Vegetarian Ragù Recipe: Tuscan Vegetable Ragù | Mama Florence Cooking School

What Is Vegetarian Ragù?

Vegetarian ragù, or ragù di verdure, takes the slow-cooked spirit of an Italian ragù and lets vegetables carry the sauce instead of meat.

In this Mama Florence recipe, that means three onions, three carrots, and three celery ribs — not a token soffritto hidden underneath the rest, but a generous vegetable base that gives the ragù its body and texture. Garlic, bay leaf, sage, and rosemary bring fragrance, while red wine and peeled tomatoes round everything out.

It is rustic rather than perfectly smooth, and that is part of its charm. The vegetables should still be present in every forkful, especially once the sauce is tossed through fresh pasta such as Fresh Egg Tagliatelle or a hand-rolled Tuscan pasta like Fresh Pici.

A Classic Italian Ragù

This vegetarian ragù starts with the herbs before the vegetables ever reach the pan.

Olive oil, garlic, bay leaf, sage, and rosemary are cooked together over high heat for one minute, giving the oil time to take on their fragrance. The coarsely chopped onion, carrot, and celery then go in and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirred from time to time so they soften without burning. Next comes the red wine. Once it has evaporated, the peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, and salt are added, and the ragù cooks over moderate heat for about 60 minutes.

How to Make Vegetarian Ragù

Ingredients

• 3 medium onions • 3 carrots • 3 celery ribs • 1/2 jar peeled tomatoes • 1 glass red wine • 1 garlic clove • 2 bay leaves • 2 sage leaves • 1 sprig rosemary • 4 tablespoons olive oil • Salt, to taste • Black pepper, to taste

Mama’s Secret: Add a little water from time to time while the ragù cooks. The goal is to let the vegetables soften and the sauce concentrate without allowing the pan to dry out too much.

1. Prepare the Vegetables

• Clean the onions, carrots, and celery.
• Chop them coarsely and set aside.

2. Start with the Herbs

• Place the olive oil, garlic, bay leaves, sage, and rosemary in a pan.
• Cook over high heat for 1 minute.

3. Cook the Vegetables

• Add the chopped onion, carrot, and celery.
• Sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the vegetables from burning.

4. Add the Wine and Tomato

• Pour the red wine into the pan and allow it to evaporate.
• Add the peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, and salt.

5. Cook the Ragù

• Cook over moderate heat for 60 minutes.
• Add a little water from time to time so the sauce does not dry out too much.
• When the ragù is ready, taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

How to Serve Vegetarian Ragù

1. The original recipe finishes the ragù directly with fresh pasta, which is exactly where the sauce comes together.
2. Cook your chosen fresh pasta in salted boiling water for 2–3 minutes, while reheating the ragù in a pan.
3. Drain the pasta and toss it with the ragù for about 1 minute, adding 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan and 1 tablespoon pasta cooking water.
4. Serve piping hot.
5. A broad pasta like Fresh Egg Tagliatelle catches the chopped vegetables beautifully, while Fresh Pici gives the sauce a thicker, more rustic partner.

Why the Herbs Matter

Bay leaf, sage, and rosemary give this ragù much of its Tuscan character. Rather than being scattered over the finished sauce, they go into the olive oil with the garlic right at the beginning. That first minute in the pan gives the oil a fragrant base before the onions, carrots, and celery arrive. The herbs are not meant to take over. They sit underneath the vegetables, wine, and tomato, giving the ragù the kind of savory background that makes a simple ingredient list feel far more complete.

The Perfect Bite

The finished ragù should still feel unmistakably like vegetables: soft onion, sweet carrot, celery, and tomato held together by olive oil and time.

The red wine adds depth without turning the sauce heavy, while sage, rosemary, bay leaf, and garlic linger quietly in the background. Once the ragù is tossed with fresh pasta, Parmesan, and a spoonful of cooking water, every piece of pasta should carry a little of that vegetable-rich sauce with it. It is rustic, savory, and exactly the kind of pasta that makes a meatless dinner feel like a choice rather than a compromise.

More Vegetarian Pasta to Make

If this ragù has you in the mood to keep working with fresh pasta, make a batch of Fresh Egg Tagliatelle and use the broad ribbons to catch every piece of vegetable. For something more distinctly Tuscan, try Fresh Pici Pasta, our hand-rolled pasta with a thicker, more rustic bite. And if you want another sauce where fresh ingredients do most of the talking, our Fresh Basil Pesto takes the same ingredient-first approach in a completely different direction.

Learn to Make Fresh Pasta with Mama Florence

Want to put the ragù on pasta you have rolled yourself? Join our Pasta Making Cooking Class in Florence to work with fresh pasta dough, learn shaping techniques, and cook alongside one of our chefs.

It is the natural next step for a sauce like this: once you understand how the pasta and ragù meet in the pan, the whole dish starts to make much more sense.

 

Vegetarian Ragù FAQ

Q: What is vegetarian ragù made of? A: This Mama Florence recipe is made with onion, carrot, celery, peeled tomatoes, red wine, garlic, bay leaf, sage, rosemary, olive oil, salt, and pepper. The original method also calls for tomato paste.

Q: How long does vegetarian ragù cook? A: The vegetables sauté for about 10 minutes, then the ragù cooks for about 60 minutes over moderate heat.

Q: Does vegetarian ragù contain meat? A: No. The body of this ragù comes from onion, carrot, celery, tomatoes, wine, herbs, and slow cooking rather than meat.

Q: What herbs are used in vegetarian ragù? A: This recipe uses bay leaf, sage, rosemary, and garlic.

Q: What pasta goes well with vegetarian ragù? A: Fresh Egg Tagliatelle, pappardelle, and Fresh Pici all work well with a rustic vegetable ragù.

Q: How do I finish the pasta with the ragù? A: Toss the cooked fresh pasta with the hot ragù for about 1 minute, adding 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan and 1 tablespoon pasta cooking water.

Q: Does the original recipe use tomato paste? A: Yes. The original preparation instructs you to add tomato paste with the peeled tomatoes, although it does not give a separate quantity in the ingredient list.

 

Disclaimer

Please note that our chefs may adapt recipes according to seasonal ingredient availability and participants’ dietary or allergy requirements. As a result, the ingredients, preparation, or presentation shown in this recipe may vary from what you prepared during your Mama Florence class. In some cases, elements of a dish may also appear as separate recipes. Please reach out to our team if any confusion arises. Thank you - the Mama Florence Family

Reviews

4.9 10 reviews

1. Even the person in this house who does not eat vegetables ate them.

   Sophie H.

   Edinburgh, UK · May 2026

2. Tried it with what was in the cupboard on a Wednesday. Not authentic, but it did the job.

   Ian P.

   Glasgow, UK · March 2026

3. Prepared everything in the morning and finished it in twenty minutes while people were arriving. That is the whole reason I picked it. I have ruined enough evenings standing at a stove with my back to the room.

   Marc L.

   Montreal, Canada · February 2026

4. Salting them first and letting them drain is the step that stops the whole thing being watery. Do not skip it as I did the first time.

   Jenna P.

   Portland, USA · January 2026

Show all 10 reviews