Mushroom Ragu (Mushroom Bolognese)

With this mushroom ragu, we wanted to make a quick and easy sauce without the need to simmer for a long time, like a traditional meat-based ragu.

We also wanted it packed with flavor, umami, and overall richness without using unusual ingredients that we don't keep in our pantry.

Finally, we wanted it to be healthy - without heavy cream, butter, beef, or pork - although we like adding a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on the pasta.

The result is a recipe you can make with simple and affordable ingredients such as mushroom, olive oil, onion, celery, carrot, rosemary, tomato paste, salt, and pepper.

This has become our go-to quick dinner sauce when we feel like eating an earthy and flavorful pasta dish.

We still can't believe how a few ingredients like this can produce such a tasty sauce.

The mushrooms bolognese is delicious with tagliatelle, spaghetti, or any pasta; but it's also great on tacos, wraps, lasagna, creamy polenta, gnocchi, or simply on a slice of toasted bread.

Mushrooms

We tested this mushroom ragù recipe with the cheapest fresh mushrooms we could find at the supermarket, and it turned out incredible.

So feel free to use white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms. For extra flavor, you can add a few fresh shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, wild mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, or portobello mushrooms.

Olive oil

Use extra virgin olive oil to make the flavor base where you'll cook the mushrooms. It adds a ton of flavor to this recipe, and it's essential.

Onion, celery, carrot, and garlic

When cooked in olive oil for five to eight minutes, these veggies add an incredible amount of flavor to the ragu.

You can use white or yellow onion.

Tomato paste

Tomato paste (the thick one that comes in a tube) adds umami. Umami is that savory taste that makes the sauce feel rich and flavorful. It's absolutely essential in this recipe, especially because we don't use any other canned tomatoes.

Since tomato paste is concentrated in flavor, it allows us to make this sauce in a short time.

Herbs

Add sturdy herbs like fresh rosemary, bay leaves, sage, or fresh thyme to simmer in the sauce (we use rosemary and bay leaves).

If you serve the mushroom ragu with pasta, you can sprinkle it with chopped parsley or a few fresh basil leaves.

Salt and pepper

Season the sauce with sea salt or kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Pasta

Like traditional bolognese sauce, mushrooms bolognese is delicious with tagliatelle, pappardelle, fettuccine, spaghetti, and linguine. It also goes well with rigatoni, penne, and other short pasta types.

Parmesan cheese

If you serve mushroom bolognese with polenta, gnocchi, and pasta, you can sprinkle it with some grated parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano) or with some dairy-free cheese if you want to keep the recipe vegan.

Make flavor base

Finely chop celery, carrot, and onion. You can do so with a chef's knife or a food processor.

If you use a food processor, pulse the veggies until coarsely chopped. Don't blend continuously, or you'll risk overprocessing the veggies.

In a large skillet or dutch oven, warm up the olive oil.

Add the chopped celery, carrot, and onion and fry them gently for 5 to 8 minutes.

Add tomato paste, grated garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves, stir and fry for another 3 minutes or until the tomato paste turns darker.

Tip: these first steps are essential to building a solid flavor base that will make your mushrooms ragu earthy and rich.

Add mushrooms

Coarsely chop the mushrooms. You can do so on a cutting board with a chef's knife or a food processor.

If you use a food processor, pulse a few mushrooms in 3 or 4 batches. You want a coarse texture.

Blending in batches ensures the mushrooms at the bottom of the food processor won't get mushy and over-processed.

Transfer the chopped mushrooms onto the pan, season with salt and black pepper, and cook on medium-high heat for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the water content of your mushrooms. Stir occasionally.

The mushrooms will release their liquid at first. Keep cooking them until the water is gone, and a few minutes passed that. You want a thick, rich, creamy mushroom sauce.

Toss pasta

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. Reserve one cup of pasta water, drain it when al dente, and toss it in the pan with the mushroom ragu.

Add a ladleful of pasta cooking water, finish cooking on medium heat for a few seconds, and serve immediately.

Spoon some sauce on top, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and optionally with grated parmesan cheese.

As a meatless pasta sauce with lasagna, pasta, pasta bakes, polenta, gnocchi, rice, or cauliflower rice. Serve with fresh greens such as:

• Easy side salad: ready in 5 minutes
• Raw marinated zucchini salad is perfect for spring and summer!
• Tomato and cucumber salad with Italian vinaigrette
• Shaved Brussels sprout salad with cranberries, a great side salad for autumn and winter

As filling in tacos, wraps, and burritos. Serve it with your favorite condiment, such as:

• Homemade sour cream: perfectly smooth and creamy with cashew nuts
• Easy Guacamole ready in 5 minutes
• 5-minute avocado spread with tahini and garlic, perfect in wraps and on bread!
• Favorite chipotle sauce: Mexican-inspired flavor and velvety smooth texture

Tempeh bolognese

Replace the mushrooms with about 14 oz (400g) of tempeh. Crumble the tempeh with your hands, add it to the flavor base instead of the mushrooms, add one bottle of tomato puree (24 ounces or 700 grams), and keep cooking as instructed in the recipe.

Check out our tempeh bolognese recipe.

Lentil bolognese

Lentils bolognese is as delicious and nutritious as a pasta sauce gets. Also, it pairs well with any pasta type. We even use this sauce on top of tacos, with tortilla wraps, or as a topping on roasted veggies.

Check out our lentil bolognese recipe.

Tofu Bolognese

Nutritious, protein-packed, and satiating, our tofu bolognese is super easy to make with crumbled tofu. It's perfect as an easy dinner for the whole family.

Check out our tofu bolognese recipe.

Red lentil bolognese

Replace the mushrooms in the recipe with 2 cups (400g) of red lentils, then add one 15-ounce (400 grams) can of crushed tomatoes and 2 to 3 cups vegetable broth.

It'll take about 30 minutes for the lentils to be ready.

Textured vegetable protein (TVP) bolognese

Replace the mushrooms with 3 to 4 cups (300 to 400 grams) of TVP. Add TVP to the flavor base instead of the mushrooms, add one bottle of tomato puree (24 ounces or 700 grams), and keep cooking as instructed in the recipe.

Chickpea Bolognese

Replace the mushrooms with about 2 cups (400 g) of rinsed canned chickpeas. Add the chickpeas to the flavor base, add one bottle of tomato puree (24 ounces or 700 grams), and keep cooking as instructed in the recipe.

Refrigerator: store leftover mushroom ragù in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. When ready to use it, add it to a skillet with a ladleful of pasta water, warm it up, then toss it with pasta.

Freezer: you can freeze mushroom bolognese in freezer bags or an airtight container for up to three months. When you want to use it, take it out of the freezer and warm it up in a pot with a dash of water until hot. You can also reheat it in a microwave.

Questions

If you love easy weeknight-friendly pasta meals, get fresh inspiration from these reader favorites:

• Broccoli pasta with a mashed and creamy broccoli sauce
• Spaghetti aglio e olio with garlic, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley
• 15-minute pasta Pomodoro with authentic Italian tomato flavor
• Lemon ricotta pasta with spinach: ready in 20 minutes!

More recipes with mushrooms

For more mushroom inspiration, check out these easy recipes with few ingredients:

• Easy vegan mushroom pasta with cherry tomatoes and garlic
• Italian mushroom risotto: creamy, luxurious, and with plenty of chewy mushrooms
• Easy tofu mushroom cutlets: ready in 25 minutes, a great alternative to mushroom chicken!
• Pasta Alfredo with sauteed mushrooms: a lighter version of Alfredo pasta

For many more pasta ideas, check out our pasta category page.