Craving something hearty that’s also comforting? This is the perfect dish for just that feeling. Its deep flavours gives you all that satisfying taste you usually get from cozy fall and winter meals but can enjoy it all year round. Especially on colder summer days and it remains a light enough dish that won’t have you feeling extra full because we’ve substituted the traditional Italian bolognese meat sauce with mushrooms instead of beef.

Feel free to adapt the recipe to your specific tastes whether that is to incorporate meat if you are not a fan of mushrooms or substitute for 1/2 cup of broth instead of wine if you don’t drink alcohol or use non alcoholic cooking wine. Of course we recommend you try it first as is because let me tell you the first time we ever made this WOW did it ever turn out good. It not only smells absolutely delicious it gets better over time. Your leftovers just got a whole lot better! To make this recipe vegan simply omit the parmesan at the end or substitute with your preferred vegan cheese.

It’s a great way to make leftovers whether it’s for your lunch the next day-that’s what we did 🙂 or even make this in advance and divide it into lunches for the week. For a better re-heat use rice instead of pasta if making as a meal prep. You can even make a big batch of the sauce and freeze it… stash it for a rainy day. We’d recommend omitting the fresh herbs and simply adding fresh ones when reheated. We’ve tried to keep this as simple as possible to be able to make this quickly all out of one pot for those busy weeknights or last minute meals and easy enough using simple ingredients that are commonly found all year round.

Of course you don’t have to go all out with the extra steps of sautéing mushrooms in butter and thyme that you see overtop the bread in the pictures. It does add a nice touch and it gives the dish more shape and depth which make it even more appealing.

Print Recipe

red wine mushroom bolognese

Italian style bolognese made from mushrooms instead of meat that fill your home with the comforting aromas of rich herbs and spices simmered in red wine and traditional mirepoix mixture.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: bolognese, Italian, mushroom, pasta, red wine, Vegetarian

Servings: 6

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2-3 medium carrots chopped
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 1 shallot chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped (reserve 1 for serving bread)
• 2 cups mushrooms finely chopped (mixture is best- either cremini/white or your favourite)
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 medium can diced tomatoes can be seasoned if thats what you have on hand
• 1 cup red wine italian is best we used Fantini
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil cut into ribbons + more for garnish
• 1 cup whole milk
• parmesan rind + fresh grated for garnish
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 package of pasta preferably long noodles such as linguini, fettuccini, spaghetti, pappardelle
• garnish with reserved mushrooms cooked in butter and thyme
• serve with crusty bread

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a heavy bottom sauce pot or dutch oven on medium heat
• Add your base ingredients and sautée until fragrant about 5 minutes (carrots, celery, onion)
• Add garlic and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook a few minutes until they are brown all over
• Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, red wine, basil, bay leaves, parmesan rind, nutmeg, cinnamon, milk to the mixture and season with additional salt and pepper. Stir the ingredients to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened, add sprig of thyme on top and cover with a lid
• Once the sauce has thickened bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions
• In the meantime prepare the reserved mushroom garnish and bread. Heat 1 TBS of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add mushrooms and thyme and cook until browned. Slice bread and cook in the oven until slightly golden and crusty, take your garlic clove and rub it against the bread to give it a nice garlic flavour
• To serve, divide the pasta amongst plates, spoon the sauce over top and garnish with bread and reserved mushrooms over top, grated parmesan and herbs