Spaghetti

Spaghetti is an easy “go to” dish even if not vegan.  Everyone loves spaghetti.  The vegan difference is not use meat, but also I like to health it up a little by using some veggies.  You could always make your own marinara, but this is the dish I go to when I don’t have much time to cook, so I use jarred marinara.  Total cooking time is about 15 minutes

  • Spaghetti pasta (one box)
  • Pasta Marinara (you can make your own… I sometimes do.. but I like using Paul Newman’s Own Basil Marinara or Barilla’s Tomato and Basil)
  • Mushrooms (1 package), sliced or diced or even minced. (Optional)  And/Or an optional meat substitute (see below)  This adds more depth to the dish.
  • One onion (any kind).  Diced.
  • One green bell pepper.  Diced
  • Nutritional Yeast
  • Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning, garlic powder

Almost silly to give directions… but boil pasta in salted water. Do not use olive oil.  When cooked (al dente…not mushy!)… drain water off and set aside in colander.

In same pot. heat up small amount of olive oil.  Cook onions and diced bell pepper until soft.  Toss in mushrooms and cook down.  If you are using TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) or some meat burger substitute such as Gardeini’s crumbles… add them now. I normally use about 1/2 cup of TVP and let it cook and absorb the flavors. If you are using a vegan italian sausage, I recommend grilling it on a pan separately to give it a nice sear and then adding the sausage at the end before serving.   Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add 1/2 tsp of Italion Seasoning. Add 1/2tsp garlic powder.

When the veggies are mostly cooked, add 1/4-1/2 cup of Nutritional Yeast.  Stir and cook for a couple minutes.  Add in marinara sauce, stir.  Cook for a couple more minutes.

Now you can serve the noodles on a plate and dish the sauce over (traditional) or mix the noodles into the sauce and then serve.

Optional: Use vegan parmesan over the top.  Add red pepper flakes.

For another variation on the same dish… so everything the same, but skip the marinara and at the end, toss the noodles with a dash of olive oil and add to the seasoned veggie mix.