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Vegetarian Bolognese

By Ali Slagle

Updated Dec. 11, 2024

Vegetarian Bolognese
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(1,774)
Comments
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Unlike a traditional Bolognese sauce, this riff on the classic has no meat and isn’t simmered for hours, but the results are still rich, buttery and sweet. Mild cauliflower and soffritto — the carrot, celery and onion mix that is the traditional base of the the sauce — become the bulk. Tomato paste and soy sauce are toasted to build umami. Then, everything is braised with whole milk, which softens the vegetables and adds silkiness. Swap the cauliflower for broccoli, mushrooms, cabbage, eggplant, or even green lentils, chickpeas or crumbled tempeh. To make it vegan, swap 2 tablespoons oil for butter in Step 1, use nondairy milk, and swap 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast for Parmesan.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 3tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1large yellow onion, roughly chopped into ¼-inch pieces
  • 2medium carrots, roughly chopped into ¼-inch pieces
  • 1medium (1 to 1½-pound) cauliflower, stem and head coarsely chopped into pieces no bigger than ½ inch
  • ¼cup tomato paste
  • 2tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 4garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • ¾cup whole milk
  • 1fresh bay leaf or thyme sprig
  • 1pound rigatoni or another ridged dried pasta, or fresh pappardelle or tagliatelle
  • ½cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

748 calories; 24 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 107 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 28 grams protein; 1020 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter with the olive oil over medium-high. When foaming, add the onion, carrots and cauliflower, season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few pepper grinds. Cook, stirring just once or twice, until browned and juicy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste, soy sauce and garlic and cook, stirring and smashing the vegetables, until the tomato paste is a shade darker and sticks to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add the milk and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, and stir to combine, scraping up browned bits from the pot. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk has thickened slightly and the vegetables are very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. (At first the pan will look dry, then the vegetable liquid will thin the sauce and it will thicken slightly).

  3. Step 3

    Halfway through cooking the sauce, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain. If the sauce is ready before the pasta, remove sauce from heat and keep covered.

  4. Step 4

    Remove the bay leaf from the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Add the pasta, ½ cup pasta water, the Parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Stir vigorously until the pasta is well coated, adding more pasta water as needed until the sauce is glossy. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with more grated Parmesan on top.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,774 user ratings
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Comments

Patrick

May I recommend the Marcella hazan Bolognese recipe but substitute beyond meat crumble and only simmering for an hour at the end. Almost indistinguishable from the meat recipe.

Roni

delicious! doubled the garlic, added rosemary and red pepper flakes, and deglazed with a little white wine after cooking the vegetables in step 1

Kara H.

This was very good and I loved that it was so vegetable dense. If I made it again, these are the few modifications I would make - I would chop the carrots and cauliflower smaller than the instructions say. I also ended up using twice the amount of tomato paste (1 8oz can) and threw in a smidge of the red wine I was drinking after I added the paste. Next time I'd pour myself a glass of wine and I'd pour a healthy glass for the sauce. Otherwise, this is delicious and makes 4 generous portions.

Lindsey

Absolutely delicious!! Tedious prep but very much worth it. One of my favorites and my husband, who is a meat eater, loves this just as much.

Hannah

I thought this was delicious. So did my two picky toddlers. Made as written but I used a 12 oz bag of frozen riced cauliflower. Saved a lot of time and effort and made it a quick weeknight meal. The texture mimicked the look and mouthfeel of mince and clung nicely to the pasta so my kids couldn't pick the vegetables off. Oh, also threw a parmesan rind in! Will definitely make again.

Julianne

I had heavy cream so used that instead of milk and just reduced the butter at the end a bit. Also used a food processor to grate the carrots, cauliflower and onion. Used thyme and a small bit of rosemary from my garden in addition to a dried bay leaf. Delicious and my one year old not only ate more vegetables than she's probably ever had willingly but also asked for MORE! It's a keeper!

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