Our Vegan Tofu Bolognese offers a plant-based twist on the traditional Italian Bolognese. This hearty sauce features marinated and pan-seared tofu in rich marinara sauce. If you love bolognese and are looking for a vegan version, you've come to the right place!
I stopped eating meat more than 12 years ago, and one of the dishes I missed the most during the first few months was my bolognese. I didn't cook much at the time, but bolognese was always my go-to sauce when I felt like having a hearty and filling meal. After I stopped eating meat, I soon realized you can make a bolognese sauce without adding any meat in many different ways! This tofu bolognese is my favorite veggie bolognese sauce, let me tell you why:
One of the reasons we love this Tofu Bolognese recipe is its simplicity. With easy-to-follow steps and a short list of ingredients, this recipe is a great one-pot sauce for a busy weekday, and all our family loves it.
All you need are simple ingredients such as vegetables like carrots, celery, onion and garlic, tomato passata, a block of firm tofu, and spices to season the tofu. We usually have all these ingredients, making it a fantastic recipe to prepare when you run out of ideas and time.
We love our Walnut and Cauliflower Bolognese, but this one tastes just as delicious and it's much easier to prepare.
Ingredients
Block of Tofu. For our Tofu bolognese, we use extra-firm tofu. You can as well, use firm tofu. To be able to crumble the tofu it needs to be extra firm or firm, so silken tofu won't work for this recipe.
Tofu marinade. To flavor our tofu, we add soy sauce, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. If you need to substitute yeast, we have some vegan alternatives for nutritional yeast that can help you.
Fresh vegetables. For the marinara sauce, we use white onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. You can use red or yellow onion as well, and if you prefer, you can use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. These ingredients are commonly used to make the classic Italian sauce. You can add other veggies, but these are enough to make a rich tomato sauce that tastes delicious.
Passata or Canned tomatoes. You can use chopped or peeled canned tomatoes. Get a good quality of canned tomatoes, as they tend to be richer and sweeter. If the tomatoes are too acidic, you can add some sugar or another sweetener.
Tomato paste. We like adding some tomato puree to add umami flavor and richness.
Oregano. We add dried oregano to the sauce, but you can add dried or fresh basil, sage, or thyme.
Preparing the Tofu for the Bolognese Sauce
Remove any excess water from the tofu block. You can do that by wrapping it with a paper towel. Crumble the tofu using your hands and add all the seasoning ingredients: Soy sauce, nutritional yeast or yeast flakes, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, and salt. You can combine all the ingredients using a spatula until all the tofu crumbs are well coated.
Add some olive oil to a non-stick pan and sautée the tofu until it starts to golden. We like setting the stove top to medium-high temperature to ensure that the tofu cooks nicely and gets a little crunch. You can also cook the tofu using the air-fryer or the oven.
- Air-fryer: Set the temperature to 200C and place the tofu crumbles on the air fryer tray. Cook for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Oven: Set the oven temperature to 180C (350F). Place the tofu on a baking tray or baking sheet covered, drizzle some olive oil, and bake for about 35 minutes. Use parchment paper to prevent the tofu from sticking to the tray.
Preparing the Marinara Sauce for Bolognese
Add some olive oil to a medium or large pot. We like using our cast iron pot for sauces and stews. Add finely chopped carrot, celery, onion, and garlic. Sautée for a couple of minutes. To make sure you are cutting all the ingredients to the same size, you can use a mandoline.
Add tomato paste and pan-seared tofu when the onion starts to soften. Combine well.
Pour the tomato passata or add the chopped tomatoes. Stir to make sure that all the ingredients are well combined.
Cover with a lid, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with your favorite pasta, and don't forget to add some yeast flakes or vegan parmesan before serving it!
Vegan Tofu Bolognese Recipe
Ingredients
Tofu
- 14 oz firm tofu
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Marinara Sauce
- 2 carrots
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 28 oz tomato passata or tin tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
For the tofu
- Remove any excess water from the tofu block. You can do that by wrapping it with a paper towel.14 oz firm tofu
- Crumble the tofu using your hands and add all the seasoning ingredients: Soy sauce, nutritional yeast or yeast flakes, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, and salt. You can combine all the ingredients using a spatula until all the tofu crumbs are well coated.2 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 3 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Heat some olive oil to a non-stick pan to medium-high heat and sautée the tofu until starts to golden.
