This vegan bolognese sauce with lentils comes pretty close to the original recipe – it’s made without meat but with lots of love, good ingredients and the necessary time it takes to develop the aromas.
Here’s what the ingredient list of the original recipe for ragù alla bolognese looks like (the way, that the academy of Italian kitchen filed it with the chamber of commerce in Bologna) and what I substituted:
beef lentils
carrot
celery stalk
onion
tomatoes or peeled tomato sauce
½ cup red wine
milk, some broth, olive oil
salt and pepper
½ cup cream (optional, if using dried pasta instead of fresh)
Huh..in the end, I only substituted the meat for a plant-based ingredient: lentils. I hope no nonna from Bologna feels offended by my vegan bolognese recipe. At least I know (since a few days ago…) that you don’t eat bolognese with spaghetti in Italy as you would anywhere else in the world. Instead Italians have it with tagliatelle or as lasagna.
Oh and I may or may not have added a few button mushrooms… At long last, I think different variants of classics are absolutely alright, after all tastes differ, too, right?!
These vegan bolognese with lentils comes very close to the original the origianl recipe – it’s made without meat but with lots of love and good ingredients.
- 1 red onion
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 carrot
- 4 button mushrooms (optional)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine (alternatively grape juice or just veggie stock)
- 1 1/4 cups lentils (250 g)
- 2 cups tomatoes, peeled (fresh or canned) (400 g)
- 1 cup veggie stock (200 ml)
- 1 dash of plant-based milk/ cream (optional)
- salt & pepper to taste
- 14 oz tagliatelle (or any other pasta you like) (400 g)
- fresh basil
- vegan nut parmesan (s. notes)
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Finely dice vegetables: onion, celery, carrot and mushrooms (if using).
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Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté veggies for a few minutes, then deglaze with a good dash of red wine after about 10 minutes.
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Add lentils, tomatoes and veggie stock, cover with a lid and let simmer on a low heat for about 1.5 hours. Stirring occasionally, adding some more liquid (veggie stock), if necessary.
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Finally add a dash of milk or cream (optional) and season to taste with salt, pepper and any other spice you like.
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Cook pasta according to packaging instructions and serve with bolognese, fresh basil and vegan parmesan.
- Vegan nut parmesan: add
I hope you love this recipe – please let me know in the comment section below! If you make this bolognese, make sure to take a photo and share it on my Facebook page or on Instagram, using the hashtag #minamadefood. Oh and don’t forget to tag me (@thisisminamade) so that I can see your creations!
