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.
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
Additions:
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
Substitutions:
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.