I have a vegan lentil ragu recipe that I’ve been making for years now, and while I love it, it’s time for something new. This vegan ragu recipe has a texture more like mince, but rather than using fake meat, it’s a mix of processed vegetables and nuts that make up the base of this dish.
The vegan ‘mince’ takes a while to make, but it’s worth it if you want a more traditional texture.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
This dish doesn’t contain as much protein as my classic lentil version, but due to the nuts in the base it does contain some extra healthy fats, and a wide range of vitamins from the vegetables in the mince and the sauce.
The following information is based on five servings per recipe. One serving contains 254 calories, 5g of fibre and 7g of protein.
If you opt for high vitamin D chestnut mushrooms each serving contains your full recommended daily amount of vitamin D, as well as over half of your daily vitamin C, just over a quarter of your daily vitamin K, and 20% of your daily B6.
This information is for the sauce alone – I used lentil pasta with mine, which adds another 20g of protein and 6g of fibre per serving.
INGREDIENT CHOICES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
if you want to make this dish alcohol free you can use extra vegetable stock, but opt for something fuller bodied like the Kallo Umami stock, or their tomato & herb option to ensure the dish is still flavoursome without the wine and not watered down.
The miso is optional, but recommended, as it adds more body to the sauce.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT
Transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to four days. You can freeze any leftover sauce (not with pasta in) for up to four weeks. Defrost before reheating if you opt to freeze some.
If you have any leftover sauce without pasta, the best way to reheat it is to transfer the mix back into a large heavy based pan along with a few splashes of water and reheat on low for 10-15 minutes until warmed through again.
However, if you have leftovers with the pasta already mixed in, simply reheat in the microwave for 4-5 minutes until hot again, stirring hallway.
VEGAN RAGU RECIPE
Vegan ragu recipe made with rich red wine and miso sauce, with a nut and vegetable based vegan ‘mince’ alternative.
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free and vegan friendly. It does contain nuts and soy.
Vegan Ragu Recipe
Vegan ragu recipe made with rich red wine and miso sauce, with a nut and vegetable based vegan ‘mince’ alternative.
Course Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Vegan Ragu
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 5
Calories 254 kcal
Ingredients
Vegan ‘mince’
- 1 small cauliflower
- 200 g mushrooms
- 100 g walnuts
- Drizzle of olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Sauce
- 1 onion
- 2 pieces celery
- 2 medium carrots
- 3 garlic cloves
- 5 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp miso optional
- 60 ml balsamic vinegar
- Veggie mince from the blended mixture
- 1 cup water/ veggie stock
- 200 ml red wine
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Begin by blending cauliflower, walnuts, and mushrooms, seasoning with oil and salt, and baking at 200C/400F for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Sauté finely chopped onion and celery in oil for 8-10 minutes, then add tomato paste and miso. Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar, adding the veggie mince.
- Stir in water, wine, salt, pepper, dried herbs, and bay leaves, allowing it to simmer for at least 20 minutes.
- Cook 400g pasta al dente and finish cooking them in the pasta sauce with a splash or two of starchy pasta water.
