Vegan Recipe | Italian “Drunken” Noodles

I veganized this amazing dish I found on Pinterest the other night and I think it may be my new favorite recipe. It was so flavorful, filling and absolutely delicious. Plus, my kids loved it and wanted seconds. Here’s my vegan version of Italian Drunken noodles:

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 4 Tofurky Italian sausages
• 1 large onion, quartered and sliced thinly
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I mixed basil & thyme)
• ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 orange bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic (I used 4 tbsp pre-minced garlic)
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I used oregano from my herb garden instead. Use whichever you prefer)
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, divided use
• 8 ounces Pappardelle noodles, uncooked (I couldn’t find Pappardelle noodles, so I used the 1/2 a pack of linguine I had left over from my Cajun Pasta recipe–see my first blog recipe post)

Directions:

• Place a large, heavy-bottom pan or braising pot over medium-high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Once the oil is hot, crumble the spicy Italian sausage or tofu into the pan in small chunks (you want to keep the sausage fairly chunky), allowing it to brown in the oil for a few moments on each side.
• Prepare the noodles according to instructions on package. Then, drain the noodles very well.
• Once the crumbled sausage or tofu is browned, remove it from the pan/pot and place into a small bowl to hold for a moment.
• Next, add the sliced onion into the pan, add more oil if needed and allow it to caramelize and become golden for roughly 5 minutes or so, stirring to keep it from burning
• Once the onion starts to become golden, add the salt, Italian seasoning and cracked black pepper, and stir to combine, then add in the sliced bell peppers, and allow those to saute with the onion for about 2 minutes until slightly tender and golden.
• Next, add in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few moments, until almost completely reduced.
• Next, add in the diced tomatoes with their juice, and return the tofu or browned spicy Italian sausage back into the pan, and gently fold the mixture to combine; allow it to gently simmer for about 3-4 minutes to blend the flavors, then turn the heat off.
• To finish the sauce, drizzle in about 2-3 good tablespoons of the olive oil (I used olive oil from my friend, Jennie’s specialty store, The Olive Vineyard. The Tuscan Herb olive oil was just perfect, so if you’re in Agoura, Hills, CA stop by!) to create a silky, rich flavor, and add in the chopped parsley and about half of the julienned basil
• Add the noodeles directly into the sauce, using tongs to gently toss and combine the noodles with the sauce and all of the ingredients in it. Check the seasoning to see if you need to add any additional salt or pepper.
• To serve, add equal portions of the “Drunken” noodles to bowls, and garnish with a sprinkle of the remaining julienned basil and an extra drizzle of olive oil (if you’d like)

I hope you love this as much as we did! Do you have any recipes you would like to see veganized? Send them our way and we’ll take a shot at it!