Bianca's Not-So-Secret Spaghetti Sauce Recipe (Updated)

Explore Cuisine sent me several packages of their high-protein, gluten-free pastas to review. I've long been a fan of their stuff. Unlike some gluten-free pastas, Explore Cuisine's products boast a texture that isn't all that different from semolina pasta. Yet they're made with legumes, so they're loaded with protein! For this recipe, I chose the Red Lentil Spaghetti noodles, which have 11 grams of protein per serving and are made with red lentil flour and brown rice flour. They have a slightly nutty flavor, which is lovely.

The recipe I'm sharing tonight is one I've been making at home for YEARS. Paul and I rarely cook together because he isn't really into cooking, but he does love sauteeing mushrooms. So this is one dish we can make together. I make the sauce and any other toppings, and he sautes the mushrooms.

Below you'll find my super-simple recipe for spaghetti sauce. It's enough to cover about 4 servings of spaghetti (try the Explore Cuisine kind!). As for toppings, you can use whatever you like — vegan ground beef, mushrooms, Swiss chard (which I sauteed and used here), sliced vegan sausage, vegan meatballs, melted dairy-free mozz. The world is your spaghetti topping oyster! Only, that doesn't sound very vegan (forget the oyster part).

By the way, you can see an older version of this recipe here on the blog. Since I've cut back on oil, I've amended it a bit! I also tend toward fresh herbs these days since I grow my own, but dried works in a pinch!

Bianca's Not-So-Secret Spaghetti Sauce 

1 Tbsp. olive oil 

7 cloves minced garlic

1 onion, chopped

2 28-oz. cans whole, peeled tomatoes

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme

2 Tbsp. dried basil 

1 tsp. maple syrup 

1 splash red wine or apple cider vinegar (about 2 tablespoons of wine or 1 Tbsp. vinegar)

Salt & pepper to taste 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and onion and cook and stir for 1 minute. Use your hands to break up the tomatoes from the can, and add them to the saucepan.

If the sauce seems too dry, add a little liquid from a can of the tomatoes. You won't need all of the tomato liquid though. Just a splash from one can is plenty. Stir in the herbs and maple syrup and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the splash of red wine (a couple of tablespoons) and the salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat.