• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Veg Space

easy vegan recipes

  • About
    • About
    • Press & Media
    • Work With Me
  • All Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Main Courses
    • Baking Recipes
    • Soups & Stews
    • 20 Minute Meals
    • Lunch Ideas
    • Starters & Sides
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Canapés & Nibbles
  • 4 Week Vegan Meal Plan
  • My Book: Vegan in 15
    • My Book: Vegan in 15
    • Vegan Store Cupboard
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Vegan Baking
  • 4 Week Vegan Meal Plan
  • My Book: Vegan in 15
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Vegan Recipes » Vegan Main Courses » 20 Minute Meals » Red Wine Bolognese with borlotti beans

    Red Wine Bolognese with borlotti beans

    Published: Sep 18, 2015 · Modified: May 4, 2022 by Kate Ford · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Red Wine Bolognese
    JUMP TO RECIPE JUMP TO VIDEO

    This rich and boozy red wine bolognese is so quick and easy to make, and packed with flavour. On the table in 20 minutes - a delicious midweek supper!

    🍴Why you will love this recipe

    There aren't many dinners that aren't significantly improved by a good slug of wine, and this boozy borlotti bean and olive bolognese is no exception!

    So straightforward to make, and ready in just twenty minutes, this vegan red wine bolognese can be either a easy weeknight dinner or a stunning main course for guests.

    A classic base of onion, garlic, carrot and celery is simmered with red wine, olives, borlotti beans and passata. The sauce cooks in the time it takes your pasta to cook - this couldn't be any easier!

    It is also perfect to batch-cook and freeze, so why not make up a double or triple quantity at the same time for very little extra effort, and stock your freezer with individual portions ready for supper emergencies?

    Jump to:
    • 🍴Why you will love this recipe
    • 📝 What you need
    • 👩🏽‍🍳 How to make your Red Wine Bolognese
    • 🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
    • 🍽 If you liked that...
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments and Reviews
    Red Wine Bolognese Ingredients

    📝 What you need

    Borlotti beans These are deliciously 'meaty' and add a protein boost to this bolognese. They are fairly easy to find in tins at most supermarkets, but if you don't have any to hand try using cannellini beans, kidney beans or even tinned lentils instead.

    Red wine should be good enough to drink but not your most expensive bottle! A medium-bodied red will go well with these flavours – not too heavy but reasonably acidic. something like a Cabernet Sauvignon would be excellent. Do check labels to make sure it is vegan, or consult the brilliant Barnivore app.

    Olives gives a rich, savoury flavour to the red wine bolognese. Black or kalamata olives are ideal - I use olives from a jar for cooking rather than the more expensive olives in oil from the chiller cabinet.

    Linguine is a perfect pairing for this rich sauce - dried pasta is almost always vegan but always check the label in case of egg powder.

    Equipment

    You don't need anything fancy to make this bolognese - just a large frying pan and a saucepan to cook the pasta.

    However, if you want to make it very speedy indeed, you can use a mini-chopper to very quickly chop the onion, celery and carrot. I use my mini chopper almost every day, for smoothies, sauces, soups and all sorts of quick chopping jobs in the kitchen. Mine is a Braun Multiquick priced at just under £50 which is great value for money if you use it as much as I do, but you can get even cheaper ones too that will do a similar job.

    👩🏽‍🍳 How to make your Red Wine Bolognese

    For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.

    chop vegetables

    Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery, and peel and crush the garlic. Cook gently in olive oil until starting to soften.

    chop olives

    Add the red wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, roughly chop the olives.

    simmer in red wine

    Add the drained and rinsed borlotti beans, olives and passata to the pan. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until thick and glossy, and cook your pasta as the sauce bubbles.

    🔪 Top Tips & FAQs

    Adjust the consistency of your sauce to your taste. If it looks a little dry add a splash of water, (I use the water from the saucepan of pasta). If it is still a little too liquidy keep simmering for another minute or two until further reduced.

    Use a mini-chopper to finely chop the vegetables to make this even speedier! I recommend chopping each of the onion, carrot and celery separately for best results. Peel them and cut into chunks, then put them in the mini-chopper and pulse just a few times until they are finely chopped. Don't over-blitz or they will turn to a purée and you will lose the lovely texture of the sauce.

    vegan red wine bolognese sauce
    Can I freeze the red wine bolognese?

    Yes, the bolognese sauce freezes really well so you can make up a big batch and freeze individual portions. The pasta doesn't freeze so well so I would recommend just freezing the sauce on its own.

    What can I serve with the bolognese?

    This makes a full meal in itself, but if you're in the mood for a real feast you can serve this with vegan garlic bread, a crisp green salad or stea

    What can I use instead of wine in bolognese?

    To make an alcohol-free version of this dish you could substitute in vegetable stock or more passata for the same quantity as the wine.

    How can I make this meal lower in carbohydrates?

    Instead of pasta you could serve the bolognese sauce with cauliflower mash or carrot and swede mash, or just with a large side salad or vegetables.

    🍽 If you liked that...

    .... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:

    • lentil ragu
      Rich Lentil Ragù with red wine
    • Vegan Cauliflower Cheese
      Vegan Cauliflower Cheese
    • Homemade Arrabbiata Sauce
      Roasted Tomato Arrabbiata Sauce
    • 3 Bean Chilli
      Smoky 3 Bean Chilli

    Loved this recipe? ⭐️ Leave a star rating below! 📸 Snap a photo of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram, tagging me @thevegspace or #thevegspace 📩 And get all my latest recipes in a weekly e-mail by subscribing to my newsletter.

