This post is a paid collaboration with Tesco to highlight their wide range of plant-based ingredients and the simple, easy vegan recipes available on their website. I agreed to this collaboration because I feel that it fits with the aims of Healthy & Psyched – to make healthy food enjoyable and accessible. Plus I love vegetables and jump at a chance to talk about them.
Plant-based ingredients at Tesco
I’m so pleased that Tesco in the UK promote healthy eating by having the fruit and vegetable section right by the door at most stores. Also, they have introduced the campaign to provide free fruit for children shopping in the store. I think it’s a brilliant idea and I was so happy when I went shopping with my 2 year old nephew and could finally take some of the fruit that I’d been looking at during every shopping trip since the initiative was introduced! Tesco also have a dedicated ‘Free From’ section in the fridges and an aisle, so you can find items such as dairy free milk, vegan friendly snack bars and more.
Plant-based recipes from Tesco
Tesco say that their collection of “winter warming recipes will help keep the January chills at bay. Filled with hearty vegetables, comforting flavours and all the glorious ingredients that feel like a hug from the inside”. They gave me a range of recipes to choose from and I picked the Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese.
Shopping trip at Tesco
To buy the ingredients I went to the Tesco Metro in Derby city centre. I would say it’s a medium-sized store and because of that I was a bit worried that they might not have all of the ingredients that I wanted for the recipe e.g., green lentils and vegan wine. However, I was pleasantly surprised that they had all of the ingredients and I even had several vegan wines to choose from. It hadn’t occurred to me before my trip to check which wine was vegan friendly and I had a little panic in the shop when I was faced with a whole aisle of wine to look though. The first 4 bottles that I picked up contained eggs and milk (from the processing methods), so I decided to Google ‘vegan wine in Tesco’. The search bought up some images of suitable wines, which I then found on the shelf. In the end I choose the Yellow Tail – Jammy Red Roo because it had the best name and I like to choose wine based on its name. I also picked up some Tesco brand gluten-free spaghetti because I like it more than normal dried pasta.
Cooking Tesco Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe
Get the recipe here.
The instructions were pretty straight forward and so I think that this spaghetti Bolognese recipe would be suitable for someone with even a low level of cooking ability to make. I enjoyed making it and tasting it as I went along to see how the flavours developed as I added in more ingredients. Usually if I make a Bolognese type dish I will add tomatoes, dried herbs and balsamic vinegar, but this recipe included wine (as I already mentioned) as well as soya sauce and almond milk!
I will confess that I didn’t follow the recipe to the letter. Firstly, I left out the mushrooms because my boyfriend really hates them and I didn’t want to make 4 portions of Bolognese to eat by myself! I was happy to leave them out because the recipe has plenty of other vegetables, so we still got in a large chunk of our 5 –a-day, even with the missing mushrooms. Secondly, the recipe says to cook the Bolognese for 40-50 minutes, during which time you should stir it often. I set a timer for 40 minutes and then went away from the kitchen. I had intended to come back and stir the pot, but I got distracted until I heard the beep of the timer. When I came back to the Bolognese, the lentils had stuck to the bottom of the pan! Luckily I got them unstuck with the spatula and mixed them in. The moral of this story is to READ THE INSTUCTIONS and FOLLOW THEM! It’s not a difficult recipe, but you do need to pay attention to what you’re doing.
Photographing
I have MASSIVE pasta bowls, so I had to photograph a double portion of pasta just to make it look like there was a decent amount in the bowl!
Eating
The Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese made a tasty and satisfying dinner. I liked the rich flavours from the wine and the different textures of the aubergine and lentils. I’m not usually one to eat a bowl of pasta, but this was definitely enjoyable and I will be making it again. My boyfriend, who LOVES Bolognese made with beef mince, thought the vegan version was ‘very tasty’ and agreed that we should have it again.
This recipe would be nice to make at a weekend when you have more time on your hands or for a dinner party. Also, I think that the recipe could be easily scaled up or down to serve a different amount of people.
Remember to pin this post or book mark it if you like the sound of the recipe.
You can find more recipes on the Tesco website here. Or connect with them on instagram and twitter.
I actually tweeted Tesco several times in the past few years because there was none of their vegan home brand soya yogurt available in the shops near me. They always replied politely and I’m pleased that it has been introduced into the stores that I tweeted about! I don’t think that it’s purely down to me, but I like to think they took my tweet into consideration.
What’s your experience of the plant-based food in Tesco?
Oh, yum! Thanks for sharing. I am doing veganuary so a new recipe idea is most welcome 🙂
I’ve never tried to eat Vegan so it wouldn’t even occur to me that wine might not be vegan. Great that Tesco have a wide range of ingredients to cater for all diets. Mich x
Now im a meat lover big time, but this does actually sound very delish (I’m a Tesco shopper so might just buy this for the family)
My kids love shopping in Tesco now they get free fruit! This looks really yummy!
Spaghetti bolognese has to be one of my comfort foods and I have to admit vegan sounds good – I would definitely add this to my meal plan, in fact I think I’m going to do that now.
I always find Tesco have a good amount of choice when it comes to free from ingredients and there seems to be more and more every time I go. This Bolognese sounds yummy x
I love a good bowl of bolognese and this vegan version looks absolutely yummy, Tesco is our favourite store to shop in but I didn’t know about the free fruit for kids campaign how awesome.
