This homemade vegan spaghetti sauce is so rich and hearty you won't realise its meatless. It's full of Italian herbs, garlic, sweet slow cooked onions and chopped tomatoes. Perfect for spaghetti but also great in lasagna and as a pizza topping.
This healthy vegan pasta sauce is also a lentil free zone. We're getting this hearty texture from the onions and tomatoes and reducing the sauce until it's nice and thick. It takes about 30 minutes, rather than the 2 hours of many sauces out there. But you won't lose out on any flavour. You can use this sauce in the
The addition of a stock cube really helps bring some rich and bold flavour to the sauce. And it's reduced so it feels chunky and hearty. You can use this sauce in the veggie stuffed shells, the baked cheese tortellini and the one pan lasagna
Rich and Hearty Vegan Spaghetti Sauce
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Ingredients needed
- olive oil
- red onion
- fresh garlic
- dried spices- garlic granules, ground cinnamon, crushed chilli flakes
- dried herbs- oregano, basil, thyme
- tomato paste/ puree- helps to thicken the sauce and give a richer tomato flavour
- chunked chopped tomatoes- you can used tinned tomatoes or crushed tomatoes with herbs or without is fine. The tomatoes with herbs don't have enough in them to make much of a difference to the end flavour.
- vegetable stock cube- this adds a rich savouriness to the sauce that you just can't replicate by adding salt alone.
Step by step directions
Step 1 & 2
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add in the chopped onion. Sweat the onions over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the onions are softened. Add in the minced garlic and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Season with some sea salt.
- Stir in the herbs and spices. Start with the amounts listed in the recipe card below and adjusts according to your personal taste. But please, don't skip the cinnamon. It may sound a little strange but it truly is amazing. It helps to cut the acidity and boost the acidity of the tomatoes.
Step 3 & 4
- Stir in the tomato paste and mix it well with the onions and garlic. Let this cookout for a few minutes. It helps to add a deeper tomato flavour. But make sure to stir it continuously for those 2 minutes because tomato puree burns very easily.
- Pour the vegetable stock into the pan and bring to a simmer. At this stage, the sauce will be very salty. Have no fear, it isn't ruined.
Step 5 & 6
- Pour in the tins of tomatoes and bring to a simmer again. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened and all the herbs and spices are distributed evenly.
- Taste the sauce and adjust any of the spices, herbs or seasoning that you feel it needs. Personally, I always end up adding a pinch more cinnamon because I love the warmth that it brings to the sauce.
And this pasta sauce can be used to for so much more than just tossing with your spaghetti. Use it as
- pizza sauce,
- as a sauce for lasagna
- dipping for pizza bread
Storage
Vegan spaghetti sauce is not for canning, or for making with fresh tomatoes. That requires a whole different recipe. It's best simply frozen in a ziplock bag or airtight container.
It can be frozen for up to 6 months. This sauce can be heated right from frozen or to defrost it, simply leave in the fridge overnight. Or store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Pasta recipes to use this sauce in
Tools used
Recipe
Rich and Hearty Vegan Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 teaspoons garlic granules
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon basil
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 250 ml vegetable stock made from a stock cube
- 2 x 400ml tins chopped tomatoes
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add in the chopped onion. Sweat the onions over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the onions are softened. Add in the minced garlic and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Season with some sea salt.
- Stir in the herbs and spices, then the tomato paste and mix it well with the onions and garlic. Let this cookout for a few minutes.
- Pour the vegetable stock into the pan and bring to a simmer. At this stage, the sauce will be very salty. Have no fear, it isn't ruined.
- Pour in the tins of tomatoes and bring to a simmer again. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened and all the herbs and spices are distributed evenly.
- Taste the sauce and adjust any of the spices, herbs or seasoning that you feel it needs. Personally, I always end up adding a pinch more cinnamon because I love the warmth that it brings to the sauce.
Notes
- You can use whole peeled plum tomatoes in the tins, but the texture won’t be quite the same. You may find that you need to add some extra water to get the right consistency.
- This recipe doesn’t have any sugar in it because the cinnamon cuts the acidity and brings a hint of sweetness and warmth. But, you can certainly add in some sugar if you want to.
- If you want the sauce to be even thicker, then just continue to simmer until your desired thickness is reached. Just be careful of your seasoning. The longer the sauce is cooked and reduced the saltier it will become.
Nutrition
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