    📖 Recipe

    red wine bolognese

    Red Wine Bolognese with borlotti beans

    Kate Ford | The Veg Space
    This rich and boozy red wine bolognese is so quick and easy to make, and packed with flavour. On the table in 20 minutes - a delicious midweek supper!
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Bookmark Saved!
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 20 minutes mins
    Course Main
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 2 people
    Calories 802 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 onion
    • 1 carrot
    • 2 sticks celery
    • 2 cloves garlic (or 1-2 teaspoon ready-chopped garlic)
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 12 black olives
    • 180 ml red wine
    • 300 ml passata
    • 400 g tinned borlotti beans
    • 160 g linguine

    Instructions
     

    • Peel and finely chop the onion, carrot and celery. Peel and crush the garlic cloves.
    • Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until starting to soften.
    • Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Cook the linguine for 9-10 minutes.
    • Add the red wine to the vegetables and let it bubble for a minute or two.
    • Roughly chop the olives, then add to the sauce followed by the passata.
    • Drain and rinse the borlotti beans and add to the sauce.
    • Simmer until the pasta is ready. Season well with salt and black pepper, (taste and adjust as necessary), and stir from time to time to check it isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan.
    • Divide the pasta between two plates, top with the sauce, and serve.

    Video

    Notes

    Adjust the consistency of your sauce to your taste. If it looks a little dry add a splash of water, (I use the water from the saucepan of pasta). If it is still a little too liquidy keep simmering for another minute or two until further reduced.
    Use a mini-chopper to finely chop the vegetables to make this even speedier! I recommend chopping each of the onion, carrot and celery separately for best results. Peel them and cut into chunks, then put them in the mini-chopper and pulse just a few times until they are finely chopped. Don't over-blitz or they will turn to a purée and you will lose the lovely texture of the sauce.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1portion incl. pastaCalories: 802kcalCarbohydrates: 117gProtein: 26gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gSodium: 1144mgPotassium: 1775mgFiber: 21gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 6137IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 176mgIron: 8mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was! Mention @thevegspace or #thevegspace
    If you enjoy my recipes please BuyMeACoffee.com!
    Vegan meal plan and shopping lists

    Free 4-Week Vegan Meal Plan

    Have you got your hands on a copy of my meal plan yet? If not CLICK here to download a copy of my FREE 4 Week Vegan Meal Plan today!

    Veg Space E-Newsletter

    Don't want to miss a thing?

    Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

    Or why not subscribe to my blog and get delicious vegan recipes straight to your inbox every week?

    Vegan in 15 by Kate Ford

    For more quick and easy vegan recipes take a look at my latest book Vegan in 15.

    "Brilliant! Chock full of easy recipes and great tips and advice"  Hello! Magazine

    Please note that all recipes and images on The Veg Space are copyright protected. If you would like to share the recipe, please use the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or copy and paste the recipe, (even if credited to The Veg Space). Many thanks for your understanding

    « Thai Green Curry Noodles
    Broccoli Sauce with walnuts and lemon »

    About Kate Ford

    Hi! I'm Kate, vegan home cook and blogger behind The Veg Space and author of Vegan in 15. I'm passionate about creating easy vegan recipes that even a first-time cook can follow.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Elaine says

      January 14, 2022 at 4:44 pm

      This linguine is one recipe that I haven't tried yet. Super excited to try something new!

      Reply
    2. Maria San Juan says

      January 14, 2022 at 3:39 pm

      New recipe added on my pasta adventures!

      Reply
    3. Gloria says

      January 14, 2022 at 3:15 pm

      Any pasta dish sounds delicious to me. Love the combination of flavours in this meat-free sauce. I will give this a try on the weekend.

      Reply
    4. Beth Sachs says

      January 14, 2022 at 2:48 pm

      This looks like a delicious and hearty vegetarian bolognese recipe!

      Reply
    5. Kristen says

      January 14, 2022 at 2:31 pm

      This turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    6. Sue says

      May 22, 2021 at 9:06 pm

      Made this with cannelini beans, really tasty and the wine turned the beans a rather attractive pale pink

      Reply
      • Kate Ford says

        May 24, 2021 at 7:53 pm

        Lovley idea and I like the sound of pink beans, yum!

        Reply
    7. janet @ the taste space says

      September 22, 2015 at 4:15 pm

      Love the sound of your bean-filled bolonese with a host of other flavours. Pretty photos, too.

      Reply
    8. Sylvia @ Happiness is homemade says

      September 18, 2015 at 4:38 pm

      I love spaghetti with loads of bolognese! Yours look really scrumptious and I must admit I find it hard to shoot spaghetti 🙂 my last attempt was a miserable fail 🙂

      Reply
    9. Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says

      September 18, 2015 at 3:58 pm

      That looks lovely Kate, and the pinto bolognese looks amazingly rich and packed with flavour. Pinned for later!

      Reply
    5 from 9 votes (3 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi! I'm Kate. I'm on a mission to prove that vegan food can be every bit as delicious and decadent as its non-vegan equivalent! Read more →

    > FOLLOW

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest

    Subscribe now to never miss a new recipe & receive a free copy of my vegan meal plan!

    > POPULAR RECIPES

    • Vegan Toad in the Hole
      Vegan Toad in the Hole
    • 3 Bean Chilli
      Smoky 3 Bean Chilli
    • Butter Bean Mash
      Butter Bean Mash
    • Vegan Cheese Sauce
      Vegan Cheese Sauce

    > AS SEEN IN....

    > SEASONAL RECIPES

    • Curried Parsnip Soup
      Curried Parsnip Soup
    • chickpea and lentil curry
      Creamy Chickpea and Lentil Curry
    • Vegan Moussaka
      Vegan Moussaka
    • Celeriac Steak
      Celeriac Steak

    Footer

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • About Me
    • Work with me

    ↑ back to top

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    COPYRIGHT © 2021 KATE FORD @ THE VEG SPACE | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    414 shares

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.