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    Home > Vegan Pasta Sauces

    Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese (Cauliflower Walnut Meat)

    By My Pure Plants on 06/22/2022 - May contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure.

    Jump to Recipe Print Pin

    This is a healthier, whole foods version of the all-time popular vegan bolognese recipe since we used cauliflower walnut meat. It is also super easy since you can make it in 20 minutes! We also included our famous hack on how to make extra creamy vegan bolognese sauce. Can’t wait to try it, right? 

    White frying pan with a red brown chunky sauce. Several nests of cooked spaghetti is placed on top. A hand is holding a spoon and twisting the spaghetti to take a bite.

    Need more quick and easy pasta recipes? Browse through our vegan gluten-free pasta sauce recipe collection for inspiration. We particularly love our vegan cashew alfredo sauce and our spinach pasta sauce as both of them are done in 15 MINUTES!!! Not to mention our kid-favorite hidden vegetable pasta sauce with 7 different veggies and legumes.

    Table of Contents hide
    1. What to expect from this recipe?
    2. Ingredients
    3. Instructions
    4. More ways to use it
    5. FAQs and substitutions
    6. Allergen info
    7. More vegan pasta recipes
    8. Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese (Cauliflower Walnut Meat)

    What to expect from this recipe?

    Who would have thought that you can make the traditional bolognese dish without meat? Ground beef is basically the main ingredient. In Italy, they even call it a bolognese ragu, which means a meat-based sauce. But guess what, you can do it meat-free and without any compromise in taste or texture.

    We stand by our statement that the best-tasting plant-based whole foods ground beef alternative is cauliflower and walnut mince. Not to mention the quickest, as you will be ready when your pasta is cooked.

    So, this seemingly weird combination works because cauliflower gives the minced texture, while walnut adds the meaty richness. And voila you have your vegan ground beef.

    If you have tried using lentils, mushrooms, or tofu but still haven’t found THE ONE, this hearty vegan spaghetti bolognese recipe will surely not disappoint.

    White frying pan with a red brown chunky sauce.

    Ingredients

    The classic vegan bolognese sauce needs only a handful of ingredients, but we added our vegan cashew alfredo sauce to turn it into a rich, creamy pasta sauce.

    • Spaghetti – I didn’t know either that the classic Bolognese ragú in Italy is served with tagliatelle until my sister and her husband visited Bologna and learned about it. Anyway, we still usually use spaghetti.
    • Cauliflower – We used white cauliflower. If you feel creative you can try it with yellow, green, or even purple cauliflower. It could be fun.
    • Walnut
    • Onion – We used red onion, but you can use shallots as well.
    • Garlic
    • Sieved tomato puree – You can probably find several types of tomato sauces in the stores. We recommend choosing sieved tomato puree which is thicker and unseasoned. It is by far the best ingredient to make a rich bolognese sauce.
    • Sweet smoked paprika powder
    • Dried or fresh oregano
    • Dried or fresh basil
    • Olive oil
    • Salt and black pepper
    • Vegan cashew alfredo sauce – It is optional to add, but a highly recommended ingredient. It is a 5-ingredient no-cook white sauce, that you can make in 15 minutes. But it makes such a difference to this vegan pasta bolognese.

    🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    Other vegan ground beef alternatives

    • TVP (textured vegetable protein) is the best ingredient to use to get a real ground beef-like texture. You can see it in many of our recipes like vegan moussaka or vegan cabbage lasagna.
    • Mushroom bolognese would be most people’s first choice as they are easy to work with, cheap, and is a familiar ingredient to many. Although mushrooms do not deliver on texture perfectly. It remains too spongy and you can definitely taste the mushrooms.
    • Tofu could be another alternative, although most people bit hesitant to use it. It is not easy to make tofu crunchy and you can easily end up with a tofu scramble.
    • Lentils are another popular alternative to making vegan spaghetti bolognese due to their familiarity. But they are lentils, easily recognizable. Nobody confuses them with meat. We made our vegan lasagna with lentils and it was delicious indeed.
    • Quinoa or millet is almost perfect. They give almost the right texture. The only thing missing is that they are so tiny compared to ground beef. We use it in our vegan bean chili and in our quinoa sweet potato chili recipes and they work there since there are many other ingredients and the grains are not the only thing in the sauce.
    Black plate with spaghetti toped with a red chunky sauce. A fork is placed on the side slightly covering a part.

