Happy New Year! I hope 2026 has started well for you and if you vowed to eat more plants you came to the right place – my today’s recipe for tempeh bolognese should start you off on this life affirming journey. This tempeh bolognese is packed with plants and it’s easy to make too. It is deeply savoury and satiating thanks to protein-rich tempeh, which stands in for traditionally used mince meat.
I am currently in the middle of a 3 month long DIY marathon and so I have little time for cooking these days as my days are spent plastering, sanding, priming…you get the gist so when I do cook, I tend to make a lot at once so that we can live on it for a few days without meal prep taking me away from my wall fixing duties.
This is where this tempeh bolognese comes in. I use a food processor to quickly mince my mushrooms and my tempeh to speed things up. Once the onion, garlic and mushrooms are sauteed, I plonk all other ingredients in a pan and allow them to simmer until the sauce thickens. Like most dishes of this kind, this tempeh bolognese tastes best the day after so I overnight it in the fridge for the flavours to mature and get acquainted with each other.
And if you are new to this whole plant-based eating way of life and distrust tempeh on some level, don’t worry. Tempeh is an ancient food that originated in Indonesia. It’s a fermented product so it’s naturally rich in gut-friendly probiotics and prebiotics. It’s also very rich in protein, it contains more than double the amount of protein of its close cousin – tofu (18 g per 100 g Vs 8 g per 100 g), which makes it an ideal food for all these stages of life when your protein needs are greater (perimenopause, aging, weight lifting). I am a big fan and I hope this tempeh bolognese will make you join the fan club too 🙂
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
AROMATICS: Onion and garlic form the base of the sauce. The key is to dice them up finely and sautee on low heat, in a bit of olive oil. You could use shallots instead of an onion if that’s what you have.
TEMPEH: Tempeh is a product of fermented soy beans. It comes in a firm block, which does not need any extra processing although some people like to slice it and steam it for 15 minutes or so to remove its natural bitterness. I used smoked tempeh from Tiba, but plain tempeh will work just as well.
MUSHROOMS: Mushrooms boast a naturally meaty texture and they have a fantastic savouriness and depth of flavour, which makes them excellent in vegetarian dishes that would traditionally feature meat. I used two types of mushrooms here – fresh chestnut mushrooms (which I believe are called cremini in the US) and dried porcini mushrooms. I fried chopped chestnut mushrooms to add flavour and bulk to the sauce, you could replace these with common white mushrooms. As for porcini, I soaked them in boiling water first to create a beautiful stock (you can use a mushroom stock cube instead), then I chopped them up finely to add to the sauce.
WINE: It’s customary to add a glug of wine to a simmering bolognese sauce and I often add some to my plant based bolognese sauces too. Go for red or white, either one works, but if you are not keen, simply skip the wine altogether and perhaps season the sauce with a spoonful of quality balsamic instead.
SMOKED PAPRIKA: I used a bit of smoked paprika and a small amount of ground nutmeg to amp up the flavour of this dish. Both are easily accessible cupboard staples and so you should have no trouble finding either of them.
DRIED HERBS: A couple of teaspoons of dried Italian herbs is all your need to give this tempeh Bolognese a bit of herbaceousness, failing that use a combination of oregano, marjoram, basil, thyme, rosemary and sage.
TOMATO PASSATA: I used a 400 g / 14 oz bottle of tomato passata to make the sauce for this tempeh bolognese. Tomato passata does not need as much time in the pan as canned tomatoes so that’s why I would recommend it here. If you don’t have passata, you can use whole canned tomatoes but you may want to blitz them first to make sure there are no chunks of tomatoes in the finished sauce.
SOY SAUCE: To season this tempeh bolognese and to add more satisfying umami, I used a splash of all purpose soy sauce. If making this sauce gluten-free, substitute soy sauce with tamari which is brewed without wheat.
HOW TO MAKE IT?
1) PULSE MUSHROOMS & TEMPEH IN A FOOD PROCESOR
First, prepare dry mushroom stock (if using) and set aside to infuse – the longer the better but at least 30 minutes. If not using dried mushrooms, dissolve a mushroom stock cube in boiling water instead.
Use your food processor to quickly prep your mushrooms and your tempeh. Process them separately, but there is no need to wash the food processor between these two steps. Slice both these ingredients roughly, pop into the food processor and mince well using the pulse function. Take care, especially when it comes to mushrooms, to not overprocess. See the photos above and below for the texture / chop you are looking for.
