Healthy Vegan Spaghetti Os! Beyond nostalgia, this dish shines with a bright, accessible flavor profile: a gentle umami kiss from tomato and pantry-friendly seasonings, a velvety sauce, and perfectly al dente rings.
This Healthy Vegan Spaghetti Os dish is the perfect nod to the nostalgic Campbellās Spaghetti Os comfort food we all grew up loving, but reimagined with plant-powered goodness. Tender pasta rings swim in a savory, creamy tomato sauce that coats every bite with a mellow, cozy richnessāand itās all wrapped in a healthier, vegan-friendly twist. Itās the ultimate comfort-meets-clean-eating mealāwholesome, satisfying, and endlessly adaptable for busy weeknights, meal prep, or a cozy weekend dinner.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
We all loved this classic favorite made healthy, and this vegan spin keeps that magic alive. Dad devoured it. You gotta give this one a try! If youāre chasing nostalgia without the heaviness, this is the dish to bookmark and pass down as a new-loved classic.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Healthy Vegan Spaghetti Os dish is the perfect nod to the nostalgic Campbells Spaghetti Os comfort food. Tender pasta rings swim in a savory, creamy, tomato sauce that will transport you back to simpler times with a childhood favorite, only healthier. The flavor palate of this dish has a light savory flavor, and is both wholesome, and delicious.
- Amount of Pasta Rings (Anellini) : The amount of pasta is totally within your call based upon the tomato sauce to pasta rings ratio you prefer. We used 4 cups of cooked pasta rings.
- Pasta Rings (Anellini):Ā If you decide to use Pasta Rings (Anellini), read the REVIEWS on the pasta brand selected. We made the mistake of selecting an authentic anellini from Italy, but were sorrily upset because they broke into tiny pieces while boiling. We selected another brand from Italy that worked beautifully and those little O’s held their shape perfectly. Please note that anellini takes extra time to boil, approximately 20 minutes.
- Pasta Rings Substitutions: Feel free to substitute with your favorite small-cup pasta or broken spaghetti (approximately 2 inches in length).
- Maple Syrup: Traditionally, Campbellās Spaghetti Os is fairly sweet using high-fructose corn syrup. This recipe has a slight sweetness to it. Feel free to adjust the maple syrup to suit personal preferences.
- Almond Butter: The almond butter helps tempers the acidity and creates a smooth texture while helping perfectly balance the flavors.
- Almond Butter Substitutions: You can substitute the almond butter with cashew butter or other nut or seed butters with the understanding that the flavor and texture will be impacted accordingly.
- San Marzano Tomatoes:Ā We used San Marzano-Style Italian crushed tomatoes.Ā San Marzano tomatoes are prized Italian tomatoes known for their elongated shape, vibrant red hue, and sweet flavor. They give a rich tomato flavor, have a more delicate thick flesh, yet fewer seeds.Ā They can be expensive; however, you can find San MarzanoĀ styleĀ crushed tomatoes which are less expensive which is what we used in this recipe. Feel free to use a 28 oz. can of regular crushed tomatoes if you cannot locate San Marzano Style crushed tomatoes or wish to be more frugal. Either is fine, just know that the flavor will be less vibrant if electing not to use San Marzano tomatoes but will still be delicious.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the crushed tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity.
- Blending the Veggies: For the smoothest results, use a high-speed blender, but you can also use a food processor or immersion blender. Important Note: Do not blend the bay leaf, remove it. If using a food processor, the end result will be a textured broth. We strongly recommend using a high-speed blender to achieve the perfect texture.
- Gluten-Free Pasta: Feel free to use gluten-free pasta.
- Keeping the Gluten Free Pasta separate from the Tomato Broth: Gluten Free pasta is extra thirsty.Ā It will soak up a lot of liquids and make for a less brothy dish.Ā Additionally, gluten-free pasta tends to get mushy. That is why we suggest cooking the pasta separately and placing it in your bowl, then ladle the hot broth/sauce over top.Ā This is how most restaurants serve dishes that have pasta in them.Ā They keep the broth/sauce and pasta separated until ready to serve
- IF keeping the pasta separate from the Sauce – From Refrigerator to Table: This dish is excellent for meal preps.Ā Simply store the pasta separately from the broth/sauce. Take a portion of refrigerated pasta and put it in a fine sieve strainer, run it under hot tap water, then place it in your bowl. Ladle the broth/sauce over top and microwave until hot and serve. If you do not want to use the microwave, simply follow the same instructions about the pasta, but place the broth/sauce in a small stock pot, heat until boiling, then ladle the hot broth/sauce over top of the pasta and serve.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your familyās sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.Ā Store in a covered air-tight container.
This dish freezes well; however, as with most pastas once frozen, they can become mushy.
Pantry Products:
- San Marzano Crushed Tomatoes: We used Delallo San Marzano Style Italian Tomatoes ā Crushed. Feel free to use your favorite San Marzano or San Marsano-Style Italian crushed tomatoes or simply use a can of regular crushed tomatoes.
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.Ā Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
- Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos. We recommend using reduced-sodium products.
- Almond Butter: We used Artisana Organics Raw Vegan Almond Butter.Ā Feel free to use your favorite raw almond butter in this recipe.Ā Read the label, make sure the only ingredient is raw almonds.Ā Do not use a salted or sweetened almond butter.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your familyās sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large stock pot
- Medium stock pot (to cook the pasta rings)
- High-speed blender
If you try this delicious dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Healthy Vegan Spaghetti Os
- Prep Time: 25 Minutes
- Cook Time: 25 Minutes
- Total Time: 50 Minutes
- Yield: 8 Cups 1x
- Category: Soup, Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Healthy Vegan Spaghetti Os dish is the perfect nod to the nostalgic Campbellās Spaghetti Os comfort food we all grew up loving, but reimagined with plant-powered goodness.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 celery rib, fine dice
- 1 large carrot, fine dice
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 1 cup water
- 1 ā [ 28 oz. can ] crushed tomatoes *
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari *
- 1 teaspoon almond butter *
- 1 Ā½ teaspoons pure maple syrup (+/-) *
- Ā¼ teaspoon baking soda *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 Ā½ teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoon dried minced onions
- Pinch to 1 Ā½ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
- Pinch to 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (+/-) *
Other Ingredients:
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 to 12 oz. uncooked anellini (pasta rings) *
Instructions
- Cook the pasta rings according to package directions, rinse really well in cold water, set aside to drain.
- Place all the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk, set aside.
- Place the finely chopped onions, celery and celery into a large stock pot, sautƩ over medium-high heat for 7 to 10 minutes (or longer), until softened, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning.
- Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic, sautƩ, stir constantly for one minute.
- Next add all the remaining Base Ingredients, the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well, then bring to a boil, then tuck in the bay leaf, stir. Cook at a low-boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the allow to rest for 5 minutes, remove the bay leaf.
- After 5 minutes, ladle the mix into a high-speed blender and blend on high for one minute until thoroughly emulsified and smooth.
- Return the tomato mixture to the stock pot and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add 4 cups (+/-) of the cooked pasta rings to the tomato mixture and stir well. OR another way to serve is to add a generous portion of the cooked pasta rings to the bottom of a soup bowl, ladle the hot tomato broth over top, stir well. Enjoy!
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt:Ā Please adjust the sea salt based upon your familyās sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings:Ā 4 to 6 (makes 8 cups)
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