Question Spaghetti Sauce

J

Jackie Hyche

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I am not vegan. I am in charge of a spaghetti lunch fundraiser next month. I would like to have a vegan option available. I plan on using canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. What ingredients do I need to look for on the labels? I do want to honestly serve vegan.
 
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If you're using canned tomatoes they should be just tomatoes, and maybe spices and salt, maybe some oil or sugar
Some sauces have cheese. Where are you? In the US at least most canned tomato products are just tomatoes, and many jarred spaghetti sauces are naturally vegan, although you do have to look for cheese like romano or parmesean.
I always buy Aldi brand sauces so I haven't looked for a while

They don't need to say vegan! :)

Most dry pasta is vegan
 
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Hi and thanks for being so considerate. :)

I can’t imagine there would be anything in canned tomatoes or sauce that would be an issue. It’s pretty much just tomatoes, maybe basil and salt. If you were talking about jarred sauce that would be another story. But canned should be fine.

I will defer to anyone else who may know otherwise, though.
 
What ingredients do I need to look for on the labels? I do want to honestly serve vegan.

To keep it vegan, a sauce shouldn't have any dairy (such as cheese), and obviously no meat, fish, pork or poultry.

The quickest way to determine if a sauce isn't vegan is to look at the cholesterol content on the nutrition label.

If the label indicates anything more than zero cholesterol, then it is not vegan.


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Most canned marinara is vegan. Look at the label and see if "milk" is in the allergy list, if it's not, you should be good to go. If you want to get fancy, you could add some vegan Italian sausage to the sauce, which you'll likely find in the refrigerated section near the vegan/nondairy cheeses. Also, you may want to have an Italian dressing option - again, many are naturally vegan, but you'll want to avoid milk products and honey. Good luck!
 
To keep it vegan, a sauce shouldn't have any dairy (such as cheese), and obviously no meat, fish, pork or poultry.

The quickest way to determine if a sauce isn't vegan is to look at the cholesterol and saturated fat content on the nutrition label.

If the label indicates anything more than zero cholesterol or saturated fat, then it is not vegan.

Vegan products can have saturated fat, but not cholesterol. There are plant based oils that are saturated.
 
Ok edited. But I thought those foods contained poly and mono UNsaturated fats.

Anyway, I don't think I've ever heard of tomato sauce with coconut or avocados :)

Also, you could have PMed me....
I don't think of that :p, but I really thought it was just an oversight :shrug:
 
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This is very thoughtful of you, Jackie.

As others have said, canned tomatoes and canned tomato sauce doesn't contain ingredients like dairy or meat, but if you plan to use prepared spaghetti sauce from jars, just check the ingredients for meat, meat stock, or cheese. The only issue with dried pasta is whether it contains egg, and I have yet to encounter a dried spaghetti that does.
 
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I tend to lean towards the protein pastas and Barilla contains egg. I found that out the hard way. :(
 
Also, if you want to prepare the sauce yourself, be sure to add enough onions, red/green/yellow peppers and other veggies. Just tomatoes are going to be too bland.
I often prepare mine with TVP (textured vegggie protein) crumbs, basically small bits of dried soya that can be used in place of mince once you soak them, best in veggie broth.
 
Also, if you want to prepare the sauce yourself, be sure to add enough onions, red/green/yellow peppers and other veggies. Just tomatoes are going to be too bland.
I often prepare mine with TVP (textured vegggie protein) crumbs, basically small bits of dried soya that can be used in place of mince once you soak them, best in veggie broth.

I totally disagree. There is nothing better than a simple homemade tomato sauce. I only use 5 ingredients and it's absolutely delicious.

Vegan - Simple Tomato Sauce
 
I like my sauce just tomatoes, garlic, basil and onion. I like to saute the mushrooms, onions and mushrooms separately.
I love nutritional yeast mixed with garlic and onion powders to top it, which is odd since I hate that on chili!
The frozen meatless balls are so good I always add those, which is funny because when I did eat meat i made it without any meat!
 
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I use a recipe from an old crockpot cookbook: crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, veggie broth (it calls for beef broth) and onions. I sauté the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil and get them nice and brown. Then I add them and the rest of the ingredients plus a bay leaf in a crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

If I want a basic marinara sauce, I just use diced tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.
 
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I like Muir Glen canned tomatoes and I only use salt pepper and garlic. I cannot have any sugar in my tomato sauce which is odd considering my love of sugar.
 
I sautee onions until translucent or slightly browned, toss in chopped garlic and sautee a minute longer. Then I add diced or crushed tomatoes (or fresh, in season), tomato paste, an Italian herb blend, plus some extra basil, and simmer for a while.

I also use this as my pizza sauce, just simmer it down to a thicker consistency.
 
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I like Trader Joe's Marinara in the green-labelled can. I usually add a 6 oz can of tomato paste to it, and a pinch of both garlic and onion powder. And lots of sautéed mushrooms.