This Slow Cooker Mushroom Ragu with Vegan Ricotta combines simple ingredients to create a rich and flavorful vegan sauce with minimal effort. Serve over pasta for an easy weeknight dinner!
We're kicking off the week with the best kind of recipe...
...an easy one!
Because there is nothing easier than throwing a few simple ingredients into a slow cooker and walking away for 4 hours.
And while this recipe is super simple to make, the rich flavors and textures make this a 5 star dinner.
This recipe is really all about layers.
The base of this sauce comes from the usual suspects:
garlic
onions
tomatoes
mushrooms
broth
TSV TIP: For the broth, I used my old standby - Better Than Bouillon No Chicken. You can find this at Whole Foods or online here. If you don't have it, feel free to swap it out for your favorite veggie broth or another veggie "chicken" broth brand.
What makes this sauce extra special is the addition of red wine, fresh herbs and a dollop of vegan butter. Yep, the final step of this recipe is melting some delicious vegan butter right into the sauce. You could skip it if you really want to, but it adds such a good flavor and texture that I would leave it in.
The final layer is going to come from vegan ricotta.
TSV TIP: I love Kite Hill ricotta - it is crazy how close the taste and texture is to real ricotta. I get mine at Whole Foods, but I have been seeing their products pop up more and more in regular grocery stores.
Rather than melt the ricotta into the sauce, I prefer to serve each bowl of pasta with a healthy dollop of ricotta right on top. That way each person can have as little, or as much, as they want AND you can incorporate the flavor into each bite.
I swear that stuff is heaven.
This sauce is great anytime of the week. Make it on Sunday morning for an easy end of the weekend meal. Or whip it up on a work day. You literally need 10 minutes to get this recipe going. Then let the slow cooker do the rest.
Let me know what you think about slow cooker recipes. Do you love em, hate em? Or maybe you have a slow cooker that is collecting dust that is screaming to come out and play.
More of a visual person? Check out the video:
Slow Cooker Mushroom Ragu with Vegan Ricotta
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled & diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 8-12 oz mushrooms* diced
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups broth**
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 spring fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- salt & pepper to taste
- 16 oz dry pasta GF if needed
- 8 oz vegan ricotta
- vegan parmesan, fresh basil for topping
Instructions
- Add onion, garlic, carrot, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, broth and red wine to a slow cooker. Stir to combine. Place bay leaf, rosemary and thyme on top and close the lid. Cook on high for 4 hours (or on low for 8 hours).
- Combine corn starch and ¼ cup of water in a small bowl. Whisk together.
- Open slow cooker and remove bay leaf, rosemary and thyme with a fork. Add corn starch slurry, replace lid and cook on high for an additional 30 minutes.
- Remove lid and using an immersion blender***, blend sauce until desired consistency is reached. Add vegan butter and stir until it is melted. Taste sauce and add salt & pepper as needed.
- When ready to eat, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add pasta. Cook according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- To each plate add pasta, mushroom ragu, 2 tablespoons of vegan ricotta (or more to taste), vegan parmesan and fresh basil. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Please know I would never link a product unless I have personally used it and loved it!
Bonnie
Uh! Superb. I live in Maine and winters are long and cold. My slow cooker is my best winter friend. The house smells great all day and the kitchen gets really warm. This Ragu is outstanding. I put it on vegan ravioli. To die for! It makes a bunch so I froze some pint jars. Would be great on pizza too. Going on rotation! Thanks so much!
Hayley =
Just curious as to what type of red wine you used here. I have a vegan pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon both on hand.
Rene
I would go with the cabernet 🙂
Alycia
I made this last night and it was delicious! I personally also love meals I can cook one time and then eat for the rest of the week. I'll definitely be making this again.
Barrie Siemek
My slow cooker is on the smaller side. What size slow cooker should I have for this recipe?
Rene
Hi Barrie - I have a 7 quart slow cooker and this recipe filled it about 3/4 of the way. You could easily half the recipe to fit it in your slow cooker. You could also make it on the stove in a large pot over low heat for about 4 hours.