The Best Vegan Bolognese Sauce!

This is one of THE most satisfying and quick recipes to whip up!  It's for those cold weeknights when I come home hungry and craving something "meaty," warm, and satisfying.  And it keeps with my attempts to try and make vegan versions of our favorite comfort foods.  In this case, it's a good, hearty meat sauce to put over pasta.  It's reminiscent of the kind of thing we'd eat on a camping trip since it's basically a two pot meal!

A regular jar of tomato marinara sauce is jazzed up with some sage and thyme.  The sage gives a nice beefy flavor to things and the thyme brightens it all up.  This sauce also has some veggies sneaked in the kids will never notice!  A variety of nuts pulsed in a food processor give a natural, whole food ground vegan meat alternative that tasted WAY better than the wheat meat stuff.  Now, if you're not lazy like me you'll soak the nuts in advance so they are nice and soft.  But oh well, I'm too lazy.

I've had this taste tasted by some non-veg friends who are pretty shocked it's not meat.  That's always my favorite part.  Like, "Wow, I can't believe this doesn't have meat in it!"  That's right folks: you don't have to miss out on your fave flavors just because you're vegan.  It's a win-win.  Healthier fats, HUGE flavors, and no cruelty!  

Nothing better than a nice, hearty sauce on the stove on a cold night....Enjoy! <3

Vegan Bolognese Sauce  (Serves 3)
Ingredients:
1 jar of pasta sauce from the store plus 1/4 jar full of water
1/2 cup of each of the following nuts, pulsed fine in a food processor: walnuts, cashews, and sunflower seeds 
2 stalks celery, pulsed in food processor or chopped fine
1 medium carrot, prepared as celery
1/2 of a green bell pepper, prepared as celery
1/2 cup yeast flakes or nooch
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2-1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp hing

Substitutions: Pumpkin seeds can be subbed for the sunflower seeds, pecans would be a fine addition too with their rich, oily flavor

Directions:

1. Break celery stalks and carrot in quarters and pulse in a food processor until finely minced
2. In a large sauce pot on medium-high heat, melt coconut oil and coat bottom of pan, then add the minced vegetables and cook ~5 minutes, until they begin to become slightly tender.
3. Add spices and stir into vegetables and cook ~1min.
4. Add jar of tomato sauce and then fill empty jar 1/4 of the way up with water and shake to remove extra sauce, add to pot.
5. Let sauce simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You can do this in a crock pot too and let it slow cook all day.