This one-pot pasta bolognese is incredibly delicious and satisfying. Bolognese is a traditional Italian meat sauce cooked with wine and some heavy cream. The results are a rich and flavorful sauce which can be served with any kind of pasta you desire. I love using thick spaghetti noodles, as featured in the picture above, but I also recommend using fettuccini or regular spaghetti for this rendition. I particularly love this one-pot pasta bolognese recipe because I have streamlined it all into ONE pot. That’s right! You simply throw the noodles in once the sauce is loaded with tons of seasonings and spices and they cook perfectly, absorbing all of the flavors while still becoming delightfully squooshy.
To start
Vegan sausage is crumbled and browned with onions, carrots, and celery. Once that all gets happy- garlic, fresh herbs, and crushed fire roasted tomatoes are added to the pot. I also like adding cherry tomatoes and tomato paste for extra flavor and added texture. To make the sauce creamy, I like adding in pea milk, which is available at most grocery stores these days. Feel free to use whatever unsweetened plant-based milk you prefer. Once to a simmer, you throw in the noodles and cook. The only catch is you have to stir the mixture often so that the bottom doesn’t burn. Because the noodles are cooking in a thick sauce, movement is key.
I like to use a large wooden spatula to make sure the bottom is scraped and moved thoroughly. Once the noodles are al dente, you remove from heat, add some vegan cheese, and cover with a lid. Let it sit for a good 10 minutes allowing the noodles to finish cooking and you’re done! A hefty shredding of vegan parmesan cheese on top with some fresh basil and cherry tomatoes completes this beautiful dish. Serve with a simple side salad and some crusty garlic bread for an epic meal, with wine of course!
Ingredients
14 ounces beyond sausage, crumbled*
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic
¼ cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup fresh chopped basil, plus some to garnish
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
½ cup red wine
3 cups crushed fire roasted tomatoes (one 28 ounce can)
¾ cup tomato paste (one 6 ounce can)
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
2 cups pea milk, plus some if needed*
2 cups filtered water
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 lb pasta noodles
¼ cup shredded vegan parmesan cheese, plus more to garnish
Instructions
1. In a large pot or large dutch oven, add the sausage, onions, carrots, celery and olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add a pinch of sea salt and pepper and stir with a large wooden spatula. Cook for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened, stirring often. Use the spatula to break up the sausage into a crumbly texture.
2. Throw in the garlic and cook for a few minutes (2 to 3), until softened. Add the parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, and nutritional yeast. Cook for an additional 4 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the red wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Add the canned tomatoes and continue to scrape so that there is nothing stuck to the bottom.
3. Next, add the tomato paste, cherry tomatoes, pea milk, filtered water, sea salt, black pepper, and noodles. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Once to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often. Towards the 15 minute mark, test a noodle. (If using a thinner noodle, maybe check around 13 minutes as they will cook quicker). Once the noodles are al dente (cooked yet slightly hard), remove from heat, mix in the cheese, and cover with a lid. Let sit for 10 minutes to let the noodles finish cooking.
4. After 10 to 15 minutes, remove the lid and give it a stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you’d like to loosen it up, add a few more splashes of milk and mix. Serve in bowls and garnish with freshly shaven vegan parmesan and basil leaves. You could also throw on some halved cherry tomatoes because it’s pretty!
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notes
I highly recommend using the Hot Italian Beyond Sausage (or any of their flavors if you can’t find this one). You could use another brand of vegan sausage (or a homemade recipe), but this has the perfect texture, flavoring, and fat content for this dish in particular.
You can make this a day ahead and keep in the fridge. It will thicken up considerably once chilled, so when you are ready to heat it back up, I recommend adding some more milk and baking it in the oven, covered. I would advise against heating it up on the stovetop as it could burn easily (because it is much thicker when cold). If you are heating up a small amount, you could use the stove top, just make sure to keep it moving!
I personally love the Ripple brand of unsweetened pea milk for this recipe. I find that it has just the right creamy texture.
The dish featured above is 4 quarts, which would be perfect if you halved the recipe. If you are going to make the full recipe, I recommend using a large pot or large dutch oven so you have plenty of wiggle room. It’s not fun to cook a sauce that’s all the way up to the brim, it can be quite stressful!
33 comments
You read my mind! I needed a veg bolognese recipe, and here it is! Only downfall, I can’t have red wine. Could a white wine be used in it’s place? Can’t wait to make it, wine or not. 🙂
Yes! It’s funny that you say that because the traditional recipe calls for white wine! I just like red because that’s what I drink. If you wanted to skip the wine altogether, you could also use 2 tablespoons rice vinegar. 🙂
This is one of the best recipes I’ve ever made!
YAYYY!
I just made this! We loved it. I accidentally grabbed the sweetened pea milk so I didn’t add it. I just used two more cups of water and it was still delicious. Next time, I’ll use the pea milk and I’m sure it will taste even better. Glad I found your site!
