This Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce Recipe has been sponsored by Cultivated Foods, LLC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This easy and delicious Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce Recipe is made with simple ingredients like onions, tomatoes, and protein-packed HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® Product—found at your local Safeway store. Serve with your favorite pasta or serve it twice-baked in spaghetti squash boats for a fun, low-carb meal the whole family will enjoy.
Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Since the new year started, I thought it would be fun to intensify my workouts and actually try to build some muscle. This is actually only halfway true—yes, I’ve intensified my workouts and, yes, I am working to build more muscle, but the real reason for all of this is that I hurt my achilles tendon and can’t run like I used to. This means more strength training, more high-intensity workouts that don’t involve running, and swimming.
Long story short—I want to eat everything. All the time. But mostly, I really want protein.
So, that’s what I’ve been doing—eating protein—and it’s been fun, but I knew there had to be a yummy protein-packed, plant-based meat alternative to replace ground beef and help me (and my family) eat a little better. That’s when I found HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® Product at my local Safeway store (right where you’d find regular ground beef).
HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® Plant-Based Ground
Before I dive into this vegetarian spaghetti sauce recipe and how to make it, let’s chat a minute about this plant-based meat alternative and why I actually like it.
- First, and most important, it cooks just like regular ground beef or turkey. HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® product requires no special cooking equipment or techniques outside of that which you already use to cook meat.
- It’s better for the planet.
- It’s a blank canvas, allowing you to add all your favorite flavors and seasonings.
- HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® product has far fewer calories and saturated fat compared to other plant-based meat brands*.
- There are ZERO preservatives.
- And it is completely gluten-free.
Nutritional Information for 4 ounces (1/4 of the package) HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® product:
- Calories – 180
- Fat – 7 grams (9%)
- Saturated Fat – 1.5 grams (8%)
- Trans Fat – 0 grams
- Cholesterol – 0 grams
- Carbohydrates – 8 grams (3%)
- Dietary Fiber – 3 grams (11 %)
- Sugars – 0 grams
- Protein – 20 grams (40%)
How to Cook Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce
For the full list and amounts of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Step 1: How to cook HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® product:
- Place 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet.
- Heat oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the ground meat alternative to your skillet and break apart into pieces. Gently stir to lightly coat with the oil.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the product reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, as measured by a meat thermometer—about 10-12 minutes.
- Season as desired. For this recipe, I added salt, Italian seasoning, dried basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper to the ground meat alternative towards the end of cooking. Mix well to combine and cook for an additional 1 minute before removing from heat. Set aside.
Step 2. Make your Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to a large saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion, and cook for 5-7 minutes or until soft and translucent—stirring often. Once softened, add the minced garlic and tomato paste. Mix well to thoroughly combine. Cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water. Add the cooked ground meat alternative back to the pot. Mix well to combine, and bring to a low simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and allow the sauce to simmer for at least 20 minutes.
- Season with additional salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning as desired.
How to Serve Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce
So, you’ve made a big pot of simmering, delicious plant-based spaghetti sauce – now what? You enjoy it, of course! Just as you would another other meat-filled spaghetti sauce! Except for this time, there’s no meat! Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Pizza. Add this as the protein-packed plant-based sauce to all your favorite homemade pizza recipes.
- Stuffed bell peppers. This is one of my favorites. I can almost guarantee that your family won’t even notice the lack of ground beef or ground turkey.
- Make some cheesy stuffed shells and top with leftover spaghetti sauce.
- Meal-prep or enjoy the next night for spaghetti dinner round two!
- LASAGNA!
- Twice-baked spaghetti squash (full instructions below).
Twice-Baked Spaghetti Squash with Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce
Trust me, you’ll love this! It’s a bit more work, but they reheat really well and require only two additional ingredients:
- Spaghetti squash
- Shredded mozzarella cheese.
How to cook spaghetti squash:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scrub the squash clean, and dry thoroughly. Cut the squash in half lengthwise using a sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits and discard.
