Vegan Sausage Ragu with Orecchiette Pasta

Vegan Sausage Ragu and Orecchiette Pasta is a perfect match. Those little round disks that hold extra sauce is comfort food at it’s best.

You may have noticed that I am a down-home cook.  Whether it is American down-home, Italian down-home, Hispanic down-home or wherever down-home I love comfort food.

Ragu is a casual Italian comfort sauce with tomatoes and meat.  Since my recipes are vegan I have added meatless plant based Italian Sausage.  In my opinion, the best plant-based meats out there are the sausages.  I think it is because of the addition of sage – so delicious.

It must be, at least, once a week that pasta goes down at our dinner table.  Spaghetti, penne and macaroni are used a lot but do you know there are over 350 different pasta varieties out there?

I always forget to get fancy and change it up.  Just their shapes and textures make a dish different.

Whether the sauce is white or red it works differently with various pastas and recipes.  Some are better soup pastas and some are better salad pastas.  Some are for stuffing and some are to hold the sauce better.

That is what Orecchiette is all about.  It holds the sauce and gives you extra help for a great big bite of flavor.

This Vegan Sausage Ragu came about because of Ed.  You see his favorite pasta is macaroni and you know what one of my least favorite pasta is?  Macaroni.  It is silly of me, I know,  but I don’t like the shape in my mouth.  Are you laughing?  Go ahead.  I can take it!   It makes me laugh too.

So to continue … I went in search for a pasta that I could substitute for macaroni in some of my dishes that would make us both happy.  Eureka!  I found gold in the shape of little these round bowls.  They feel so good in my mouth.  Go ahead.  Laughter is a good thing.

Please, have fun with this Vegan Sausage Ragu recipe too and feel confident that it will turn out good.  Very simple to make and very satisfying to eat.

Vegan Sausage Ragu to the rescue!

 

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Vegan Sausage Ragu with Orecchiette Pasta

Vegan Sausage Ragu and Orecchiette Pasta is a perfect match. Those little round disks that hold extra sauce is comfort food at it’s best.

Course Main Course

Recipe Type Pasta, Vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 289 kcal

Author Ginny McMeans

Ingredients

• 1 package vegan meatless Italian Sausage this is not a sponsored post but i love and use Field Roast Apple and Sage
• 1 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 onion small onion, chopped
• 1 cup dairy free milk unsweetened
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 12 ounces orecchiette pasta

Instructions

1. Do not cook the pasta if you are going to freeze the sauce for the future.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions.
3. Drain the pasta when done and set aside.
4. While this is coming to a boil prepare your meatless sausage.
5. Take the wrapping off of the meatless Italian sausage and cut into 1/4" to 1/2 " slices.
6. In a large skillet heat the oil and add the onion. Saute for about 10 minutes.
7. Remove the onion from the pan and set aside.
8. Add the meatless sausage and brown on each side. I did this in three batches so I had plenty of room for flipping over the sausage.
9. Add a teaspoon of oil between batches if needed.
10. When meatless sausage is completed add all of the sausage back to the pan along with the onion, tomato paste, milk, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
11. Cook for about 10 minutes to thicken up the sauce a bit.
12. If you are serving now:
13. Add the cooked pasta.
14. Stir and heat through.
15. Serve with a salad and crusty bread.

Recipe Notes

If you are freezing the sauce please follow any of the directions defined in my article How to Prepare Food for th Freezer

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:

Take the sauce out of freezer and put in the refrigerator at least 6 to 8 hours before baking (or the day before). Right before dinner - add the sauce to a skillet. Cook the pasta and then add it to the skillet with the sauce. Heat through and serve.

 

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Sausage Ragu with Orecchiette Pasta

Amount Per Serving (14 ounces)

Calories 289 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4g 6%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Sodium 398mg 17%

Potassium 329mg 9%

Total Carbohydrates 48g 16%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 4g

Protein 12g 24%

Vitamin A 5%

Vitamin C 4.5%

Calcium 7.3%

Iron 24.9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.