Beef Spaghetti Bolognese with Vegetables is one of those recipes where you can't really do much wrong. You can stuff in as much goodness as you want and it's still going to taste absolutely fantastic. This is my base recipe and it's perfect for a family-friendly dinner or meal prep.

Spaghetti Bolognese was a meal I fondly remember growing up. I think it was every Tuesday we would have it sitting on the dinner table when we would get home from our respective sports.
"Spag Bol" as we Aussies like to call it (don't tell the Italians, please) was one of the first recipes I learnt how to cook. It definitely isn't authentically Italian with all the extra bits and pieces. But, I will always remember my parents telling me that it was an easy way to hide in extra vegetables that you don't realise are even in there.
If you need to sneak in secret vegetables because you either don't like them, don't get in enough serves, or are just a bit lazy, then this Spaghetti Bolognese with vegetables is the recipe for you. Not a fan of beef? Check out my Turkey Spaghetti Bolognese recipe.
This easy bolognese recipe works amazing with the spaghetti (or any other pasta), but also in lasagna and as a Shephard's Pie. You could also use the sauce to dip my Small Batch Focaccia into!
Jump to:
Beef Spaghetti Bolognese Ingredients
Recipes with mince are really easy to bulk out with extra legumes and vegetables. What is originally only 4 serves of mince, very easily becomes 8 (in this case, 10).

Mince. In the traditional Spaghetti Bolognese recipes, you would use a lean beef mince. But, you can also substitute for chicken, pork, turkey or TVP for a vegan Spaghetti Bolognese alternative.
Lentils. I use 1 tin of lentils to help bulk out the meat. You'll never know they're in there.
Kidney beans. I have no idea if they're meant to be in a spag bol, but I grew up with Mum always throwing in a tin so I've taken that into my adult-life and always add kidney beans to Spaghetti Bolognese.
Tinned Tomatoes and Passata. These are not traditionally included in authentic italian Spaghetti Bolognese, but it helps bulk the mince out and gives a tomato-y flavour.
Vegetables. You can mix-and-match with what you have in your pantry, but my usuals include: onion, capsicum, zucchini, mushrooms, celery.
BBQ Sauce. Adds a bit of tang.
Red Wine. Adds extra depth. This is optional.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Veggie Spag Bol

Heat olive oil in a large and deep pan (or a large wok) and add onions. Sautee until clear and fragrant (approx 3-5 minutes).

Add mince and cook until most of the mince has changed colour.

Prepare the vegetables: grate the carrots and zucchinis (I like to use my food processor for this), and finely chop the mushrooms, celery and capsicum either with a knife or a vegetable chopper. Add prepared vegetables, legumes, tinned tomatoes and passata. Mix well.

Add BBQ sauce, red wine, herbs and spices. It'll be slightly runny at this stage as all the vegetables start cooking down. Reduce the heat, cover and let it boil off for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. You could also do this in a slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.
Once the water content has reduced, add any other herbs/spices if desired. Cook for a further 30 minutes and prepare spaghetti according to packet instructions.
Hint: The longer you cook off the Bolognese sauce for, the more intense the flavour will become. It's what makes this a fantastic meal prep recipe because it actually tastes better Day 2 once the flavours have had time to develop.
Substitutions and Variations
Lentil Spaghetti Bolognese
Lentil spaghetti Bolognese is a vegan alternative to the traditional mince Spag Bol. You could use this recipe (minus 1 tin of tomatoes) to make it a vegan Spaghetti Bolognese.
Alternatively you could make TVP Spaghetti Bolognese. simply swap the mince with approx. 2 cups of dried TVP (it'll make about 4 cups once re-hydrated). Prepare the same way.
Chicken or Turkey Spaghetti Bolognese
You can substitute the beef mince for any other mince. I recently tried a chicken spaghetti Bolognese thinking it might be weird. BUUUUUUT, it was honestly so delicious! I highly recommend giving it a try. Also, I have a delicious Turkey Bolognese recipe that is a must try!
Spag Bol meal prep
Beef Spag Bol is an amazing dish to meal prep with as it tastes better the next day. I mean, have you ever tried leftover Spaghetti Bolognese?
If you are planning to have Spaghetti Bolognese as a meal prep, I would suggest undercooking the pasta by 1-2 minutes. This is because when you reheat in the microwave, the pasta will continue to cook in the sauce and if it's already al dante, it could go mushy.
I've given you some of my best meal prep tips & tricks.

