Spaghetti bolognese is one of our favourite mid-week meals. For a meat-free spaghetti bolognese, swap mince for 2 x 400g tins of drained, rinsed green lentils (add with tomatoes) and use veg stock and Italian-style vegetarian hard cheese.
Step 1Pulse the onion, mushrooms, carrots, celery and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat and tip in the chopped vegetables.
Step 2Cook for 5min, stirring occasionally, until softened. Increase the heat to medium-high, add mince and cook until browned all over, stirring to break up the meat. Stir in the herbs, tomatoes, stock, sugar and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 15min, until the beef is tender.
Step 3Add spaghetti; cook for 15min, making sure the pasta is submerged in the sauce, or until tender and sauce has thickened. Check seasoning.
Step 4Divide between 4 bowls, sprinkle over Parmesan, if using, and serve.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
