Comforting and delicious, this hearty marinara sauce with mushrooms and veggies is perfect for pasta night. This recipe is vegan, vegetarian and slurp-worthy without using olive oil.
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This recipe goes great sprinkled with my 5-minute vegan grated parmesan cheese substitute.
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🧄 Ingredient notes
To make this vegan spaghetti with hearty marinara sauce, you'll need the following ingredients:
- sweet yellow onion (or yellow onion, purple/red onion)
- carrot
- garlic
- mushrooms (white button, baby portobello or portobello)
- crushed tomatoes
- fresh or dried basil
- dried oregano
- sea salt
- black pepper
- brown sugar (or coconut sugar, raw sugar)
- spaghetti noodles (or sub with linguini, bucatini, thin spaghetti, angel hair, casarecce pasta, gemelli, gigli, campanelle, conchiglie shells, rigatoni, penne, etc.)
Looking for the measurements? Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post for the ingredient quantities.
🍳 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
🔪 Instructions
First, you'll make the sauce by sautéing the onion, garlic and carrot until the onions are translucent. Then, add your sliced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.
Then, add in the crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar. Once tomatoes are hot and slightly bubbly, turn heat to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, while you make the pasta.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook it according to package instructions.
Once the sauce is done, drain it and combine the hearty mushroom marinara sauce with the cooked pasta!
Looking for the temps and times? Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post for all the step by step details on ingredients and instructions. There's also a print recipe button down there!
👨👩👦👦 Serving suggestions
Serve this vegan mushroom spaghetti with a salad, vegetable side, or vegan main dish.
For salads, an easy green salad of spring mix, romaine, sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced purple onion, and cherry tomatoes would be delicious. Try one of these oil-free salad dressings to go with it!
Or, if you love kale and have a little more time, make this Kale Chopped Salad with Creamy Lemon Garlic Dressing.
For non-starchy vegetable sides, serve this with 5-Minute Lemon Pepper Asparagus, sautéed zucchini and yellow squash, or steamed broccoli.
Save time by microwaving frozen broccoli florets in a steamer bag. Aldi is my favorite spot for these, they're under $1 for 12 ounces of broccoli. So fast and easy as a side dish. Season with just salt or garlic salt or everything bagel seasoning.
These air fryer green beans are also an easy recipe using just one teaspoon of oil to achieve blistered green beans. For oil-free, substitute the oil for vegetable broth or water to help the seasonings stick.
Vegan Eggplant Meatballs would be an impressive main to serve alongside this pasta.
This recipe goes great with:
❓ FAQ
This 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.
Yes, dry spaghetti you buy at the grocery store is vegan, as the ingredients are only durum wheat flour and water. Fresh pasta sometimes has egg in it, so that would not be considered vegan.
Yes, marinara sauce is almost always vegan, as it's made with tomatoes, olive oil, onion, garlic and possibly carrot and celery. Sometimes, tomato pasta sauces have cheese added them, so check the ingredients or ask your server if there is cheese in the sauce to be sure.
🔄 Variations
Switch up this spaghetti marinara with these ideas:
- Add zucchini
- Add yellow summer squash
- Add black olives (sliced)
- Add plant-based meatballs (like these vegan eggplant meatballs)
- Add cooked brown lentils (my favorite are whole masoor lentils from the Indian grocery store, they have rich flavor)
Been missing the creamy, eggy flavors of carbonara since going plant-based? Try this Vegan Carbonara recipe!
🗺 Cultural influences
Spaghetti with marinara sauce is an Italian classic. This recipe is an Italian-inspired recipe, but by no means authentic. The absence of olive oil alone for dietary reasons precludes it from being considered authentic. But, this hearty mushroom marinara sauce is still delicious! I hope you give it a try!
💜 More recipes you'll love
If you love this spaghetti with hearty marinara sauce recipe, check out these other vegan, plant-based pasta recipes!
Love this recipe? Please rate it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below in the recipe card. And, if you make it, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook in your posted photos! I would love to see your creations. 😄
📖 Recipe
Spaghetti with Hearty Mushroom Marinara Sauce
Equipment
- Stock Pot large enough to cook pasta
- Dutch oven or large saucepan (not cast iron black skillet)
- Colander or strainer
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, can substitute coconut sugar
- 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, as needed, to prevent sticking or burning.
- Stir in sliced mushrooms and cook over medium heat about 3-4 minutes.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Notes
- To make this even heartier, add a can of drained and rinsed brown lentils to the sauce.
- Extra veggies you could add: zucchini, yellow squash, sliced black olives
- sweet yellow onion: sub with yellow onion or purple onion
- mushrooms: use white button, baby portobello or large portobello mushrooms
- canned crushed tomatoes: sub with 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.
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