This Easy Quorn Bolognese is ready in under an hour and is packed with flavour, making this perfect for a tasty weeknight dinner. My recipe elevates Quorn mince to a delicious dinner that's full of flavour, the whole family will love this.
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Having a bag of frozen Quorn mince in the freezer has been an absolute saviour on busy nights. It's easy to turn a pack of Quorn mince into a tasty Chilli or Quorn spaghetti bolognese.
When it comes to meat-free meals vegetarian spaghetti bolognese is right up there. It's a classic weeknight dinner that everyone loves. This vegetarian bolognese recipe is full of flavour and very adaptable. You can easily add more veggies to this if you like.
🛒 What You'll Need
- Quorn Mince - also known as Quorn meatless grounds or Quorn crumbles this vegetarian mince can be found in the freezer section of the grocery store.
- Canned Tomatoes - I add two cans of chopped (diced) tomatoes to this recipe. Look for good quality canned tomatoes if you can, it will make all the difference to your bolognese sauce.
- Vegetables - you'll need carrots, onion, and celery, they will make the base of your sauce. I use a brown onion for this but you could get away with a red onion if that's what you have. I also add garlic, mushrooms and red or yellow pepper.
- Herbs - you'll need dried oregano, dried parsley and a pinch of fennel seeds. The fennel seeds are optional but are recommended. They add an extra layer of flavour to the sauce. I also add a couple of dried bay leaves to the sauce when it is simmering and a couple of fresh basil leaves to the finished dish when serving.
- Other Ingredients - you will also need tomato puree, vegetable stock, balsamic vinegar, vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, (I use Henderson's relish for this) olive oil, salt and black pepper.
🔪 How To Make Quorn Bolognese
1. Start by cooking the chopped onion, carrot and celery. Once softened add the minced garlic cloves and herbs. Cook for a minute until you can smell the herbs and the garlic.
2. Next, add the chopped bell pepper and the mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes.
3. Then add the cans of chopped (diced) tomatoes. I also add a little water to the cans to catch any tomatoes and add that to the pan. Stir in a tablespoon tomato puree and balsamic vinegar to the tomato sauce before adding the vegetable stock.
4. Finally, add the Quorn mince. Stir it into the sauce and use a wooden spoon to break up any large lumps. Add the bay leaves and simmer for about 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Serve with fresh spaghetti or pasta shapes and some grated cheese.
👩🍳 Top Tips
- Don't skip on the cooking time when it comes to the base. For best results cook the chopped onion, carrot and celery for a good 20 minutes. The longer you cook these the better your sauce will be. The onion and carrot will soften and sweeten adding the very best flavour to the sauce.
- Simmering the sauce will enhance the flavour of your bolognese so let it simmer for as long as you can with a minimum of 20 minutes!
- Even though you can add the Quorn mince towards the end of cooking the sauce, I like to add it before the sauce starts to simmer. This adds more flavour to the mince and gives you a better-tasting bolognese overall.
- Short on time? Use a food processor to chop the onion, carrots and celery. You can add them all to the food processor at the same time then add them to the pan to cook.
📖 Variations
- Add more vegetables - this recipe is great for adding in some extra veggies. Courgette (zucchini) works really well as does aubergine (eggplant). You can also add more peppers or try adding some wild mushrooms.
- Spice it up - I live experimenting with our spag bol, I sometimes add in a pinch of chilli to spice this up a bit. You don't have to go crazy just a little bit of heat goes a long way here.
- Up the flavour - If I have some red wine leftover I will add it to this. I also add a spoon or two of pesto if I have some. Both green or red pesto work really well in this and add something extra to the sauce.
- Heading off for the day? Why not make this in the slow cooker! Just add everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 - 5 hours.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
We love this with spaghetti or tagliatelle. It's also great with penne pasta or rigatoni. I like to serve this with my ciabatta garlic bread and plenty of grated vegetarian parmesan cheese. If we ever have any leftovers then I serve them with a baked potato for a very tasty lunch!
❓FAQs
No, you do not need to fry the mince first. Quorn mince can be added frozen to the bolognese sauce.
Yes, it can be slow-cooked. I have made this in a slow cooker plenty of times and it worked fine. If you are worried you can just add the frozen mince to the slow cooker at the end of cooking.
Yes, you can. Any leftovers should be transferred to an airtight container once cooled and then stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. I reheat this in the microwave until piping hot.
🍝 More Tasty Pasta Recipes
We love our pasta, and I have quite a few pasta recipes on the blog. One of our all-time favourites is my Mushroom Pasta Pesto, this is ready in 30 minutes and is so fresh and tasty. Another family favourite is my Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Pasta, this is perfect for a tasty weeknight dinner. And if you're not a fan of Quorn make sure and try my lentil Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese, this is a very popular recipe and one of my personal favourites.
Quorn Bolognese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium brown onion finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots peeled and finely chopped
- 1 stalk of celery finely chopped
- 3 large cloves of garlic finely minced or put through a garlic press
- 1½ tbsps dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds optional
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 250 g / 1½ cups of mushrooms Sliced. I use brown chestnut (cremini) mushrooms
- 2 x 400 g / 2 x 14.5 oz cans of chopped (diced) tomatoes
- 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Henderson's Relish or vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
- 300 ml 1 ¼ cups vegetable stock made using one vegetable stock cube and boiling water
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 x 300 g 1 x medium bag of Quorn mince
- ½ teaspoon ground sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan.Add the chopped onion, carrots and celery along with a small pinch of salt and cook for 15 to 20 minutes over low to medium heat.
- Once the onion has softened add the garlic, 1½ tablespoons of dried oregano, ½ a teaspoon of dried parsley and a pinch of fennel seeds if using. Stir well and cook for just a minute until you can smell the garlic and herbs.
- Next, add the chopped pepper and the sliced mushrooms cook for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms have softened slightly.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes, add a little water to the cans and swirl to catch any tomatoes stuck in the cans add that to the pan as well and stir well.Then stir in the tomato puree, balsamic vinegar and vegetarian Worcestershire sauce. Pour in the stock add the bay leaves. Add the Quorn mince to the sauce, use a wooden spoon to break up any large lumps and stir well. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes stirring occasionally. As soon as the sauce has reduced and thickened it is ready to serve. Check the seasoning before serving.Serve with pasta and plenty of grated vegetarian parmesan.
Notes
- Make ahead - this can be made up to 2 days in advance, keep it covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
- Storage - Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and should be used within 3 days. You can freeze this but it is best made fresh.
- Nutritional Information - all nutritional information shared is an estimate based on third-party calculations. If calorie count and/or nutritional values are important to you, we recommend putting the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on which brands were used. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household. The nutritional information for. this recipe does not include pasta or cheese.
- Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible for the best results.
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