- Drizzle the squash with olive oil, and use a pastry brush (or your hands) to brush over the entire surface of the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place cut-side down on the lined baking sheet.
- Place squash in the oven, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
- When cool enough to handle, gently scrape out the squash with a fork to remove the flesh in long strands (see image below).
Twice-bake your spaghetti squash:
In this step, add as much or as little spaghetti sauce as you’d like.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Gently scrape the spaghetti squash strands from each squash half (if you haven’t already).
- Add approximately 1 – 2 cups of prepared vegetarian spaghetti sauce to each squash boat, and gently mix with the separated strands of squash. Repeat with all squash boats.
- Divide the shredded mozzarella cheese between the squash boats. Cover the baking sheet and squash with foil, creating a tent to prevent the foil from touching the cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove the foil tent, and bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
Can you Freeze Leftover Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce?
Yes.
First, allow your sauce to cool to room temperature before transferring to freezer bags or containers. You may choose to freeze your leftovers as individual servings (enough for one or two) or all together in one gallon-sized ziplock bag—this is up to you. Remove as much air as possible, and transfer to the refrigerator to cool overnight. The next morning, transfer to the freezer and store for up to three months.
To reheat, allow your sauce to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, transfer to a pot and gently heat over medium heat—adding more water or broth as needed. You may also heat in the microwave at high heat for 1 – 2 minutes.
#PlantPoweredProtein
More Vegetarian Sauce Recipes,
- Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce Recipe
- Chimichurri Recipe (How to Make Chimichurri Sauce)
- Teriyaki Sauce Recipe; How to Make Teriyaki Sauce
If you try making this Easy Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
For the Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce
- 3 tablespoon olive oil - divided
- 2 pounds HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® Plant-Based Ground - unseasoned
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 medium onions - diced
- 5 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup water - plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley - minced
For the Twice-Baked Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Boats
- 2 medium spaghetti squash
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper - to season
- 6-8 cups prepared vegetarian spaghetti sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese - shredded
Instructions
For the Spaghetti Squash
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scrub the squash clean and dry thoroughly. Cut the squash in half lengthwise using a stable knife. Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits and discard.
- Drizzle the squash with olive oil and use a pastry brush (or your hands) to brush over the entire surface of the squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place cut-side down on the lined baking sheet.
- Place squash in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
- When cool enough to handle, gently scrape out the squash with a fork to remove the flesh in long strands.
For the HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® Plant-Based Ground
- Place 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet.
- Heat oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the ground meat alternative to skillet and break apart into pieces. Gently stir to lightly coat with the oil.
- Cook, stirring occasionally until the product reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, as measured by a meat thermometer, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add the salt, Italian seasoning, dried basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper to the cooking ground meat alternative. Mix well to combine and cook for an additional 1 minute before removing from heat. Set aside.
For the Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce
- Add the remaining tablespoon oil to a large saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until soft and translucent, stirring often. Once softened, add the minced garlic and tomato paste and mix well to thoroughly combine. Cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water and add the cooked ground meat alternative back to the pot. Mix well to combine and bring to a low simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and allow the sauce to simmer for at least 20 minutes.
- Season with additional salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning as desired.
For the twice-baked spaghetti squash
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Gently scrape the spaghetti squash strands from each squash half. Add approximately 1-2 cups of prepared vegetarian spaghetti sauce to squash boat and gently mix with the separated strands of squash. Repeat with all squash boats.
- Divide the shredded mozzarella cheese between the squash boats. Cover the baking sheet and squash with foil, creating a tent to prevent the foil from touching the cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove the foil tent and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
Jessica's Notes
- Save time: by cooking the spaghetti squash and HAPPY LITTLE PLANTS® Plant-Based Ground the day before. Or, by simply adding your cooked meat alternative to your favorite store-bought pasta sauce.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
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