The ultimate comfort food? Probably.
An easy, speedy and darn tasty weeknight meal? Definitely.
This hearty vegan sausage, bean and pasta bake is bound to go down well with the whole fam. Smother it in vegan cheese and serve it with crusty, buttery garlic bread and a side of peas. Does it get more British than this? Well yes actually because it’s got ‘Italian’ herbs in it but I digress.
Sausage and bean bake a la Rachel Allen was one of the first meals I learned to cook when I was trying to impress my boyfriend at the time (now my husband, so clearly it worked). We were going through a phase of watching Eastenders and Jean’s cryptic ‘sausage surprise’ lead to lengthy research to discover what made up such a surprise because quite clearly it could not just be sausages on their own.
Along came Rachel Allen who combined said sausages with a delicious bean and tomato sauce mix and I was sold. We served it with rough mash (sounds fancy, it is actually just skin-on new potatoes roughly smooshed with the back of a fork) and peas and it became a firm favourite in the AVV household.
Fast forward more years than I care to remember and Rachel’s wondrous bake has morphed into a sausage, bean and pasta bake with a creamy tomato sauce with a hint of Italian herbs and a smothering of vegan cheese. Slightly less healthy but rating even higher on the comfort food scale. I wonder where this bake will be in another few years… the possibilities are quite literally endless.
Anyway, enough nonsense. It’s proper lovely, can be made by even the most novice of cooks and can be whipped up in the time it takes the other half to walk the dogs. Enjoy.
This sausage and bean pasta bake is a beaut! It’s
Filling
Hearty
Cheesy
Comforting
Family Friendly
With rounds of vegan sausage
In a thick, rich and creamy tomato sauce
I have no doubt that you will LOVE this recipe – be sure to tag me on Instagram when you make it @aveganvisit 🙂
The Video Recipe:
The Written Recipe:
Vegan Sausage and Bean Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 300 g dried pasta (gluten free)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 100 g onion (diced (approx 1 medium onion))
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 6 vegan sausages (sliced into rounds that are approx. 1 cm thick, gluten free)
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 260 g mixed cooked beans (drained weight of a 400g tin (*see note))
- 1 tsp Italian mixed herbs (or 1/2 tsp each of dried oregano and thyme)
- 800 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 100 ml dairy free cream (**see note)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- salt and pepper
To top:
- 150 g vegan cheese (grated)
To serve:
- peas
- garlic bread
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C fan (210°C conventional / 425°F / gas mark 7).
- Add the pasta to a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 1 minute less than the pack says. Drain it and set it aside.300 g dried pasta
- Whist the pasta is cooking, gently fry the onion in the coconut oil until soft. This should take around 3 minutes.1 tbsp coconut oil, 100 g onion
- Add the garlic, sausage rounds, tomato puree, beans and herbs. Fry for a further 2 minutes.3 garlic cloves, 6 vegan sausages, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 260 g mixed cooked beans, 1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
- Add the tinned tomatoes, cream, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir it together and bring to a gentle simmer.800 g tinned chopped tomatoes, 100 ml dairy free cream, 2 tbsp sugar, salt and pepper
- Turn the heat off and add the drained cooked pasta. Stir together.
- Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and sprinkle the cheese over the top.150 g vegan cheese
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until bubbling and hot through. Serve with peas and garlic bread.