Canned pasta. Nothing divides true lovers of Italian cuisine more than canned pasta. Some of you may have grown up with this divisive food but I’ve made an elevated vegan version that provides all the comfort from the original but is definitely stepped up.
Anellini the circle shaped pasta can be hard to find but check your local Italian market or restaurant that may sell packaged goods as they may have it. If there’s no brick and mortar place to buy it, I’ve included an Amazon link at the bottom of the page to purchase. I also use plain tomato soup in this recipe. The one made famous by Andy Warhol (I met Andy Warhol once as a teenager in NYC handing out copies of Interview magazine and he spoke to me and my friend for a few minutes) true story. You could use another more natural brand like Amy’s Kitchen or Pacific Foods.
I’ve added a carrot to the sauce as I had an Italian coworker years ago who always added it to hers. She explained it added a sweetness and complexity to it. I would also chop the onion and carrot fine before sautéing but you will use an immersion blender or a regular one to purée it at the end so it’s not crucial if you don’t have a food processor.
I made mini meatballs for this which was basically taking larger meatballs and rolling them up smaller then baking them. I used Pure Farmland’s Italian style meatballs as they were already seasoned. Told you this was easy!
Make sure to salt your pasta water. It should be salty like the sea. These rings take longer to cook than most shapes so keep testing until al dente. You could add vegan Parmesan or nooch to this before eating or just have it plain. It’s comforting tasty and brings you back to your childhood.
Easy Vegan SpaghettiO-Style Pasta with Meatballs
6
servings30
minutesA vegan recreation of a childhood favorite.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely minced
1 carrot, finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced or two cubes of frozen garlic
1 teaspoon vegan cane sugar
1/2 cup alternative plain milk
1 can 10 oz tomato soup
1 can 15 oz tomato sauce
1 lb ring shaped pasta (Anellini)
- Meatballs
1 package vegan meatballs
Directions
- Using a food processor or by hand, finely mince the onion and carrot. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the onions and carrots, sprinkle with the 1 teaspoon of salt and cook on low heat covered for 10-15 minutes until cooked well. Stir every few minutes so they don’t burn. Make sure heat is low.
- Add the garlic and stir and cook for a few minutes. Add the sugar, milk, tomato soup and tomato sauce and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes. You can purée the sauce with an immersion hand blender or use a regular blender to make it smooth. If you like it chunkier, then leave the sauce as is.
- Set a pot of water to boil, salt water well and cook ring pasta according to directions. Make sure they’re al dente as they will cook a bit more in the sauce.
- Strain the cooked pasta rings and add to the sauce in the pan and stir well. Turn off heat.
- If adding meatballs, cook according to package directions. See notes.
- Adjust salt if needed and serve immediately. Leftovers can be frozen.
Notes
- I used Pure Farmland brand meatballs that I split into thirds and air-fried until crispy. I don’t like soggy meatballs but if you don’t mind, you could cook them in the sauce.
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