Walnut Sauce
This super easy Walnut Sauce recipe is a great addition to any vegan or vegetarian meal rotation. Seasoned walnut crumbles replicate beef in a rich walnut bolognese to die for. It’s also perfect for eating on a budget.
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This walnut pasta sauce is an inexpensive and healthy dinner idea! For starters, walnuts have a wide variety of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Awesome nutrition right there. More meat-free dinner ideas include this Vegetarian Lentil Chili and this Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese. Or try this creamy and tangy Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce from Two Cloves Kitchen.
IN THIS POST: Everything you need to make Walnut Sauce
Ingredients
- walnuts
- dried seasonings: rosemary, parsley, garlic powder, smoked paprika, fennel, and sea salt
- plain tomato pasta sauce
Instructions to make this recipe
First, add the tomato pasta sauce to a saucepan to heat it up.
Meanwhile, add the walnuts to a food processor with the dried spices.
Pulse the walnuts into crumbles resembling ground beef. Be sure not to over blend or you will wind up with spicy walnut butter. A few pulses ought to do it.
Stir the crumbled walnuts into the warmed sauce and stir.
This is some rich, delicious pasta sauce right here.
In the meantime, cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water (generously salted) to a boil, cook, and drain.
This brand of brown rice pasta is a tried and true gluten-free option.
It has the perfect al dente consistency, as the Italians would say.
My favorite thing about brown rice pasta is how easily it digests. No stomach bloat or sluggishness like with bleached flour pasta. The key to perfectly cooked brown rice pasta is to not overcook it.
FAQs, Tips, + Substitutions
- What is walnut sauce? The traditional Salsa di Noci is a cream-based sauce with walnuts, white bread without crusts, and lemon juice. Our version is a different flavor featuring tomato sauce. It has more of a bolognese taste and fewer calories
- Use a high-powered blender instead of a food processor to make the seasoned walnut crumbles
- Top your bowl with fresh pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese
- Store any leftovers in a sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 2 days
Want to try another delicious vegan sauce? This easy white wine sauce is super simple but packed with flavor.
More meatless dinner recipes
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta
- Lasagna Roll Ups
- Cheesy Vegetarian Enchiladas
- Vegetarian Lentil Chili with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese with Crispy Lentils
- Pasta with Broccoli
- Vegan Tacos Recipe
*This recipe was originally posted on September 1, 2014, modified on June 21, 2019, and updated again on October 8, 2022, with recipe notes, writing, and new photos.**
If you’ve tried my Walnut Sauce, please rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out by leaving me a comment below. I’m always interested in feedback!
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Walnut Sauce – Vegan + Budget-Friendly Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts
- ¼ tsp dried rosemary
- ¼ tsp dried parsley
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp fennel
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 3 cups tomato pasta sauce
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pot, set your sauce over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, place walnuts and spices in your food processor and pulse until crumbled. Don’t over mix or it will turn to butter.
- Add the crumbles to the sauce and stir well.
- Cook 4 portions of your choice of pasta.
- Serve warm sauce over pasta.
Video
Notes
- Use a high-powered blender instead of a food processor to make the seasoned walnut crumbles
- Top your bowl with fresh pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese
- Store any leftovers in a sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 2 days
This recipe was quick and full of flavor. I did add a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Thank you.
What a great idea! I love the addition of a little nooch. Thanks Pia!
This sauce came out wonderful, I’m not vegan but I do meal prep for my vegan friend and she requested spaghetti with “meat” sauce made with walnuts
Awesome! Thanks so much for the great feedback, Precious 🙂
Just made this and substituted pecans for walnuts, because of an allergy and it’s what was on hand.
Oh! My! Gawd! So delish!!
This will be in regular rotation!
Thank you!
Yay! Thanks Lisa! Pecans sound perfect. SO glad you enjoyed.
We just had Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Walnut Bolognese at Marche restaurant in Eugene, OR on a road trip from CA to WA State. I was apprehensive when the waiter told me it was one of his favorites. I was shocked at how much I LOVED it! And it’s gluten-free! Even better. I immediately set out to find a recipe online, and I found yours. I’ll be trying it after the holidays and our drive back to CA. Thank you!
Wow, that’s such a cool story! I was shocked at how good it was too. 😉 Who would of thunk it! I hope you enjoy this version. Happy New Year, Lisa!
Made this last night and it was a big hit! The vegans of the house and the visiting non-vegans all enjoyed the walnut sauce.
Thanks 🙂
I’m so glad it was enjoyed by all. 🙂 Such great flavours in that sauce. Thanks Melinda!
Thanks for the great idea! I actually have an amazing bolognese recipe, but wanted to make it vegetarian for meatless Monday. I left out the meat and added nuts at the end. So yummy and satisfying!
Thanks Zanna! I was shocked how delicious it was, too. Enjoy your new meatless option! 🙂
Have you ever tried burgers with walnuts ? I would love any suggestions !
