Comforting and delicious, this mushroom marinara sauce with spaghetti is perfect for pasta night with the whole family. You'll love the homemade marinara sauce with sliced mushrooms because it's hearty, filling and slurp-worthy.
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This is one of my all-time favorite dinners! I am a pasta girl, after all.
Take it over the top with a sprinkle of my vegan grated parmesan cheese substitute (it only takes 5 minutes to make!)
🧄 Ingredient notes
- Sweet yellow onion - I love me some sweet onions. Who's with me? They don't make me tear up as much when I'm cutting them and they're, well, sweeter! Use them if you have them, otherwise go with yellow or purple onions.
- Mushrooms - Look for white button mushrooms or brown baby portobello mushrooms that are dry inside the package without blemishes. Brush off any dirt with a small mushroom brush or a paper towel. Don't wash them in water if you can help it.
- Brown sugar - Tames acidity from the tomatoes
- Spaghetti pasta - Look for light blonde colored spaghetti (not orange) that says bronze-cut for the best pasta texture and taste.
📋 Substitutions and variations
If you don't have everything on the ingredient list, here are some substitution ideas:
- Sweet yellow onion - sub with yellow onion or purple onion
- Mushrooms - use white button, baby portobello or large portobello mushrooms (or a combination of these)
- Canned crushed tomatoes - sub with tomato passata or store-bought pasta sauce that is either marinara or tomato basil variety. To keep it oil-free use a pasta sauce that has no olive or vegetable oil in it.
- Basil - use dried, frozen or fresh basil. Or, sub with extra oregano or italian seasoning.
- Brown sugar - sub with coconut sugar, raw sugar or omit.
- Spaghetti - sub with any pasta you like. Long options: linguini, bucatini, angel hair, thin spaghetti, chitarra. Short options: casarecce pasta, gemelli, gigli, campanelle, rigatoni, penne, conchiglie (shells), rotini.
Switch up this mushroom marinara with these ideas:
- Make it heartier - To make this even heartier, add a can of drained and rinsed brown lentils to the sauce (my favorite are whole masoor lentils from the Indian grocery store, they have rich flavor)
- Spaghetti and meatballs - Add plant-based meatballs (like these vegan eggplant meatballs)
- Add extra veggies - zucchini, yellow squash, sliced black olives
🍳 Equipment
- Stock pot - for making the pasta
- Dutch oven or large saucepan - for making the marinara sauce
- Cutting board
- Chef's knife or santoku knife
- Strainer or colander - to drain the pasta
👨👩👦👦 Serving suggestions
Serve this mushroom marinara pasta with a salad or vegetable side.
For salads, an easy green salad of spring mix, romaine, sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced purple onion, and cherry tomatoes would be delicious.
For a vegetable sides, serve this with 5-Minute Lemon Pepper Asparagus, sautéed zucchini and yellow squash, or steamed broccoli.
Vegan Eggplant Meatballs would be an impressive main to serve alongside this pasta.
❓ FAQ
Oh no! Okay, here's my trick for cooking pasta al dente to prevent it from being overcooked and mushy. Always look at the package of pasta to see how long they recommend to cook it. Each pasta is slightly different. If the package says to cook it for 9-11 minutes, then I set a timer for 8 minutes when I add the pasta to the boiling water. I always subtract 1 minute from the shortest time they suggest.
Then, when my timer goes off at 8 minutes, I taste a piece of pasta. If it's done, I drain it right away. If it needs a little more time, I wait 30 seconds and taste another piece. I keep doing this until it's perfect and then I drain it right away.
Add a tablespoon of brown sugar and a sprinkle of salt, stir it in and let it simmer a few minutes.
The sauce should be stored in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator. It will last up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
🗺 Cultural influences
Marinara sauce is an Italian classic.
This recipe is an Italian-inspired recipe, but by no means authentic.
💜 More recipes you'll love
If you love this spaghetti with mushroom marinara sauce recipe, check out these other vegan, plant-based pasta and noodle recipes!
Love this recipe?
Please rate it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a comment below, so I know which recipes you like the best. This helps me know what to make more of!
📖 Recipe
Mushroom Marinara Sauce with Spaghetti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 sweet yellow onion diced
- 1 carrot minced
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 8 ounces mushrooms white button or baby portobello, sliced
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes canned
- ½ teaspoon dried basil or ½ cup fresh basil, packed and leaves torn
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly cracked
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar optional
- 16 ounces spaghetti
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat.
- Sauté onions, carrot and garlic over medium heat until onions are translucent, adding a tablespoon of water (or olive oil), as needed, to prevent sticking or burning.1 sweet yellow onion, 1 carrot, 4-5 cloves garlic
- Stir in sliced mushrooms and cook over medium heat about 3-4 minutes.8 ounces mushrooms
- Add crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar (if using). Turn heat to medium low and stir every few minutes to prevent it from burning on the bottom.28 ounces crushed tomatoes, ½ teaspoon dried basil, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- Meanwhile, bring a large stock pot of well-salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Once the water is boiling, cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.16 ounces spaghetti
- Once the tomatoes are heated through, reduce heat to low and cover loosely with lid, leaving a vent for steam to escape.
- Simmer for at least 30 minutes (or up to 60 minutes, if you have the time). Stir every few minutes, to prevent it from burning on the bottom of the pan. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and sugar, as needed.
- Combine sauce and spaghetti and serve with fresh basil as garnish!
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