Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese

This is a healthier, whole foods version of the all-time popular Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese recipes that you can make in 20 minutes with only 8 ingredients (including all spices)! We also included our famous hack on how to make extra creamy bolognese sauce. Can’t wait to try it, right? 

Need more quick and easy pasta recipes? Browse through our vegan and gluten-free pasta sauce recipes 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.

⇒ Get our FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN now! or check out all vegan meal plan recipes here! ⇐

Vegan ground beef for spaghetti bolognese

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.

Our favorite ground beef substitute is TVP (textured vegetable protein). To get real ground beef texture, you need TVP. You can see them in action in our Vegan Cabbage Lasagna recipe.

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

Other vegan ground beef alternatives

Here are some suggestions:

• Mushroom bolognese would be most people’s first choice as they are easy to work with, cheap and familiar ingredients. Although we think that mushroom does not deliver on texture perfectly. It remains too spongy.
• 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 something too gooey.
• Lentils are another popular alternative due to its familiarity. But they are lentils, easily recognizable. Nobody confuses them with meat. We made our Vegan Lasagna with Lentils.
• 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 Best Damn Vegan Chili recipe.

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.

Have you tried lentils, mushrooms or tofu but still haven’t found the one, this hearty meatless spaghetti bolognese recipe is delicious and will not disappoint.

Let us tell you why we love this version the most.

⇒ Get our FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN now! or check out all vegan meal plan recipes here! ⇐

How to make Meatless Spaghetti Bolognese?

To save time, you can definitely use a store-bought seasoned tomato-based vegan pasta sauce, but if you would really like to step up your game why don’t you cook it from scratch. We present you with two options:

1. our chunky hearty Marinara Sauce recipe or
2. our creamy Bolognese Sauce recipe below.

Preparing the ingredients

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. You can use the trunk to make Vegan Cauliflower Soup.

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.

Making vegan bolognese 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 the minced cauliflower and cook them for 3-4 minutes (photo #3). Stir occasionally. Now, add the minced walnut and cook them for another 3-4 minutes (photo #4). Stir occasionally. Then, add the tomato sauce (unsweetened and unseasoned smooth tomato purée) and the seasoning (oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and sweet paprika powder) (photo #5). Then cook this mixture again for 4-5 minutes.

How to make creamy bolognese sauce?

Add one cup of our homemade Easy Vegan Alfredo Sauce made with cashew nuts and dairy-free milk to this classic tomato sauce and you arrive at a whole new level of creaminess. I dare you to trick your meat-eating family and friends when they try your meat-free spaghetti bolognese.

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 at Megan’s blog.

What pasta should you choose?

Traditionally, you should use tagliatelle. I didn’t know it either that the classic Bolognese ragu should be served on tagliatelle until my sister and her husband visited Bologna and learned about it. Anyway, no harm is done if you use spaghetti as we usually do.

We eat gluten-free (read more about it here) therefore, we use gluten-free spaghetti. The sauce itself is gluten-free, but if it is important for you to eat gluten-free too, you can choose from so many different alternatives like this quinoa spaghetti or a more protein-packed edamame spaghetti or chia flour pasta. Not to mention zucchini noodles for a low carb spaghetti bolognese. Endless possibilities right?

What goes well with a bolognese sauce?

You can use this pasta sauce together with the cauliflower and walnut mince in other recipes as well.

• Layer it within this lasagna or cabbage lasagna
• Use it as a shepherd’s pie, pot pie or a 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
• Top your mac and cheese
• Make loaded nachos with it

What else would you use a bolognese sauce for? Let us know in the comments.

⇒ Get our FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN now! or check out all vegan meal plan recipes here! ⇐

FAQs and Substitutions

How to store this bolognese sauce?

This bolognese sauce with cauliflower and walnut mince 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 other container) in a freezer and thaw whenever you need it.

This Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese recipe is gluten-free and vegan so meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free. It is only WFPB-friendly if you cook the onion/garlic without olive oil, so in water or in veggie broth.

⇒ Get our FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN now! or check out all vegan meal plan recipes here! ⇐

More lunch and dinner recipes

You can browse our vegan and gluten-free lunch and dinner recipe gallery or check out

• Simple Chickpea Curry
• Vegan Portobello Mushroom Fajitas
• Easy Vegan Eggplant Meatballs
• Cauliflower Steak with Green Peppercorn Sauce
• Thai Red Curry Mac and Cheese

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UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in July 2018, but was rewritten and republished with new photos, instructions, and tips in March 2020.