This is my idea of ‘Sunday Sauce’ ~ Spaghetti with Mushroom “Bolognese”. It’s hearty, healthy, and the perfect dish to make on a Sunday… or any night of the week! It’s a 30-minute dish start to finish, and is easy to make.
And you can have dinner on the table in even less time if you batch cook the sauce on a Sunday and just boil some pasta when the craving hits midweek.
Traditionally, bolognese is a meat-heavy Italian sauce. But we’re keeping it plant-based here and instead using meaty mushrooms. Mushrooms give this sauce the both the umami and meaty texture of a traditional sauce, sans meat.
Mushrooms are used often in this way in vegetarian cooking. Think portobello burgers, mushroom bacon, etc.
The base of this meaty sauce is onion, garlic & mushrooms
The recipe…
You only need a handful of ingredients, many of which you likely have on hand if you do any cooking.
- pasta
- olive oil
- jarred tomatoes
- garlic + shallot
- mushrooms
- fresh basil
- parmesan to serve (plant or dairy!)
Once you have your mise en place, you’re ready to rock n’ roll.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping
Gettin’ saucy…
As with any recipe, start with what takes the longest amount of time first. In this case, it’s the sauce. But, when I say long don’t panic! You only need about 30 minutes for this tasty no-fuss sauce. No simmering and stirring all day long.
For the sauce, first heat a little EVOO, sweat the garlic and shallot (or onion), then add the ‘shrooms and some dried oregano and sauté a few minutes. This part alone is delizioso! I like to use cremini mushrooms, by the way.
Next, you add a jar of crushed tomatoes and a sprig of fresh basil to the pan and simmer a bit.
For the crushed tomatoes, I like Jovial Foods. It comes in a glass jar, organic, very high-quality and with minimal ingredients. You can find this at Whole Foods.
Once you get the sauce simmering, prep the pasta water and grate the parm if having. Oh, and heat up that oven for some crusty bread (gluten-free or gluten-filled!).
Pro tip: when cooking, always start with the longest component first, then the second longest, etc.
That twirl though
Pasta, pasta, pasta…
If you are looking for a good GF (gluten free) pasta, I like Jovial Foods or Bionaturae, both of which are available at many grocery stores. And if you like fresh pasta, try Maninis, also GF.
You can use whatever shape you like here, but I prefer long strands such as spaghetti or linguine for this recipe.
Top pasta with parm (vegan or dairy)
As with any pasta dish, always cook in plenty of generously salted boiling water until just al dente. Then drain, and DO NOT rinse. You can reserve some of the pasta water to thin the sauce if desired.
Or, if you want you can remove the pasta from the cooking water with tongs and add right to the saucepan (just let most of the cooking water drain off first).
Serve with fresh grated parm + warm bread
To serve…
To serve this Spaghetti with Mushroom Bolognese, have some warm bread ready for the dipping, and some freshly grated parm. For vegan parm, I use the Just Like parmesan. And if you do dairy, go with the real deal parmigiano reggiano.
And that’s it! A simple, hearty, healthy pasta dish on the table in under 30 minutes.
If you get your pasta on be sure to comment below or tag me on Instagram and let me know how it turns out!
Carb loading? Peep these pasta recipes…
Cacio e Pepe (vegan, GF options)
Penne with Pistachio Pesto (vegan, GF)
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 35 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot minced *or 1/4 cup minced onion
- 3 each garlic cloves minced
- 8 oz mushrooms quartered, I like cremini or button
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 18-oz jar crushed tomatoes see blog post for brand recs
- 1 sprig fresh basil
- 8 oz uncooked spaghetti
- to taste salt & pepper
- to serve fresh grated parmesan see blog post for vegan/dairy recs
Ingredients
|
|
- heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat, when hot add olive oil
- sweat shallot and garlic with a large pinch of salt until softened, but do not brown
- increase heat to medium, add mushrooms and oregano and sauté about 5 minutes
- add tomatoes and a large sprig of fresh basil to mushrooms and simmer on medium-low heat for 25 to 30 minutes stirring often; remove basil, season to taste with salt & pepper
- meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions, drain but do not rinse
- to serve, mix pasta with desired amount of sauce and top with freshly grated parmesan
Recipe serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side dish
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com