A meaty vegan pasta sauce made with vegan "beef" crumbles or lentils, tofu, or TVP to make a vegan meat sauce. Use it over pasta or to make a meaty vegan lasagna or baked ziti.
Start by cooking your pasta of choice according to package directions.
While the pasta is cooking, chop up veggies of choice into very small pieces. (A food processor works great for this. Just wash the veggies and toss them in. Pulse a few times until everything is finely chopped).
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of a large skillet and saute diced onions for about 3-5 minutes until they become translucent.
Add the chopped veggies, sprinkle with salt, and saute over medium-low heat for about 5 more minutes until they are soft.
Put in the package of "beef crumbles or your choice of vegan “meat” and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Pour in a jar full of vegan pasta sauce and simmer on low until it's heated through.
Season with salt and pepper and some chopped parsley or fresh basil. Add a dash of red pepper flakes for a little heat if desired.
Serve over pasta or in your favorite Italian dishes.
Notes
You can use about 3-4 cups of any finely chopped veggies that you like in the sauce. It doesn't have to be exact.
Chop the veggies up very small to hide them in the sauce for your picky eaters. You can cook the veggies a little longer to make them softer and less detectable too.
If you choose tofu, lentils, or TVP instead of "beef" crumbles...
Vegan Ground Beef - you can use my homemade vegan ground beef recipe made with TVP, mushrooms, and seasoning to create an authentic tasting beef substitute.
Tofu - You can simply take a block of extra firm tofu, press it to get out as much liquid as possible, and then crumble it into a bowl. Drizzle 2 TBS of soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos over the tofu and then use as you would the vegan crumbles.
Lentils - Bring a pot of water to a boil, add 1 1/2 cups of green lentils and boil for 18 minutes. Drain, rinse and put into a large bowl. Pour 2 tbsp of soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos over the lentils and toss until coated. Then use as you would the vegan crumbles. (This method makes it less processed and soy-free)!
TVP - Bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil, add 3 tbsp. of soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos to the water and 1 1/2 cup of TVP. Stir and let the TVP soak up the liquid for about 5 minutes, then use as you would the vegan crumbles.