John decided to go vegetarian a good few months ago now which means we eat slightly different things for a lot of meals. Sometimes, we eat a completely different meal altogether. When we do this it’s sometimes easier to have something for John in the freezer so he doesn’t have to spend ages cooking after work. One of John’s favourites is bolognese as there are many different uses for it! So, here is my vegetarian bolognese that only costs about 60p per portion!
Shopping List (Makes 4 portions)
2 carrots – 20p
1/2 onion – 17p
50-75g of Sainsbury’s vegetarian mince – 75p
6-7 mushrooms – 30p
Sainsbury’s basics chopped tomatoes 400g – 30p
1/2 courgette – 65p
Total cost £2.37
You could actually make this a bit cheaper depending on what you vegetables you use. As you can see in the recipe below, we have used courgette and the price here is for half of a fresh courgette. You can make this even cheaper by using frozen vegetables as they go a bit further for the money in some cases. Something I haven’t added to the ingredients above is garlic. I tend to always have a jar of garlic powder at home so I just use a little sprinkle when cooking. You don’t have to use garlic though if you don’t want to but if you do, it will only add a few pence to your total.
The great thing about a bolognese is that it’s pretty quick and easy to make and it freezes really well. John will have this quite often with baked potato or the traditional spaghetti. If you freeze the bolognese it’s always best to defrost during the day so it’s ready to heat up on an evening. This bolognese also makes a great base for a vegetarian lasagne so you could always cook a slightly bigger batch and split it to make different meals!
Vegetarian Bolognese
- 2 Carrots
- 1/2 Onion
- 1/2 Courgette
- 6-7 Mushrooms
- 50-75 g Sainsbury’s Vegetarian Mince
- 1 carton Sainsbury’s Basic Chopped Tomatoes
- Chop carrots, onion, mushroom and courgette into cubes
- Spray oil into a hot frying pan and sauté onions for a few minutes, adding garlic if required
- Add the mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes
- Add the carrots and courgettes and cook for roughly 5 minutes
- Add mince and chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil.
- Cover, lowering the heat and leave to simmer for a further 15 minutes
- Serve either with spaghetti or a baked potato!
Please do let me know if you give this recipe a try. It’s simple but delicious and perfect for busy families!
Looks like a lovely healthy recipe! x