Oh good to know! Thank you for letting me know and happy cooking!
Made this pasta Friday night for myself and my wife (probably enough for 6 people), and we finished the entire pot in less than a day. It is INSANELY delicious and very easy to prepare. I stayed entirely true to the recipe, aside from adding one teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and it was perfect! I LOVE pasta and had never made one pot pasta before, so i was a little weary, but I can honestly say this is one of the best dishes I have ever had! Thank you for this recipe, Timothy! I cannot wait to make it again for all my friends and family <3
You are very welcome. Thank you for the sweet comment. 🙂
This recipe is amazin! It is super versatile and I love the one pot idea. The flavor is delicious, meaty, and it doesn’t take long to make!
Yes, I love how everything comes together very quickly.
This recipe is INCREDIBLE. I immediately sent it to all the pasta lovers I know after making it. My boyfriend said it was the best pasta he’s ever had. I will definitely be making this again soon. Thanks Timothy <3
You are so welcome! I am thrilled that you enjoyed it. 🙂
wow. I had to stop my meal mid-scarfing this deliciousness down so I could write this review. This is so good. I have not had a hearty, delicious pasta dish like this in forever. I added a little lemon zest too, which is just my thing, but with out without, the flavor is incredible. 10/10 would recommend
Haha! I love that. Thank you so much for leaving this sweet comment.
Just made this recipe with a few alterations as I couldn’t get certain ingredients where I live and it was a hit! Cooking the pasta in the sauce with the fresh herbs and veggies gives so much more flavour than adding sauce to already cooked pasta! The only thing I would say is if you don’t have access to pea milk, almond milk isn’t the best choice of substitute, I think I could have made it much creamier and rich had I substituted it with soy or oat milk. Thank you for a great recipe!
Yes, I love cooking everything together in one pot. I am so happy enjoyed it! You are very welcome.
I made this today and it’s DELICIOUS. Like top 10 things I have ever eaten, maybe. IT’S SO CREAMY! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Yes, the pea milk is oh so creamy- I love it! So happy you enjoyed it. 🙂
I brought this to Christmas and it was a huge hit. Even for the carnivores! Delicious, creamy, spicy and meaty. And it comes together so easy. Highly recommend
OMG! Love that. Thank you for letting me know. Happy cookin!
I made this recipe several weeks ago and have been meaning to leave a review. First of all, I had been craving a Bolognese and had been looking online for a decent recipe that didn’t use lentils and then you posted this on Instagram the very next day and while I was slightly freaked out, I was also incredibly excited. Second, I made this pasta for my SUPER picky, meat-eater boyfriend (I’m talking just started eating plain pasta a few months ago) who is terrified of any and all veggies and has huge issues with texture.. and he loved it!! I included mushrooms and subbed veggie stock for wine and it still turned out great. I am quite literally obsessed with this recipe and will be making it again ASAP.
Wow! I love it when a vegan recipe can impress a picky meat eater. The best! Thank you for the sweet comment. 🙂
This is incredibly good!! Made it tonight exactly as written, except that I used white wine (it was open!) and a different sausage brand (couldn’t find beyond sausage). Honestly, I could not believe how good it was! I’m going to make it for my meat-loving parents when they come to visit. Thanks for the crowd-pleasing recipe. 🙂
This is the best pasta I have EVER made at home, maybe even the best pasta dish I have ever had! One batch lasted my husband and me for three meals each. I really ate this three times in a row because it’s that good. It is so complex in flavor and fairly easy to make. We reheated it and added a splash of milk and it was perfect. I used the hot Italian Beyond Sausage, regular spaghetti noodles, plain unsweetened soy milk, fresh basil, and Violife vegan parmesan cheese (from the block and grated it myself, the best)! Delicious. Nothing but praise for this recipe.
Just made this last night. Second recipe my meat eating kids scarfed down! Didn’t mention it was vegan. Lol. Stayed true to the exact recipe except for omitting wine and using the two tbsp vinegar. Soooooo good! The one difference is that since we live at high altitude, pasta takes forever. I had to cook it covered for 10 minutes after the initial 15 uncovered and then let it sit off heat covered the last 10 minutes to get it right. Thanks Timothy for the magic you create!
Made this for dinner the other night. Soooo good!
I’m so glad that you like the recipe! Thank you!
I have made this one pot Bolognese several times and it is a family fave for me as a vegan and for my non vegan family members. This is a definite keeper and so robust. It has so much flavor and when reheated gets even better. Love this!
That’s what I like to hear! Thank you so much and I am so happy you like the recipe. 🙂
Love this recipe! I’ve made it for non-vegan friends who have reached out days later to tell me how much they loved it and asking for the recipe. We had it again for dinner tonight and my 15 month old gobbled it up. It’s such a comforting dish with a very easy to follow recipe. Thank you!
That is so lovely to read! Thank you. Happy cooking!
This is so delicious! It’s on regular rotation at our house.
So, so happy to read this! Thank you for being here, Jayne.