I haven’t personally, but this one –> looks promising. Oh She Glows seldom disappoints. 🙂
I just tried this recipe and while it tastes good there are a few bits I’m wondering about. The walnuts never quite softened up for that nice chewy texture you get from ground meat. Should I have soaked them first or do they just need to simmer for a long time in the sauce? I used a canned tomato sauce and by the time I finished the color of the sauce had changed from a bright red to more of a BBQ sauce brown. Is that because of the can or a reaction from the walnuts and spices? I’m curious if the leftovers will have impoved from the chill time so we’ll see. Overall, a nice dish that I’ll definitely be making again.
Hey Christy! I’m so glad you tried out the recipe. 🙂 Let me see if I can answer some of your questions.
When I make this the walnuts do still have a tiny bit of crunch to them for texture but not soft per se. You could try toasting the nuts a bit first which would add even more flavour and texture.
As for the tomato sauce, I would really try to avoid anything with tomatoes that is canned. Tomatoes are very acidic and there have been studies that show they will leach chemicals (BPA) from the lining of the cans. This ends up in your food and is not good to say the least. Look for the glass jarred tomato sauce to be on the safe side. It doesn’t take long to cook really. Just until it’s completely heated through. For me, it’s the time it takes to cook up my pasta. 😉
I hope this helps, Christy!
Let me know how the leftover turn out. I haven’t experimented with leftovers yet. It all ends up getting eaten same day. 😉
Normally I do use glass jarred sauce but since I was out I had to raid the pantry lol. I did saute the walnuts with the seasoning in some oil before adding the sauce and it did help make them more aromatic. The leftovers are good and the walnuts did soften a little bit. I think next time I may try a 50/50 mix of the walnuts and ground crumbles so you still get some of that soft chewy texture in there. Great recipe though. Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad the leftovers turned out well. Thanks so much Christy! 🙂
I made this tonight, adding a dash of onion powder and nutritional yeast. Sharon, my eyes rolled into the back of my head, it was so good! I ended up doubling the walnut mixture because I couldn’t get enough. One of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.
Right??!! I’m so glad you loved it. It’s like a new world has been opened. I can’t wait to experiment further using walnuts like this. Thanks for the positive feedback Meredith! I appreciate the kind comment. 🙂
Tried this and was super happy with it! Yummy 🙂 And I will try same technique for taco meat.
I’m all over the taco version too!! Isn’t it so amazing how walnuts are just transformed? Thanks so much Cheryal. 🙂
Oh my goodness! World changed! 🙂 I can Not wait to try this! Thank you in advance!
Thanks so much, Ivy!! I felt the same way. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 🙂
That looks heavenly!
Thanks so much, Sandra! It is one of the nicest surprises I’ve had since starting this blog. I was so excited to share it. 🙂
I just cooked and it was amazing! I didn’t have fennel seeds, though 🙁 but I used some cumin and overall it was great (: I am happy to say that this new recipe has joined my (vegan) mom’s recipe collection ♥ thank you very much for sharing it ^^ greetings from Costa Rica (:
Oooh! Costa Rica! My brother visited your beautiful country last year and absolutely loved it. His pictures were incredible!!
Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Maria. This recipe is a personal favourite. I was blown away how great the walnuts were in this sauce. And cumin? Love it. Great substitute. 🙂
I don’t have fennel but always have cumin in the house so I’m going to try that. Can hardly wait to try this TONIGHT!
Yay! I hope you love it, from one Sharon to another. 😉
I LOVE adding walnuts to my dishes to give it that little somethin’ somethin’ -especially pasta! I believe there’s nothing a walnut can’t make better. And pasta, be still my heart. This dish rocks! Perfect for the comfy cozy days of fall ahead. Yum 🙂
Thanks so much Allison! I was absolutely blown away by how delicious this was. I’m super excited to see what else I can toss seasoned walnuts into. 🙂
PS. Hello from one Southern Ontario dweller/blogger to another 🙂
Yay Ontario bloggers! 🙂 I think there is a little army of us. A powerful, healthy army. 😉
This looks amazing! Great photos!
Why thank you! We thoroughly enjoyed this dish. 🙂
This looks fantastic Sharon! I never thought to add walnuts as I always use mushrooms for a meaty taste and texture!
They were incredible! The texture was bang on. I was surprised how much I liked it! Thanks so much Millie. 🙂
Yum! What an awesome idea Sharon, I haven’t seen this walnut craze going around, but your recipe looks fab!
I’ve seen it done the same way but as taco ‘meat’ with chilies/hot spices. I’m trying that next! This tasted so so good, I’m inspired to try other things!
This is an awesome recipe for a meat free bolognese.. I definitely will be making it for my vegetarian household. Thanks for the great idea!
You will die!! It’s so good, I was blown enjoy. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it too! Thanks Thalia. 🙂
So funny!! I saw a recipe in Veg News a few days ago using walnuts as taco “meat” and was wondering if it would work in spaghetti sauce!! Great spirits think alike 🙂 I will definitely try this!
I can’t think of a better compliment than being a ‘great spirit’! Thanks so much Nathalie. 🙂 This is such a keeper recipe. Enjoy September!