Trader Joe’s Vegan Pasta Bolognese Review

On the official Trader Joe’s website, one of their wordsmiths has crafted the impressively alliterative line “pronounced proliferation of plant-based proteins.” They did so in celebration of all the vegan-friendly products that are hitting the market these days, including their very own Trader Joe’s Vegan Pasta Bolognese, which we’re reviewing today.

So how does this stack up against real meat-based pasta dishes? Well, let’s find out!

First, though, we must cook this. Thankfully, that’s a simple matter. Just chuck the dish into the microwave for four to five minutes (we found four and a half minutes to be sufficient) and then let it cool for two. That’s about as easy as it gets for a microwavable meal. (If you want to read the full cooking instructions straight from the back of the box, check out the package scans at the bottom of this review.)

The pasta comes in a tube shape and is made from red lentils. It has a little bit of an odd, slightly rubbery consistency to it, and the flavor leans more toward earthy than starchy. Our noodles ended up kind of dry in some places, but we think you could avoid this if you take the dish out about halfway through the cooking process and give it a little stir to make sure the pasta is properly covered in sauce.

That sauce is made from tomato, carrots, onions, and garlic, and it’s a really interesting blend. It has ever-so-subtle undertones of sweetness to it, and the garlic and onions aren’t too potent here. There is just a hint of carrot flavor that comes to the surface every now and again, but that’s pretty subtle as well.

As a vegan-friendly dish, this replaces any meat content with mushrooms and wheat protein. We do love mushrooms, but we don’t think they contribute to the overall flavor quite as much as we’d like.

This meal contains 430 calories and 690 mg of sodium. While that calorie count isn’t exactly diet-worthy, it’s close enough that we’re not going to complain about it. And the sodium level is just a hair below what we’d estimate is average for a frozen meal. Not too shabby!

The Trader Joe’s Vegan Pasta Bolognese is a fantastic option if you’re looking for a good Bolognese-style pasta minus the meat content. This dish brings together an interesting assortment of flavors and makes them all work together surprisingly well. We definitely recommend this to our vegan readers, but even meat-eaters will find plenty to enjoy here.

To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this frozen meal, check out our package scans below.