This spicy spaghetti bolognese really packs a punch with smoked paprika and chilli. Ready in 20 minutes - perfect vegan comfort food!
🍴Why you will love this recipe
A rich and spicy spaghetti bolognese makes the perfect midweek meal, and this vegan version with plant mince and chilli is totally delicious.
On the table in 20 minutes, this sauce tastes like it has been simmering for hours thanks to the rich flavours and spices. You can choose how spicy your bolognese sauce is by varying the chilli powder from half a teaspoon to two teaspoons if you're brave!
The sauce freezes well so is perfect for batch-cooking.
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📝 What you need
Vegan mince There is a great variety of plant-based mince alternatives available these days, so do experiment to find your favourite. I like Vivera pictured above. Or if you don't like to use meat alternatives, you could swap in a drained tin of lentils instead.
Chilli powder adds the spice - use as much or as little as you like.
Smoked paprika gives a lovely smoky background to the bolognese.
Stock cube I like to use the Meat-Free Beef-Flavour OXO cubes which give a lovely deep flavour and dark colour to the bolognese, but any vegetable stock cube will be fine.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your Spicy Spaghetti Bolognese
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.
Blitz the carrot, celery and garlic until finely chopped. Add the onion and pulse until just chopped.
In a large frying pan or casserole, fry the vegan mince. After 3-4 minutes add the vegetables and spices and fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato purée and stock. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer.
Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti until al dente. stir the plant milk through the bolognese and bubble, then serve the spaghetti piled with the bolognese.
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
Don't over-blitz the vegetables - they should be finely chopped, not puréed. Chopping them finely helps them to cook quickly, to ensure this really is a 20-minute meal!
Yes - as long as the plant based mince is well cooked through as per the recipe, it can be cooled then frozen. Make sure it is thoroughly reheated when eating after freezing. This spicy bolognese is perfect for batch-cooking to stock the freezer, as it is so quick and easy to make. You can freeze it with or without the spaghetti.
You can keep the bolognese in the fridge for up to 48 hours, as long as it is in an airtight container and thoroughly reheated before eating.
🍽 If you liked that...
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📖 Recipe
Spicy Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 carrot
- 1 stick celery
- 2 cloves garlic (or 1 teaspoon ready-chopped garlic)
- 1 red onion
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 220 g vegan mince (or 1 x 400g tin lentils, drained and rinsed)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ - 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 400 g chopped tomatoes
- 200 ml water
- 1 vegetable stock cube (I like the meat-free beef-flavour OXO cubes)
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 100 ml dairy-free milk unsweetened
- 160 g spaghetti or linguine
Instructions
- Peel and trim the carrot, trim the celery, and chop both into large chunks. Peel and slice the garlic. Put them into a mini-chopper or small blender, and pulse until chopped (but not too finely). If you don't have a mini-chopper, chop them finely by hand.
- Peel the onion and cut into chunks. Add to the mini-chopper and pulse again until all the vegetables are chopped.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan or casserole then tip in the vegan mince. Fry gently for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chopped vegetables, smoked paprika and chilli powder and fry for a further 3-4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put a large pan of salted water on to boil, and when it is bubbling add the spaghetti and boil until al-dente.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, water, stock cube and tomato purée to the mince, and season well with salt and black pepper. Stir and bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer.
- When the spaghetti is cooked and the sauce is fairly thick, stir the dairy-free milk through the bolognese sauce. Bring back to the boil and simmer for a further minute. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Serve the spaghetti piled with the bolognese sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Jen says
So flavorful. My kids didn't even miss the meat. Thanks!
Beth Sachs says
I love the smokiness the smoked paprika gives to the bolognese. Delicious!
Rachna says
This vegan Spaghetti bolognese looks absolutely delicious. I love your precise instructions. I think I will use soya granules here. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Katherine says
Mmm this vegan bolognese looks perfect! I love the kick of chili powder.
Gina says
Love so much how you took one of my favorites and made it a delicious vegan meal! Not only was this quick and easy to make but it was so tasty. We really enjoyed it!
Kate Ford says
That's great! Thanks Gina x