Tesco’s have really catered well for vegans from your selection I never knew you could get vegan wine so that was interesting to learn. I have tried the gluten free pasta and there is no difference at all I think. Sounds like a great meal x
I love the sound of this recipe, I will definitely be making it in the near future!
This looks tasty. It’s great that so many shops are focusing on plant-based foods now, it’s really making shopping a lot easier for vegans and veggies like me.
This sounds absolutely delicious! I’m glad I’m not the only one with a boyfriend who has a mushroom aversion….! x
ooo it must be that good if your boyfriend suggested to have it again. getting distracted whilst cooking is so me, it just happens right? haha
Oh I love tesco for it’s free from range. I love the sound of this, it looks delicious and although Im not vegan, Id make it!
I’m not vegan but I would most definitely not pass on this recipe! It looks so delicious! X
Tesco really do have a wonderful range of products catering for all dietary needs. This looks like a rather tasty recipe!
This sounds delicious. I’m always on the lookout for meat free meals.
Katie xoxo
This is my favourite dish ever. It’s a family favourite here and I find is to quick and easy to prepare but it tastes so so good! It’s one of those meals I never get bored of too
This looks delicious and a great way of having spaghetti bolognese without the meat – I’m not vegan but I’d certainly give it a try
As a vegan I’m always looking for new recipes and this one sounds delish. I love that you specified vegan wine, too. Yum!
I like that you could make this at a dinner and it would cater to all tastes. I didn’t realise that they gave free fruit to children, this is such a good idea
Vegan bolognese?! Get out of here, this is amazing. Thanks for sharing! This is just perfect.
Even though I’m not vegan this has made me want to start cooking right away! My mum eats gluten free foods and Tesco’s free from range is such a help to her! I’ll mention this recipe as well x
This looks DELICIOUS cant wait to try!
Bolognese is one of my favourite dinners, I am actually making a huge batch tomorrow! The free from range at Tesco is one of the best around!
Oh my goodness this sounds absolutely delicious and wonderful to enjoy as a meal!! I think my kids would really like this!
I started putting a bit of wine in bolognaise a couple of years ago and it make such a difference doesn’t it. This looks delicious, it doesn’t look vegan at all either. Although I’m not vegetarian / vegan we do eat a lot of meat free recipes so I will be trying this one.
This sounds super delish & your pics are fantastic!
I really want to try this as it looks great. I like how its vegan
This is one of Britains most loved home cooked meal so making it have a vegan twist for those that want to choose that path is brilliant. x
This sounds like the best of both worlds, healthy and flavoursome! We love that more supermarkets are doing vegan ranges and sharing easy recipes x
I don’t have Tesco here where I live but I wish I had. It looks so tempting!
It’s taking me a long time to think of Tesco in this way, they have long been on my avoid list along with Nestlé (baby milk) and Barclays (apartheid from my student days!). However, I shopped there for the first time a couple of months ago and was surprised by the extent of their free-from brands, although a lot of them still contain a lot of sugar and chemicals. I actually found several foods not in the dedicated free-from section but in the Indian foods section. But I applaud their introduction of fruit for children.
I never knew vegan spaghetti was a thing. We try to go meat free a couple days a week.
Yummy! I make this dish often and feel like it’s very fulfilling, especially on weeks when I’m giving meat a break.
This recipe looks really yummy! I’ve never thought of vegan bolognese but I’ll have to try it!
Interesting ideas on vegan eatables. And the vegan info on wine has surprised me. This spaghetti recipe is great will consider having this way.
Oh i am a vegan so finally a spagetti recipe which i can try without feeling like eating plain boiled noodles.. great photographs!
You can’t really beat a good spaghetti bolognese and this one sounds yummy with the addition of aubergine and lentils. I’ll definitely have to give it a try!
Your preparation and presentation looks palatable. Great that it is vegan as well.
Tesco is my favorite too, I am so glad to know the campaign about free fruit for children shopping in the store. The spaghetti bolognese looks so delicious, I will have to try this one.
This is so timely for me. I’ve been trying to go vegan this year after watching Dr Day’s video. Since my kid loves spaghetti, I want to introduce him this vegan version of yours.
This Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese looks delicious. I can’t wait try this recipe on my mother-in-law’s birthday. I bet she gonna loves it.
I looks delicious I have to try it I know my husband will enjoy it he loves pasta.
You take really amazing photos of food. I love adding tomatoes and spices to my dishes too. Looks so good!
This look totally delicious. I wouldn’t have thought that this was plant base from just looking at it all. all.
Having never eaten a Vegan diet myself, I don’t tend to consider Vegan recipes. But oh my, this sounds and looks amazing! It looks like such a hearty meal, and one that I think I’m going to have to try.
Meat is not part of my diet at all, so some dishes often get overlooked due to their common association with meat products. This looks absolutely wonderful, and is a recipe I will most definitely be trying out for myself.
I love how you start with explaining why you agreed to an advertisement post. 🙂
This looks so healthy, I will look out for this range when I go shopping at Tesco next. We are opting to be more health conscious and reducing the amount of meat in our diet.
Omg free fruits for kids that’s genius!
Also I don’t understand howwwww people don’t like mushrooms lol – I loveeeee mushrooms like full on crave mushrooms at times! The bolognase looks delicious though girl