2) SAUTEE AROMATICS AND MUSHROOMS
In a large frying pan, sauté finely diced onion and garlic. Once soft and translucent, add minced mushrooms and sauté until dark brown and all the liquid they release has disappeared. I actually start on the onion first, then I mince my mushrooms and tempeh while keeping an eye on the onion to save time.
3) FLASH FRY TEMPEH (OPTIONAL)
This is an optional step, but I recommend it as I find that it results in a better texture of the sauce. Pre-heat a wok or a non-stick pan, add a bit of oil and once it comes to temperature flash-fry your tempeh until browned.
4) COMBINE & SIMMER
Add pan-fried tempeh, passata, wine (if using), smoked paprika, dried herbs, mushroom stock and oregano and soy sauce. Simmer on low heat until thickened, stirring from time to time (see photo below for the texture you want). Season with a bit of sugar, more salt if needed and some balsamic vinegar if you did not use any wine.
5) STIR THROUGH PASTA
Reserve some pasta cooking water just before you drain your pasta. Stir cooked pasta through warmed up sauce – add a splash of starchy pasta water if the dish is too dry.
- 15 g / 0.5 oz dried porcini mushrooms OR use a mushroom stock cube
- 2-4 tbsp / 30-60 ml olive oil*
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 3 large garlic cloves, finely diced
- 350 g / 12 oz mushrooms, I used chestnut/cremini
- 220 g / 8 oz tempeh, I used smoked tempeh
- 400 g / 14 oz tomato passata
- 180 ml / ¾ cup red wine* (optional)
- 1 tsp (more if using plain tempeh) smoked paprika
- 15 ml / 1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari if GF)
- 2 tsp Italian dried herbs
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 10 ml / 2 tsp quality balsamic
- 5 ml / 1 tsp brown sugar or date syrup (optional)
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
REMAINING INGREDIENTS
- 500 g / 17.6 oz favourite pasta, cooked al dente
- chopped parsley, (optional)
- vegan parmesan (optional), I use homemade nut-free parm
- Steep dried porcini mushrooms in 2 cups (500 ml) of boiling water. Set to infuse for at least 30 mins, the longer the better (overnight ideally). If not using porcini, dissolve a mushroom stock cube in boiling water instead.
- Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan, add diced onion and sauté on a low heat until translucent. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant and softened. Stir every now and then while working on step 3 and 4.
- Chop mushrooms roughly then use your food processor’s ‘pulse’ function to mince them finely, but be sure not to overprocess. Keep food processor for tempeh.
- Transfer mushrooms to a bowl. Slice your tempeh and add to the food processor. Pulse until well crumbled.
- Add chopped mushrooms to the pan with onion and garlic mixture. Season with ¼ tsp salt and sauté until the mushrooms turn dark brown and all of the water they release has evaporated.
- OPTIONAL STEP: fry tempeh in a bit of oil for a more indulgent texture. To do that, pre-heat 1-2 tbsp of oil in a wok or a non-stick pan and fry crumbled tempeh until browned.
- If you used dried mushrooms, fish them out of the stock, rinse well under a tap (to remove any grit) and chop very finely. Add to the pan with onion-garlic-mushroom mixture.
- Add tomato passata, tempeh, wine (if using) and mushroom stock into the pan with onion and garlic. Season with smoked paprika, dried herbs, pepper and 1 tbsp of soy sauce.
- Stir everything together and simmer until the passata is cooked and the sauce is super thick (about 30-40 minutes). Stir regularly especially towards the end.
- Season with a bit of sugar and salt if you feel it’s needed. If not using wine, your sauce may benefit from some acidity – a teaspoon or two of quality balsamic vinegar is perfect. I also like to add 1/8 tsp of ground nutmeg at this point.
- Overnight in the fridge if possible for the flavours to develop or stir it through cooked pasta and serve – use some pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce if needed or use a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if you want a more luxurious texture.
*WINE: If you are not keen on using wine simply, add more stock or water and a teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar at the very end to add a touch of acidity.
FREEZING: This tempeh bolognese sauce freezes well. To freeze, cool it down completely and transfer to a freezer-safe air-tight container. Defrost by leaving at ambient temperature until soft.