This delicious vegan goulash easily comes together to create all the comforting flavors of the classic dish! Hearty mushrooms, walnuts, and pasta are surrounded by a rich, cheesy tomato sauce. This one-pot, American-style goulash is a meal that everyone will love!
Cooking this savory dish is so effortless as it doesn’t involve hovering around the stove or heavy prep work. The delicious flavors come together on their own as it cooks to form a casserole-type of consistency.
I love how this vegan spin of the classic dish is the ultimate comfort food for any time of the year. Nothing takes me back to my childhood like this goulash. This recipe is perfect for potlucks, meal-trains, meal-prep, or for simply filling a bunch of hungry bellies!
Meat Replacement for Vegan Goulash
Something special about this meal is that the meat that is usually used in the classic recipe is substituted with mushrooms and walnuts. The walnuts are softened simply by soaking them in water before the cooking process and both are sautéed with delicious, aromatic flavors. You’ll find that the texture of these two nutritious ingredients serves as a perfect hearty blend.
Reasons You’ll Love this Recipe
- Kids love it
- Fully vegan
- Made in one pot
- Easy to put together
- Perfect for meal-prep
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Noodles - Elbow macaroni noodles or any type of pasta you have works here. Gluten-free or whole-wheat pasta can easily be used instead.
Tomato - Tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, both canned, create a tangy and rich sauce.
Meat Replacement - Mushrooms, walnuts, and Worcestershire sauce create a perfect meat replacement for this dish. Make sure the Worcestershire sauce is vegan, by checking the ingredients for anchovies. This is the one I like: Worcestershire Sauce.
Seasoning - White onion, garlic, fresh parsley, fresh basil, and a few other spices create a dynamic flavor profile. Yellow onion works too. Sauté the onions and garlic in water instead of olive oil if you would like to make this an oil-free meal.
Broth - The pasta will cook in low-sodium vegetable broth. You can substitute the broth with water if you don’t have any, but the soup may not have as much flavor.
Vegan Cheese - Vegan cheddar shreds add a tasty, cheesy texture to this easy goulash. I like to use Daiya plant-based cheese here because of its flavor and how easily it melts.
How to Make Vegan Goulash
Prepare the Ingredients - Soak the walnuts in water for 30 minutes. Give them a fine chop after they’ve soaked. Dice the whole onion, roughly chop the mushrooms, and mince the garlic cloves.
Sauté the Onions - Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Then, add the onions and sauté them for 3 minutes or until translucent.
Add the Heartiness - Mix in the mushrooms, walnuts, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir occasionally as these ingredients cook for about 5 minutes.
Create the Sauce - Pour in the vegetable broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, herb leaves, salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Let this cook for 10 minutes as you stir it every once and a while.
Add the Pasta - Toss in the uncooked pasta, stir it into the mixture, and cover the pot. Revisit the goulash every so often to give it a good stir. Cook for 15 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
Make it Cheesy - Stir in the vegan cheese until it has melted.
Enjoy! - Top the goulash with optional basil and parsley leaves. Enjoy it right away or save it for later. The goulash will thicken as it cools down.
Recipe Variation Ideas
- Sauté the onions in 2 tablespoons of water to make this an oil-free dish.
- Add vegan ground meat or use it in place of the mushrooms and walnuts.
- Mix in extra veggies like carrots, peas, bell peppers, potatoes, or spinach.
- Kick up the heat by adding fresh jalapeños, cayenne, or red pepper flakes.
- Use gluten-free, whole wheat, or any pasta you have on hand.
- Add vegan sour cream at the end of the cooking process for extra creaminess.
Make-Ahead or Leftovers
This is a great make-ahead meal! It can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it cool down before storing it in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Reheat
Reheat the refrigerated goulash in the microwave or on the stovetop. If frozen, let it thaw out in the refrigerator overnight, before reheating it. You might want to add a little bit of water as you’re reheating it if it’s too thick.
FAQ
Separate the individual garlic cloves away from the bulb. Discard any loose layers. Don’t worry about completely peeling the cloves yet. One at a time, crush the cloves with the side of a large knife blade. Do this by using the palm of your hand to carefully give the side of the blade a quick hit. This will crush the cloves and make peeling so much easier. Peel the cloves and then finely dice the crushed garlic.
Italian seasoning is usually a combination of thyme, basil, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, coriander, and sage. These dried herbs are ground up and come together to form a convenient blend of classic Italian flavors. Italian seasoning such as this one can be found at most major grocery stores or online.
Italian Seasoning
Related Recipes
Try these additional easy vegan comfort meal ideas.
I hope you loved this Vegan Goulash! Please leave a star rating and comment below.
Vegan Goulash
Ingredients
- ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 28 ounces tomato sauce, canned
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes, canned
- 3 cups vegetable broth, low-sodium
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 10 leaves fresh parsley
- 10 leaves fresh basil
- 1 ½ cups elbow macaroni pasta
- ½ cup vegan cheddar shreds
Instructions
- Let the walnuts soak in water for 30 minutes and then give them a fine chop. Dice the onion, roughly chop the mushrooms, and mince the garlic cloves.
- Bring a large pot to medium-high heat and then add the olive oil to it. Next, add the onions to the pot and sauté them for about 3 minutes or until they are translucent.
- Add the mushrooms, walnuts, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce to the pot. Occasionally stir these ingredients as they cook for about 5 minutes.
- Next, add the vegetable broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil leaves, parsley leaves, salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Stir it every once in a while as this sauce cooks for 10 minutes.
- Stir the uncooked pasta into the sauce and then cover the pot. Revisit the goulash to stir it every so often. Let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
- Toss in the vegan cheese and then stir until it has melted. Sprinkle optional basil and parsley leaves as garnish and then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Recipe Variation Ideas
- Sauté the onions in 2 tablespoons of water to make this an oil-free dish.
- Add vegan ground meat or use it in place of the mushrooms and walnuts.
- Mix in extra veggies like carrots, peas, bell peppers, potatoes, or spinach.
- Kick up the heat by adding fresh jalapeños, cayenne, or red pepper flakes.
- Use gluten-free, whole wheat, or any pasta you have on hand.
- Add vegan sour cream at the end of the cooking process for extra creaminess.
Make-Ahead or Leftovers
This is a great make-ahead meal! It can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it cool down before storing it in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer.Reheat
Reheat the refrigerated goulash in the microwave or on the stovetop. If frozen, let it thaw out in the refrigerator overnight, before reheating it. You might want to add a little bit of water as you’re reheating it if it’s too thick.Nutrition
The nutrition information is estimated and can vary depending on brands and measurements used.
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