A Deeply Savory, Positively Delicious Vegetarian Ragù Recipe
Whether or not you’re vegetarian, this recipe is not to be missed. Meaty without the meat, it’s healthy and heavenly. Mushroom fans especially will be excited to find a way to use their favorite fungi. If you see an exciting mushroom at the store or farmers market, grab it and plan to toss it into this versatile ragù. If it’s a regular Tuesday night and the most exciting mushroom your local grocery store has is cremini, no biggie! They’re great—earthy, meaty, hearty—and will work beautifully in this ragù recipe, too. We like to serve it over big, cozy bowlfuls of creamy polenta—the bite-sized mushroom pieces are the perfect foil for smooth, creamy, sunny yellow cornmeal—but it works well over pasta, too. And last but not least, mushroom ragù sauce is quick! Like, 30 minutes quick. So yeah, it’s another weeknight superstar to drop into your regular rotation.
Just a Few Ingredients & You’ve Got Yourself One Gorgeous Ragù Mushroom Sauce
Densely savory, this cozy and comforting vegetarian ragù recipe is a testament to the flavor-giving power of our favorite fruits of the forest—mushrooms! Most any mixture of mushrooms will work here. Wild mushrooms can be pricey, but a great way to keep this ragù budget-friendly is to use at least half cremini mushrooms, and to just round it out with a small amount of wild mushrooms! You’ll still get tons of flavor from the wild mushrooms, but you can stretch them a bit further with the addition of regular grocery store creminis. As for the stock vs. red wine choice in this ingredients list, well, it’s really up to you! We love the extra oomph that a splash of red wine gives to a ragù, and—let’s be honest—if we’re making ragù, we’re opening a bottle of red wine anyway so might as well add some to the pot. But if wine isn’t something you’ve got around, or you’d rather not open a whole bottle, no problem! Vegetable stock will work just fine in its place. Here’s everything you’ll need to make our mushroom ragù recipe:
Olive oil
Shallots
Celery
Carrots
Garlic
Mushrooms
Crushed tomatoes
Basil, oregano, thyme or Italian seasoning
Nutmeg
Sugar
Red wine (or vegetable stock)
How To Make The Best Mushroom Ragù, Ever!
Easy vegetarian dinners don’t get any better than this! Our very favorite way to enjoy mushroom ragù is over a big bowl of creamy polenta, but you do need to remember to get the polenta simmering before starting on the ragù—it takes about 30-40 minutes to cook. If you’re short on time, the ragù will also be completely delicious over pasta.
Sauté the shallots, celery and carrots, then add the garlic. We always add the garlic a few minutes after the other aromatics because it has a tendency to burn.
Stir in the mushrooms.
Add the canned tomatoes, salt, pepper, dried herbs, nutmeg, sugar and wine. Simmer for a good 15 minutes to let everything come together into a warming, lovely ragù
Serve over creamy polenta with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
And If You Prefer a Vegan Mushroom Ragù...
That’s easy enough to do! This mushroom ragù recipe is all about the umami—and it has it in droves! From the mushrooms of course, but also from the tomatoes and garlic. To make this recipe vegan, just use olive oil instead of butter, and leave out the Parmesan. Easy peasy and voila—vegan ragù! The creamy polenta isn’t easy to make vegan, but you can simply serve it over your favorite pasta instead.
Tools You’ll Need
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Chanterelles, Shiitakes and Lobster Mushrooms—Oh My!
We get pretty darn stoked about wild mushrooms, if you’d like to know the truth. It’s a wild world of fungi out there and we love to explore it. We hope this mushroom recipe helps you explore it and have a little fun with mushrooms at dinnertime. If you make it, let us know how you like it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
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