One of the nicer Italian restaurants here in my little town serves a delicious vegan Bolognese sauce with pasta. One night, when we were planning to grill vegan burgers in the back yard and it started to rain, I decided to attempt to replicate the recipe. I think I came pretty close!

If you, or your family, still find it challenging to switch to a vegetarian (or vegan) diet, this recipe is a great way to serve a meatless meal, without having to miss “the meat”. Because you are using store bought tomato sauce*, this recipe is super quick too.

For 2 people, you will need:

• 2 Beyond Burgers® (or equivalent)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil or other vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely
• 2 large celery stalks, chopped finely
• 1 large carrot, chopped finely
• 8 oz. / 240 gr. thick Marinara sauce (or any kind of tomato sauce)
• dried oregano, salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ lb. / 225 gr. dried pasta (rigatoni or penne)

How to make it:

Cook the pasta al dente according to instructions on the box.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, and sauté on low heat for a few minutes. Add the celery, carrot and oregano, and cook till onion is translucent and all vegetables are soft. Take the vegetable mix out of the pan into a bowl and set aside. In the same pan, break up the burgers with a wooden spoon or spatula until it resembles “ground beef”. Cook on medium heat till the crumbled burgers are browned. Mix the vegetables back in and add the tomato sauce. Your Bolognese sauce should be pretty thick. Heat through and through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the cooked pasta in a bowl with a big scoop of the sauce on top. Serve a green salad on the side.

Buon Appetito!

* Please note: the flavor of this Bolognese sauce depends partly on the tomato sauce you are using. Choose a good quality that is made with olive oil and herbs, and that has no added sugars or other artificial additives. I like Anna Torino’s sauce (sold at WholeFoods).