Name: Phenomenal Vegan Ragu
Prep time: 3 h 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 4 h
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 tbsp olive oil; 1 package Lightlife original tempeh, finely minced; 2 carrots, finely minced; 2 stalks celery, finely minced; ½ medium onion, finely minced; 5 garlic cloves, finely minced; Pinch of kosher salt; 3 tbsp lemon juice; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tsp coconut sugar (optional); 1 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp coriander; 1 tsp dried basil; 1 tsp dried oregano; ¼ tsp cinnamon or nutmeg (optional); 1 can (28 oz) San Marzano tomatoes, blended or crushed; 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves chopped finely; 4 thyme sprigs, leaves minced finely; Kosher salt and pepper to taste; 1 serving tagliatelle pasta, cooked (reserve 3 tbsp pasta water); Finely minced fresh parsley, for garnish; Vegan parmesan, for garnish

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Introducing this phenomenal vegan ragu recipe! You’ll ditch store-bought pasta sauces after you make this.

And yes, like most ragu recipes, it is a more time-intensive recipe, but don’t let that deter you. Because while the sauce cooks for 3 hours, you only need to be in the kitchen for a total of 30 minutes!

This easy vegan ragu is bold, flavorful, and spiced with all the Italian herbs. Plus, unlike most vegan ragu recipes, this version is packed with protein thanks to the tempeh.

Pair it with tagliatelle pasta or use this sauce as a base for a lasagna. This vegan ragu sauce recipe is super versatile and tastes good in so many different dishes.

It does make a big batch, so I like to meal-prep this to have throughout the week for a quick dinner.

Ingredients You’ll Need For This Vegan Ragu

Lightlife Original Tempeh: If you want to make this ragu soy-free, I have instructions detailed here.
Carrots
Celery
Sweet white onion: Use any onion you have on hand, but given the choice, go for sweet white onions. They add a great underlying flavor to the sauce!
Garlic
Lemon juice
Tomato paste
Bragg’s amino acids or low-sodium soy sauce
Coconut sugar: This is totally optional, but it does help the sauce have a lot of flavor (savory dishes always need a little something sweet).
Spices: Like black pepper, cumin, coriander, dried oregano, dried basil, and cinnamon or nutmeg.
San Marzano tomato: Specifically get this brand of crushed tomatoes.
Fresh rosemary or thyme
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Tagliatelle pasta: I love Seggiano slow-dried tagliatelle pasta (it’s egg-free).

Tips & Tricks

Just a few notes to make this vegan ragu bolognese perfect!

Instead of frying the sofrito, speed things up and bake it in the oven. Technically, it’s cheating but it will speed things up and get you out of the kitchen. Simply toss the sofrito mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle over the olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt and toss to mix. Bake at 450°F for 30 minutes or until crispy and the volume has drastically reduced.
Instead of using lemon juice, red wine vinegar tastes great too. I just prefer the tang that lemon juice adds. Plus, the Vitamin C in the lemon juice helps your body easily absorb the non-heme iron in the tempeh and veggies.
I recommend letting the sauce simmer for 3 hours for optimal flavor, but you can enjoy it as soon as it’s done reducing for 20 minutes. That said, if you can plan, this sauce tastes best the next day (like most dishes haha).
If you want to meal-prep this sauce, simply store it in a glass tupperware in the fridge for up to one week. This vegan ragu tastes even better the more it sits, so it works perfectly for meal prep.

How to Make This Ragu Soy-Free

There are a couple of options. The tempeh is essentially just replacing the ground beef that is traditionally in a ragu.

I’m leaving two soy-free options below to replace the tempeh!

Vegan mushroom ragu: Finely minced any type of mushroom, works best. You’ll need a total of 2 cups. Once prepared, follow the recipe as stated, just instead of the tempeh, use the mushrooms.
Vegan lentil and walnut ragu: Another great option is to to 1 cup of cooked lentils and 1 cup of finely chopped walnuts. Instead of frying this with the sofrito mixture (aka the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic) add it into the pot when you deglaze with the lemon juice and cook the tomato paste. That way the lentils and walnuts will get a nice toasty flavor, but won’t burn.

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