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!

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.

Take me to the vegetarian bolognese sauce recipe!

If you would like to skip my (helpful) tips and tricks, similar meatless recipes, and suggestions for the best bolognese sauce, simply keep scrolling to the bottom of the post, where you will find a printable recipe card with instructions and ingredients. Keep reading this post for my helpful tips!

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!

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 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.

Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce Reviews

Don’t just take my word for it! Here are a few reader reviews of this bolognese sauce. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to read more comments!

Noelia: “I have 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.”

Kristy: “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.”

Richard: “Made this last night and ooohhh what a wonderful Bolognese. I’ll probably never make it with meat again.

So flavorful and actually a light meal when you cut back on the pasta. I’m going to try lasagne rolls stuffed with this amazing sauce. IT’S A KEEPER FOR SURE!”

Top with fresh chopped parsley if you want for more added flavor.

I like to do this for that little extra garnish and flavor.

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.

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!

This recipe makes a huge batch of sauce so it is great to feed a lot of people!

Are you making this recipe? I want to see!

Be sure to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations.

 More meatless pasta recipes:

• Meatless Million Dollar Baked Ziti
• 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

Want to save this recipe to Pinterest for later? Click HERE to pin this recipe!

Vegetarian Bolognese Recipe:

Yield: 8 servings

Vegetable Bolognese Recipe

Print

Vegetable bolognese recipe made with mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic, and onion. A delicious meatless vegetarian "meat" sauce recipe.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

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

1. Add baby bella and shitake mushrooms to a food processor and either pulse or shred, until minced
2. Transfer mushrooms to a large skillet or dutch oven
3. Add celery chunks, carrot chunks, garlic cloves, and onion pieces to the food processor and pulse/shred
4. Add mixture to the mushrooms
5. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper to the vegetables
6. 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
7. Puree diced fire roasted tomatoes in the food processor until smooth
8. Add pureed tomatoes to the vegetables
9. Add basil, oregano, nutritional yeast, and sugar
10. Taste and add any seasonings if necessary (if it tastes too acidic, add a little more sugar as necessary)
11. Serve over spaghetti and topped with parmesan cheese, if desired

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 85 Total Fat: 1g Saturated Fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 43mg Carbohydrates: 17g Fiber: 5g Sugar: 5g Protein: 5g