Grandma’s Vegan Pasta Sauce Recipe

The perfect vegan pasta sauce recipe, inspired by my Greek roots and family – takes only minutes to make, uses healthy, plant-based ingredients, and tastes so damn good. I mean just look at this picture, it might be a bit messy, but it certainly screams “EAT ME!!” right? Lucky for you I have turned this into one of the easiest, healthy pasta sauce recipes ever! Nope, you won’t have to spend forever making this sauce in the kitchen. It tastes as good as that homemade sauce you had growing up, without all the work that your parents or grandparents probably put into it. I promise you’ll want to add this to your fav vegan pasta recipes.

Why you’ll love this Vegan Pasta Sauce recipe:

• Easy & Quick: This recipe you can make up in only 25-minutes. Where most sauces take hours, this one is delicious and a quick meal to whip up on a busy weeknight
• Flavorful: This sauce is loaded with the flavor you love from a pasta sauce without the need for meat or meatballs. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and spicy
• Meal Prep It: You can easily freeze this sauce and use it at a later date for an even quicker meal

Ingredients:

Here are the key ingredients you’ll need to make this Grandma’s Vegan Pasta Sauce Recipe:

Ingredient Notes:

• Tomatoes: Of course the main ingredient in this sauce, tomatoes are loaded with health benefits such as the antioxidant lycopene which is linked to reducing your risk of heart disease and cancer. Tomatoes are also an awesome source of vitamin c, potassium, folate, and vitamin k. You can use fresh tomatoes if they’re in season or canned or a mix of both.
• Pasta Water: Is it really necessary? Yes!! If you aren’t putting the pasta water into your sauces you are seriously missing out. The starches and salt add so much flavor to any sauce you’re making
• Onions: You can really use any onion in this sauce. White onion is the most traditional in sauces but I picked red onion because it was what I had on hand and it tasted delicious
• Spices: Of course pasta sauce is just tomatoes until you add some spices. I’ve used a combination here for this recipe that each adds a lot of flavor, but you can experiment and add more or less, or try different spices until you make your own go-to recipe that you love!

How to make one of my fav healthy pasta sauce recipes:

All you’ll need to do for this gorgeous healthy pasta sauce recipe is compile all your ingredients and get ready to cook and marry all the flavours.

Step One: First, you’ll heat your olive oil, and add in your onions and garlic to let them sweat it out for about five minutes. This helps really ensure you are going to get the best most delicious flavours from the onions and garlic in your sauce.

Step Two: Next, you’ll add in all of your spices (listed below) and vegetable stock cube (or paste) and give them a good stir. Notice that you’re continuously adding and marrying all the flavours you need for the perfect homemade pasta sauce throughout these steps.

Looking for more recipes? Here are 15 Vegan Pasta Recipes you’ll love.

Step Three: Now add in your tomatoes (either canned or fresh). I love using fresh when they are in season in the summer, otherwise, I just use canned. Also, add your fresh herbs and pepper then bring the mixture to a boil before simmering it for about 15 minutes.

Step Four: All you need to do is smash up your tomatoes to get that sauce nice and creamy and add a bit of water into it. Your sauce will cool for a few minutes before loading it into a high-speed blender to really get it smooth and not chunky.

Step Five: Serve this sauce over your favourite type of pasta noodle. Or even add it to a rice dish, or just throw it into your freezer to store it for future meals. It should last for around 2-3 weeks in the freezer.

To me, there is nothing more sentimental than making a good family pasta sauce, and this vegan pasta sauce recipe is the perfect one to have in your back pocket for years to come.

FAQ & Expert Tips:

Is pasta sauce vegan? Pasta sauce can most definitely be made vegan. Most sauces have a tomato base and some seasoning. It’s that simple!

What do vegans eat on their pasta? You can find a vegan cheese that you like to sprinkle on top, or you can use nutritional yeast that has a cheesy flavor, and lots of added health benefits.

Is there vegan pasta sauce? Absolutely. Lots of shelf-stable pasta sauces are vegan. You’ll want one that is a tomato base, and make sure that it doesn’t include parmesan cheese in the mix.

What kind of tomatoes should I use? Use what’s in season or if you are using canned, I like roma tomatoes. San Marzano tomatoes are also a popular canned variety.

Can I freeze this sauce? Yes, let the sauce cool completely then put it into a tightly sealed container in your freezer.

Herbs: Play around with both fresh and dried. This recipe is foolproof and it’s pretty hard to mess it up!

Serving: Sprinkle fresh parsley on top and your choice of vegan parmesan cheese.

Other vegan pasta recipes you’ll love:

• Vegan Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce
• The Best Vegan “Meat” Sauce
• Vegan Creamy Cashew Coconut Tomato Sauce
• Creamy Garlicky Pasta

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Vegan Pasta Sauce Recipe

4.77 from 21 votes

The perfect vegan pasta sauce recipe that is simple, fuss-free and made using gorgeous ingredients that we cook with every day. Freezer friendly, healthy and satisfying. One of my staple vegan pasta recipes.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Pasta Sauce

Cuisine Dairy-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings 1 Large Jar

Calories 619 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 small red onions diced
• 2 cloves fresh garlic chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried cilantro
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• dash of clove spice
• 1 vegetable stock cube or 1 tsp vegetable stock paste
• 2 red tomatoes chopped
• 1 400 ml can roma tomatoes
• 1 cup baby sweet peppers
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup of pasta water

Instructions

 

• To a large sauce pan add your olive oil and heat it up for 30 seconds.
• Add your onions to the sauce pan and garlic and sweat them down for 5 minutes on medium heat. Stir occasionally to avoid burning .
• Now add all of your spices, and veg stock cube or vegetable stock paste. Give them a good stir for 2 minutes.
• Now add your tomatoes (canned and fresh), pepper and fresh herbs. Bring this mixture to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
• Using a fork smash up your tomatoes and ensure the sauce is nice and soft. Add 1/2 cup water and stir till combined.
• Let your sauce cool for a few minutes, add it to a high speed blender and blend till smooth.
• Serve hot with pasta, rice or freeze in an air tight container for up to around 3 months.

Video

Notes

Play around with what fresh and dry herbs you use in this sauce!  It is completely fool proof and designed to help you have a staple sauce recipe in your back pocket should you ever need one on the fly!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 619kcal | Carbohydrates: 56.5g | Protein: 9.8g | Fat: 44.8g | Saturated Fat: 6.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.3g | Sodium: 1786.7mg | Fiber: 16.5g | Sugar: 29.2g

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4.77 from 21 votes