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Whole 30 Bolognese with Dairy Free “Ricotta”

Whole 30 Bolognese with Dairy Free "Ricotta" - talk about some satisfying comfort food, this bolognese is deeply flavorful, hearty, and so comforting folded into a bowl of noodles, zoodles, or spaghetti squash!

Deeply flavorful, hearty, and so comforting, this bolognese is perfection folded into a bowl of noodles, zoodles, or spaghetti squash!

Ingredients

Scale

For the bolognese

  • 1 onion, peeled and quartered
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped into big chunks (1–2 inches)
  • 4 stalks of celery, chopped into big chunks (1–2 inches)
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 cup red wine *OR* 1 cup pomegranate juice + 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup almond milk (or regular milk if not Whole 30)
  • 28 oz can crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
  • 2 bay leaves

For the ricotta

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 1 cup blanched slivered almonds
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup water + 2 tablespoons
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Instructions

  1. Add your onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to your food processor and process in long pulses until all the veggies are minced into tiny pieces
  2. Heat a large pot over medium high heat with some olive oil and add the veggies when the pot has heated up. Season with salt and pepper and saute until the veggies have cooked down a bit and the moisture has evaporated (about 5 minutes)
  3. To this, add your ground beef + salt and pepper and cook until browned
  4. Once browned, deglaze your pot with either red wine or the pomegranate juice + balsamic mixture
  5. Let the liquid cook down a bit (about 2 minutes)
  6. Add your almond milk and crushed tomatoes + salt and pepper and bring to a simmer
  7. Simmer uncovered for 2 hours (you could go a bit longer – up to 3 hours – if you wanted, but I find that 2 hours gets the sauce nice and thick and super flavorful).
  8. Season to taste and serve with zoodles, spaghetti squash, or regular noodles + dairy free ricotta (recipe below)

For the ricotta

  1. Add all the ingredients to the bowl of your food processor. Season with salt and pepper
  2. Turn on and blend until the mixture has become smooth with light grains to mimic ricotta cheese. I probably blended mine for a full minute or so, but it will depend on your food processor. Season to taste with salt and pepper!

Notes

Bolognese is a “dry sauce” which means is not very saucy or liquidy – it’s traditionally very thick and less saucy than you might imagine. So as your sauce thickens and most of the soupy liquid cooks out, this is normal, and it’s what you want!

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.thegarlicdiaries.com/whole-30-bolognese-with-dairy-free-ricotta/