Microwave vegan bolognese
Pasta in a rich tomato sauce with chewy, meaty textured vegetable protein, a vegan dinner with almost 30 grams of protein for about a dollar and a half.
- 20 min total
- 8 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 1
- About $1.42 a serving
- 430 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 1 servings.
- ⅓ cup textured vegetable protein
- ¾ cup penne
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
From your pantry
- 2 cups water, divided
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 430 calories, 29 g protein, 70 g carbs and 4 g fat, and costs about $1.42 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No penne? Rigatoni or elbow macaroni works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the water in the kettle.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Stir the TVP and soy sauce into ⅓ cup of the hot water in a mug and leave it 5 minutes to soften.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Textured vegetable protein, or TVP, is dried soy that turns chewy like ground meat when it soaks. Look for it near the dried beans.Put the penne and salt in a large microwave-safe bowl with 1½ cups of the hot water, set it on a plate, and microwave 4 minutes.
Timer: 4 min
Stir, then microwave in 2-minute bursts, each time, until the pasta is tender, 3 to 5 minutes more.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Timer: 2 min
off the water, holding the pasta back with the fork.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Stir in the soaked TVP, marinara, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes.
Cover with a plate and microwave 1½ minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Sprinkle with the nutritional yeast and eat hot, or cool it, cover it and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Dolly’s tip: Nutritional yeast tastes nutty and a little like parmesan, which is why vegans shake it on pasta.Food safety: Put leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot, 165°F.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