    Instructions

    To save time, you can definitely use a store-bought seasoned tomato-based vegan pasta sauce, or our quick, 10-min chunky vegan marinara sauce recipe, but we definitely recommend trying our from-scratch homemade creamy vegan bolognese sauce. Here is what you need to do to make it:

    Preparing the ingredients

    1. Cook spaghetti according to packaging instructions.
    2. Peel and chop onion and garlic.
    3. Peel off the cauliflower leaves and cut off the florets. We don’t recommend using the trunk as it can be hard and fibery. You can use the trunk to make vegan cream of cauliflower soup.
    4. Add the raw cauliflower florets to a food processor and chop them until you get a minced texture (photo #1). Repeat this step with the walnuts (photo #2). We never peel the walnuts by the way.
    Step photos to make vegan ground beef in food processor first with cauliflower then with walnut

    Making vegan bolognese sauce

    1. Take a saucepan, frying pan, or a skillet and heat it over medium heat.
    2. Add olive oil, chopped onion, and garlic and cook them until they are soft and getting transparent. It should take only 2-3 minutes.
    3. Add minced cauliflower and cook it for 3-4 minutes (photo #3). Stir occasionally.
    4. Add minced walnut and cook it for another 3-4 minutes (photo #4). Stir occasionally.
    5. Add tomato sauce and seasoning (oregano, basil, salt, black pepper, and sweet smoked paprika powder) (photo #5). Then cook it for another 4-5 minutes.
    3 photo collage of a white frying pan with minced cauliflower first then minced walnuts and finally all of them in a red sauce

    Adding alfredo sauce

    Finally, add one cup of our vegan alfredo sauce made with cashew nuts, dairy-free milk, nutritional yeast, garlic, and nutmeg. Your vegan spaghetti bolognese will arrive at a whole new level of creaminess.

    Before serving, sprinkle them with vegan parmesan and fresh basil. Or much better, you can even make your own. Here is an easy vegan parmesan recipe from Megan’s blog.

    A white frying pan with a chunky red sauce. A hand is holding a measure cup and pouring a white sauce on top

    More ways to use it

    You can use this vegan spaghetti bolognese (both the sauce and the cauliflower walnut meat) in other recipes as well.

    • Layer it within this lasagna.
    • Use it as a shepherd’s pie, pot pie, or moussaka filling.
    • Stuff it in mushroom, pepper/capsicum, butternut squash, or zucchini.
    • Make chili with it.
    • Top your baked potato with it.
    • Fill your crepes with it to make a savory breakfast using leftovers.
    • Top your mac and cheese.

    What else would you use it for? Let us know in the comments.

    White frying pan with a red brown chunky sauce. Several nests of cooked spaghetti is placed on top. A wooden spatula is placed next to it. One plate with one serving is next to the pan.

    FAQs and substitutions

    How to store it?

    It is perfect for batch cooking. You can easily store it in the fridge for 3-4 days without any problem.

    Can you freeze it?

    Store any leftovers per serving (in a jar, in a ziplock bag, or in an airtight container) in a freezer and thaw whenever you need them.

    1 black plate and 2 black bowls of spaghetti with chunky red sauce served in a marble counter.

    Allergen info

    This Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese recipe is meat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free.

    • Vegan – All ingredients are supposed to be vegan.
    • Nut-free – It is not straightforward to substitute walnuts for sunflower seeds just like that. You would be better off skipping it or using mushrooms in a combination with cauliflower. If you need a creamy white sauce that is nut-free, make our vegan bechamel.
    • WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) – Since the only non-compliant ingredient is oil, you can easily skip it by sauteeing everything directly in the tomato sauce, or by using a bit of vegetable broth or water to start off the cooking. The cashew alfredo sauce we use is also compliant.
    • Gluten-free – All ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free but always cook with certified products. The sauce itself is therefore gluten-free, but choose gluten-free pasta from the many different alternatives like quinoa spaghetti or a more protein-packed edamame spaghetti or chia flour pasta. Not to mention zucchini noodles for a low-carb spaghetti bolognese.
    • Soy-free – All ingredients are soy-free.

