Meanwhile, there are already many vegan alternatives available in the supermarkets and I have already tried different variants. Just be creative and try out what you like the most!
Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
Author:Ingredients
For the Bolognese sauce:
- 200 g firm tofu *see notes
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100 g carrots optional
- 100 g celery optional
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 200 g tomato passata *see notes
- 200 g chopped tomatoes *see notes
- ¾ cup vegetable broth or to desired consistency
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp Italian seasonings
- 1 tsp raw cane sugar to taste
- salt, pepper
further ingredients:
- 250 g spaghetti or gluten-free pasta
- nutritional yeast
- fresh basil
Instructions
- Peel onion, garlic, carrots and celery and cut into thin cubes.
- Squeeze the tofu (this works best when using kitchen paper), then crumble into very small pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan or skillet and cook the tofu until crisp and golden brown.
- Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until the onions are translucent.
- Then add the garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds.
- Now add the vegetable broth, tomato paste and tomatoes and stir to combine.
- Season the sauce with salt, pepper, Italian herbs and sugar to taste and simmer for 15-20 minutes over medium heat until the sauce is well-thickened. (Add more vegetable broth, if needed).
- In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in salted water until 'al dente'. Then drain.
- Serve the spaghetti with the vegan bolognese sauce and garnish as desired with nutritional yeast flakes and fresh basil.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Instead of tofu you can also use soy granules / soybean shreds, lupine granules, seitan, green spelt, or any other 'minced meat alternative'.
- Optionally, you can make the sauce completely from about 1 kg of fresh tomatoes.
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This was easy and very delicious! I used chopped dried tomatos instead of tomato paste, and left out the celery because I didn’t have any. And I added bay leaf alongside the parmesan rind to enhance the overall flavour. Wonderful recipe! Thanks for sharing!
So glad you love my vegan bolognese! 😊
Thank you for your amazing feedback!
Super easy and yummy receipe!!! 🥰
Bianca has the best vegan receipes, I tried
so many already and all turned out super good!
P.s I did the vegan Mozzarella receipe with the bolo – uncredibly yummy!!!!
I love that you served this bolognese with my vegan mozzarella! Sounds so delicious! Thank you for your amazing feedback! 🙂
Tastes so good! Even my non-vegetarian parents loved it, though my Bolognese didn’t look as red as yours. Probably because left out the tomato paste. But it really brings up memories. And isn’t as heavy as regular Bolognese would be, so it’s a great switch for everyone!
Hi Maja, so glad you love this vegan bolognese! Tomato paste adds more red color but you could also add a teaspoon of red pepper powder if you like! 🙂
Made this today after having cravings spaghetti bolognese. It tasted amazing!! Just like before I went vegan. Thank you – quick, simple and utterly delicious 😋
So glad you enjoyed this vegan bolognese! Thank you! 🙂
Made this for dinner (served it as a spaghetti pie). Very easy and delicious. New family favourite.
Hi Traci,
So glad that you liked the recipe! ?
Spaghetti pie sounds amazing. ?
Thank you for your feedback.
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
❤️❤️❤️PERFECT RECIPE, sou easy and delicious, thank you so mutch, i love you work❤️❤️ came to Brazil to prove our food ?✌??
Hi my dear,
Thank you so much for your feedback! ?
I‘m so happy that you like the recipe.
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
This looks incredible! Beautiful photography and great blog!
Looking forward to trying the recipe 🙂
Hi Anna,
Thank you so much!
So happy that you like my work ?
Have fun trying!
Much love,
Bianca❤️
Wow, this vegan spaghetti bolognese looks absolutely amazing, Bianca! Love all photos, my mouth starts watering! 🙂
Hi Ela,
Thank you so much for your kind words!
I‘m so happy that you like my pictures ?
Lots of love,
Bianca❤️
Hi! All of your recipes look incredibly delicious, I will be trying them soon! Great blog.
Hi Alicja,
Thank you so much! I‘m so happy that you like my recipes. ?
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
I couldn’t imagine meatless Bolognese but it turns out that the vegan version tastes even better than the original one. Great idea and recipe!
Hi Janet ?
Thank you for the comment!
So glad to read that you like it!
Much love,
Bianca