In this recipe we’ll be looking at how to make dairy-free bolognese sauce. This is one of our favourite dairy-free bolognese sauce recipe. Let’s face it, kids love pasta. There’s something about slurping sauce drenched noodles that makes any kid or kid-at-heart happy. Our beef bolognese made without milk is one of our go-to recipes to pair with pasta of any kind. You can use it on lasagna or any pasta bake. Another thing to note is you can use any type of ground meat for this recipe. We’ve used ground chicken, turkey, pork or even a combination of those. If you’re fully plant based, any ground meat alternatives would work great as well.
Oil-free and dairy-free pasta sauce recipe
We have a few tricks on our sleeves in making this sauce. First, we don’t use any added oils. How do we do that? By sautéing the ground meat in mushroom broth. This process allows the meat to cook and level up in flavor.
As I’ve mentioned in our previous Tofu Sisig recipe, mushrooms are filled with umami. The broth made from rehydrating your dried mushrooms is packed with that so why not make good use of it, right?
So does your pasta water if you’re not using dried mushrooms. Keep in mind that you should not pour in all the broth in one go. At most, use a fourth of a cup at a time.
Step-by-step cooking instructions
Sauté it until the flavor is absorbed and the liquid evaporates. Do this 3-4 times. It’s a labor of love my dearies and it’s worth it. This will also release the fats from your ground beef which will basically be your own flavored oil for the next steps.
On the last broth, add in the aromatics – garlic and onions. Sauté until translucent. Next add in the mushrooms and carrots. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Mix in your tomato sauce, ketchup, vegetable stock powder and bay leaves. We like to use Vegeta but any vegetable or mushroom stock powder or bouillon will do. Beef or chicken cubes can also be used. You just might have to take it easy on the salt as some can be very salty. We use bay leaf to get rid of any gamey taste and to also add another depth of flavor. Bring it to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 30 mins.
Lastly, add sugar and nutritional yeast to round up the flavor. You can adjust the taste with more salt and/or pepper.
And there you have it, an easy way on how to make dairy-free bolognese sauce. Our family loves this dairy free bolognese sauce recipe. You can double the recipe too. Make a bigger batch and freeze into portions.
Oh and one last secret tip: add half a teaspoon of cumin and/or some chillies for that spicy kick and you can use it as taco filling or chili dog topping. How’s that for a busy parent hack?
Let us know in the comments below if you have tried our recipe and how you liked it. Full detailed recipe below.
Dairy free Beef Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 kg ground beef
- 1 cup mushroom broth water from rehydrating mushrooms, sub pasta water
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion minced
- 1 medium carrot shredded
- 6 pcs dried shiitake mushrooms
- salt to taste
- black pepper, ground to taste
- 2 cups tomato sauce or pasta sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder we use Vegeta, sub mushroom broth powder
- 2 pcs bay leaf
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Instructions
- On heated stockpot or dutch oven, sauté beef in a 1/4 cup of mushroom broth until liquid has evaporated. Repeat 3-4 times.
- Add in garlic and onions and sauté until fragrant.
- Stir in carrots and mushrooms. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Add tomato sauce, ketchup, vegetable stock powder and bay leaf.Bring to a boil then simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.
- Mix in sugar and nutritional yeast. Adjust to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve with pasta of choice.