    More vegan pasta recipes

    • Easy Vegan Pesto Pasta
    • Creamy Harissa Tahini Pasta Sauce
    • Caramelized Carrot Pasta Sauce
    • Vegan Mushroom Pasta in “Paprikash Sauce”
    • Easy Lemon Pepper Pasta with Asparagus
    • Creamy Vegan Cajun Pasta with Oyster Mushroom

    THANK YOU so much for visiting our website. Please comment below if you have tried this recipe. We LOVE hearing from you! If you loved the recipe, please don’t forget to give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ RATING. We appreciate all of our readers.  

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    ⇒ GET OUR FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN E-BOOK NOW! OR CHECK OUT ALL VEGAN MEAL PLAN RECIPES! ⇐

    Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese (Cauliflower Walnut Meat)

    My Pure Plants
    The best Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese is made of cauliflower walnut mince. It is the perfect meatless alternative to the classic Italian dish. The cauliflower gives the texture, walnut adds the meaty richness, but the vegan alfredo sauce turns it into creamy and rich.
    4.9 from 8 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course Main Course
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 538kcal

    Equipment

    • Non-stick frying pan (10.5 inch / 26 cm)
    • Food processor

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 8 oz Spaghetti
    • 3 cup Cauliflower
    • ¾ cup Walnut
    • 1 Tbsp Olive oil
    • 1 Onion (medium sized)
    • 2 cloves Garlic
    • 2 cup Sieved tomato puree aka Tomato sauce
    • 2 tsp Sweet paprika powder
    • 1 tsp Oregano
    • 1 tsp Basil
    • Salt and Pepper to taste
    • 1 cup Homemade Vegan Alfredo Sauce optional
    • Vegan Parmesan Cheese optional
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    EXCLUSIVE 5-ingredient recipes for busy home cooks that are ready in 15 minutes!Check out our Express Vegan Cookbook!

    Instructions
     

    Prepare the ingredients

    • Cook spaghetti according to packaging instructions.
    • Peel and chop onion and garlic.
    • Peel off the cauliflower leaves and cut off the florets. We don’t recommend using the trunk as it can be hard and fibery.
    • Add the raw cauliflower florets to a food processor and chop them until you get a minced texture. Repeat this step with the walnuts. We never peel the walnuts by the way.  

    Making the sauce

    • Take a non-stick saucepan and add a bit of olive oil. Cook on medium heat the chopped onions and garlic until they are soft and getting transparent. It should take only 2-3 minutes.
    • First, add minced cauliflower and cook them for 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally.
    • Now, add minced walnut and cook them for another 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally.
    • Add tomato sauce and seasoning (oregano, basil, salt, black pepper, and sweet paprika powder). Then cook this mixture again for 4-5 minutes.

    How to make it extra creamy?

    • Add 1 cup of our homemade vegan alfredo sauce at the end to get a perfectly creamy bolognese sauce.
    • Before serving, sprinkle it with vegan parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
    Tried this recipe? Can we see it?Please share a picture with us by uploading an image to Pinterest below ours.

    Notes

    How to store it?
    It is perfect for batch cooking. You can easily store it in the fridge for 3-4 days without any problem.
    Can you freeze it? 
    Store any leftovers per serving (in a jar, in a ziplock bag, or in an airtight container) in a freezer and thaw whenever you need them. 

    Video

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese (Cauliflower Walnut Meat)
    Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
    Calories 538 Calories from Fat 216
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 24g37%
    Saturated Fat 3g19%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 12g
    Monounsaturated Fat 7g
    Sodium 388mg17%
    Potassium 1189mg34%
    Carbohydrates 69g23%
    Fiber 9g38%
    Sugar 12g13%
    Protein 17g34%
    Vitamin A 1176IU24%
    Vitamin C 53mg64%
    Calcium 126mg13%
    Iron 5mg28%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in July 2018, but was rewritten and republished with new photos, instructions, and tips in March 2020. More tips, info, and serving ideas were added and it was republished in June 2022.

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    1. Megan Kerry

      February 14, 2019 at 5:26 am

      5 stars
      Awesome recipe! I’ve used walnut as a meat replacement for bolognese sauce but I haven’t tried it along side the cauliflower! This is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    2. David

      September 08, 2018 at 11:43 am

      5 stars
      Finally we spent the weekend at home so we could prepare this meal. Delicious! Looking forward to the next lunch ideas!

      Reply
    3. Agnes

      August 02, 2018 at 8:46 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe! Thanks! Amazing how you can substitute meat with cauliflower and walnut!

      Reply

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