Storing and freezing veggie spag bol
If you're storing your spaghetti Bolognese in the fridge for a meal prep, I would suggest keeping it in a glass meal prep container. Plastic meal prep containers are known to go red after having a tomato based sauce in them which is why glass containers are preferred for these types of dishes. Store for 4-5 days.
If you're planning to freeze your spaghetti Bolognese, I would suggest storing the spaghetti and Bolognese sauce separately. When frozen with heavy sauces, pasta can lose its texture and go quite mushy. By storing it separately, or cooking it fresh when you want it, this is prevented.
Divide your sauce (and pasta up if you're freezing that, too) into serves you'll want to defrost (e.g. one serve, family serves). You could freeze the Bolognese sauce in a vacuum sealed bag, container or souper cube for easy, one-serve access.
Reheating spaghetti bolognese
If refrigerating the spaghetti Bolognese, reheat on 1 minute intervals, constantly stirring so the pasta and sauce combine. It should take about 3 minutes to reheat all the way through. You can reheat directly in the glass meal prep containers, but not in the plastic meal prep containers as this will cause the sauce to seep into the container and the containers can actually leak plastic into the meal which is not what you want.
To re-heat from frozen, take out of the freezer the night before you want to have it and place in the fridge to de-frost. Then reheat the same you would from refrigerated Bolognese.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQ
Yes. When stored correctly in either an airtight container (no bigger than the food contained in it as air allows for freezer burn), vacuum sealed bag, or ziplock bag, Spaghetti Bolognese will keep for 6 months frozen.
To defrost, place in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave on 1 minute intervals. To fast reheat, add to a pot of water and it should defrost within 1 hour.
Yes. Brown off your mince and onion first in a pan, then add to a slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Literally everything and anything. I don't think anything is off limits. I add quite a bit of extras into mine, but you can definitely mix and match with other legumes and vegetables. It's like the 'everything but the kitchen sink' version of cookies, but as a savoury dish!
I'd love to hear from you! Sign up for my email list and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube or Pinterest. If you loved my recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and comment down below.
Recipe

Healthy Spaghetti Bolognese with Vegetables Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large and deep pan (or a wok).
- 1 Large and sharp knife.
- 1 Vegetable chopper. optional
- 1 Grater or food processor.
- 1 Stirring utensil.
- 1 Pot.
- 1 Pasta strainer.
Ingredients
- 1 kg mince See Note 1
- 400 g lentils rehydrated, See Note 2
- 400 g kidney beans
- 800 g tinned tomatoes
- 1 brown onion
- 1 capsicum diced
- 2 zucchinis grated
- 2 carrots grated
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 400 g passata
- ½ cup bbq sauce
- ¼ cup red wine optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon paprika optional
- 1 tablespoon chilli flakes optional
- 500 grams spaghetti dried (See Note 3)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a pan and add onions. Sautee until clear and fragrant (approx 3-5 minutes).
- Add mince and cook until most of the mince has changed colour. You could add it to a slow cooker at this time with the rest of the ingredients and cook for 2-3 hours on high or 6-8 on high. If using a pan, see next steps.
- Add carrot, zucchini, capsicum, celery, lentils, tinned tomatoes, passata, kidney beans and mushrooms to the pan with the mince mixture. Mix well.
- Add BBQ sauce, red wine, and any herbs & spices. It'll be slightly runny at this stage as all the vegetables start cooking down.
- Reduce the heat, cover and let it boil off for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. The longer you leave it, the more intense the flavour will be (highly recommend longer).
- After the water content has reduced, mix well and taste. Add any other herbs/spices if desired. If its slightly acidic (depending on the tomatoes you use), add a tablespoon of sugar, stir, and taste again (repeat if necessary).
- 15 minutes before serving, cook pasta according to packet instructions (this will vary depending on brand and type of pasta).
- Serve Bolognese with pasta and top with parsley and parmesan if desired.
Leave a Reply