This vegetarian bolognese recipe is made with mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic, and onion. A delicious meatless vegetarian “meat” sauce recipe that even meat lovers will enjoy!
Bolognese sauce is a classic family favorite dish.
Today I’m sharing a delicious alternative to the traditional bolognese sauce – vegetarian bolognese sauce!
As a vegetarian (and just a carb lover in general), pasta is one of my favorite meals.
It’s a great way to get lots of veggies, pasta, and protein for a well rounded meal.
I love to vegetarian-ize classic recipes like bolognese sauce and million dollar baked ziti!
This vegetarian bolognese recipe is a great meatless substitute for “meat sauce.”
It’s super satisfying, packed full of good for you ingredients, and tastes amazing!
ingredients you will need to make meatless bolognese sauce
- baby bella mushrooms
- golden oak shitake mushrooms
- celery
- carrots
- garlic
- onion
- diced fire roasted tomatoes
- dried basil
- dried oregano
- sugar
- nutritional yeast
How to make vegetarian bolognese
First up, we will be using a food processor to make the veggie prep super easy.
If yours is small like mine, you can process in batches.
Otherwise just throw all the veggies in at once!
I started by processing 8 oz of baby bella mushrooms with 5 oz of golden oak shitake mushrooms.
Process them up until they are in minced like texture.
Next come celery, carrots, garlic, and onion.
Mince it all up until it is in tiny pieces like the mushrooms.
Once it’s all nice and minced up it will look like this picture below.
Time to let the veggies sweat and cook the liquid out.
Cook the veggies for around 25-30 minutes (I used my dutch oven to cook mine), until most of the liquid has evaporated and the veggies have reduced in volume.
Next, puree fire roasted tomatoes in the food processor, add some spices, and a touch of sugar and it all comes together!
The fire roasted tomatoes add a great depth of flavor, and the spices help round it all out.
The flavor is key to nailing the perfect vegetarian bolognese sauce!
I have had a few people tell me that they cannot find fire roasted tomatoes.
I buy mine in the same aisle as the other canned tomatoes.
If you are unable to find them, just substitute regular canned diced tomatoes, and adjust the spice amounts as necessary.
The texture of the vegetable bolognese is so meaty.
I was genuinely surprised that it felt to me that I was eating meat sauce!
All of the veggies also made this super filling and I ate way less pasta than I normally would.
I just made this for my kids . They loved it and so did I. So much flavor! Super easy to make, also. We don’t eat meat and this was a fresh new recipe.
Made this today and LOVED it, thank you so much, it’s such a great idea! I make normal bolognese all the time and even my kids didn’t notice anything different about it.
Made this last night and ooohhh what a wonderful Bolognese. I’ll probably never make it with meat again
Top with fresh chopped parsley if you want for more added flavor.
I like to do this for that little extra garnish and flavor.
I totally love this recipe! It’s so delicious and my 2 years old picky eater devoured it. Yay happy mom over here
If you’re vegetarian and not vegan (like me), parmesan cheese is a great topping for this recipe.
Freshly grated is best!
You could also top with vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast to keep it dairy free.
Such an easy and tasty recipe!!! One of these recipes that remind you why you are so happy to be a vegetarian!
While I usually don’t try to make meat substitutes in my recipes, this was definitely a great substitute for someone that might be transitioning to vegetarianism (or just as a meatless meal in general).
It’s honestly so delicious and so filling.
You won’t miss the meat at all!
For more yummy inspiration, be sure to read our 25 best vegetarian recipes.
This recipe makes a huge batch of sauce so it is great to feed a lot of people!
More vegetarian pasta recipes
- Easy Meatless Spaghetti Sauce
- Vegan Creamy Tomato Shells
- Mushroom Cauliflower Alfredo Pasta Bake
- Veggie Lover’s Baked Rigatoni
- Parmesan Ricotta Pasta Bake
- Vegetarian Baked Spaghetti
- Loaded Veggie Meatless Spaghetti
- Easy Crockpot Baked Ziti
- One Pot Lasagna Soup
Are you making this recipe? I want to see! Don’t forget to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!
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Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Vegetable Bolognese Recipe
Vegetable bolognese sauce recipe made with mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic, and onion. A delicious meatless vegetarian "meat" sauce recipe.
Ingredients
- 8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry
- 5 oz golden oak shitake mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry
- 3 celery stalks, ends cut off and cut into 3 pieces each
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3 sections each
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 4 (14.5 oz each) cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- Spaghetti, for serving
Instructions
- Add baby bella and shitake mushrooms to a food processor and either pulse or shred, until minced
- Transfer mushrooms to a large skillet or dutch oven
- Add celery chunks, carrot chunks, garlic cloves, and onion pieces to the food processor and pulse/shred
- Add mixture to the mushrooms
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper to the vegetables
- Turn the burner on medium high heat and sautee vegetables for 25-30 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables cook down and most of the liquid evaporates
- Puree diced fire roasted tomatoes in the food processor until smooth
- Add pureed tomatoes to the vegetables
- Add basil, oregano, nutritional yeast, and sugar
- Taste and add any seasonings if necessary (if it tastes too acidic, add a little more sugar as necessary)
- Serve over spaghetti and topped with parmesan cheese, if desired
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 85Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 43mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 5gSugar: 5gProtein: 5g
Steven Prio
Wednesday 17th of June 2020
Oh my God! Such an easy and tasty recipe!!! One of these recipes that remind you why you are so happy to be a vegetarian! Thank you so much!!
Joy Shull
Wednesday 17th of June 2020
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe Steven!!
Susanne
Saturday 14th of March 2020
That’s THE veggi dinner. We put A lot of parmesan cheese on top. So yummy. Thank you for sharing this recipe. My family loved it.
Joy Shull
Saturday 14th of March 2020
So glad your family enjoyed the recipe!
Franziska
Sunday 2nd of February 2020
Could you use this for a Lasagna as well?
Louisa
Tuesday 14th of January 2020
I am in Cape Town, but have never heard of fire roasted tomatoes. What should I use as a substitute?
Joy Shull
Tuesday 14th of January 2020
You can also use regular canned diced tomatoes in the same amount!
Alyssa
Saturday 14th of September 2019
Could I do this without the nutritional yeast? I'm not a vegan and not sure how I feel about it. Should I substitute Parmesan or additional seasoning instead? It seems it's really just for flavor right? This seems pretty flavorful as is! Thanks!
Joy Shull
Tuesday 17th of September 2019
I have not tried it without nutritional yeast. You could use powdered parmesan I think, although the flavor will not be the same. Hope you enjoy the recipe!