3 vegan recipes alternatives to meat sauce

Who said that ragù has to be made of meat? With some tricks it is possible to bring delicious dishes with vegan ragù to the table!

When we hear about ragù we immediately think of the one prepared with meat, cooked for a long time and used to prepare lasagne and season tagliatelle . In reality, however, vegan ragù is an excellent alternative for those who follow a vegan/vegetarian diet or simply decide to reduce the amount of meat in their diet. In fact, vegetable recipes are no less tasty than traditional ones and snubbing them would be a colossal mistake. Today let's see together three delicious alternatives to meat sauce.

Vegetable Ragu

Many probably prepare this recipe without realizing that it is in effect a vegan dish. Using seasonal vegetables it is possible to obtain a perfect seasoning for pasta or the starting base for lasagna. Vegetable ragù can be prepared in winter with pumpkin, mushrooms, broccoli, radicchio and much more; in summer, however, courgettes, aubergines and peppers will be the protagonists.

1. All you have to do is cut the vegetables into small pieces and cook them in a pan with oil and garlic .
2. If you like, you can add tomato paste or sauce, adding salt and pepper after cooking.

Lentil ragout

Lentils, both dried and canned, are available all year round and are perfect for filling up on protein and iron .

1. To obtain an excellent lentil ragù, chop the carrot and fry it with oil and garlic, then add the lentils.
2. Cook until tender, adding water or broth. In the case of dried lentils it will take about 60 minutes, in the case of pre-cooked ones a quarter of an hour will be enough.
3. Once cooked, season with salt.

Seitan ragout

If cooked well, seitan will give life to a vegan recipe whose flavor will be appreciated without hesitation even by omnivores . Prepare the seitan ragù following your traditional recipe but replacing the minced meat with seitan quickly chopped in the mixer.

1. Prepare a sauté of celery, carrot and onion, add the chopped seitan and blend with the white wine.
2. Add the peeled tomatoes and a drop of water and cook for an hour until it has reduced. Once cooked, season with salt and nutmeg.

storage

All three ragù can be stored for a maximum of 3 days in the refrigerator, inside a food container with a lid. You can also freeze it, once cooked, in the freezer.