For the Marinara Sauce
- Finely chop the carrot, celery, and onion. Grate or mince the garlic cloves.2 carrots, 1 celery stalk, 1 white onion, 2 garlic cloves
- Add some olive oil to a medium or large pot. Add finely chopped carrot, celery, onion, and garlic. Sautée for a couple of minutes.
- When the onion starts to soften, add the tomato paste and pan-seared tofu crumbles. Combine well.1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Pour the tomato passata or add the chopped tomatoes. Stir to make sure that all the ingredients are well combined.28 oz tomato passata
- Cover with a lid, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Adjust the sauce by adding salt and pepper, or a little sugar if the sauce is slightly acidic.1 teaspoon sugar, salt & pepper to taste
Notes
- You can alternatively, cook the tofu using the air-fryer or the oven.
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Nutrition
Variations to our Tofu Bolognese Sauce
- Use store-bought marinara sauce. Make this recipe even easier! You can use store-bought Italian marinara sauce and skip the process of making a homemade marinara sauce.
- Make this recipe gluten-free. To make the sauce gluten-free, simply swap the soy sauce for tamari, red wine, or liquid aminos, and make sure you are using gluten-free yeast flakes.
- Add more veggies to the sauce. We keep the sauce simple and traditional, but you can add other veggies, such as red pepper or zucchini.
- Use a food processor to chop the veggies. Another way to make this recipe faster is by using a food processor to chop the carrot, celery, and onion. I like using the mandoline, but our kids prefer it when we chop the veggies with the processor, as the chunks are smaller.
- To serve this sauce, we use tagliatelle. Change the pasta shape for your favorite one!
Serving Suggestions
Tofu Bolognese is a hearty meal that doesn't need much to make for a complete and satisfying meal, but we have some favorite additions when it comes to serving this dish!
Garlic bread. The last time we served Tofu Bolognese, we completely forgot about the bread, and about halfway through lunch, my husband headed to the kitchen to toast some garlic bread made with vegan butter from our freezer. It just makes this meal complete. You need something to mop up those last drops of sauce.
Vegan Parmesan. Did you know you can make your own vegan parmesan in less than 2 minutes? We love this recipe from Minimalist Baker. All you need to do is blend some cashews, yeast flakes, and garlic powder to create this beautiful blend that tastes just like parm!
Kalamata Olives. Serve some black Kalamata olives on the side, we love it and we believe you should try it too!
Fresh herbs. Don't forget to add some fresh herbs before serving the dish. My favorites are fresh basil or fresh parsley.
If you enjoy spicy food, maybe add some chili oil or red pepper flakes.
Additionally, you can serve it with a light salad to balance out the flavors and textures. A simple salad with colorful vegetables will be a great addition to your Tofu Bolognese.
As for pasta, you have a variety of options to choose from. Penne, tagliatelle, and spaghetti are all great choices.
Store and Reheat your Tofu Bolognese
If you have some leftover sauce, you can keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. If you want to keep it for a longer period, you can also store it in the freezer. Make sure to use freezer-safe containers and freeze the sauce for up to 3 months. To thaw, simply transfer the sauce to the fridge and let it sit for a few hours or overnight before reheating on the stovetop.
Reheat the sauce using the microwave or a pan.
FAQ
Yes, you can substitute lentils for tofu in a bolognese recipe. Lentils provide a similar hearty and "meaty" texture while also being a great source of plant-based protein. When opting for this substitution, we recommend using brown or green lentils, as they hold their shape better after cooking compared to red lentils.
To make this substitution, simply replace the tofu with an equal amount of cooked lentils. Be mindful that lentils might require a longer cooking time than tofu, so adjust the recipe accordingly. Keep in mind as well that the taste and texture will be slightly different than our tofu bolognese.
We recommend adding the ingredients for the tofu marinade to the pan while cooking the veggies.
This recipe makes enough sauce for about six portions of pasta.
Don't rush the cooking process for your vegan bolognese. Allow the sauce to simmer on low for at least 15 minutes, allowing all the flavors to combine together.
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