I am always on the look out for new recipes and in particular ones that are thrifty, allows me to use items I already have in my kitchen, and meals that will be eaten and enjoyed by all members of my family. That is not too much to ask, is it?
While looking in my cupboards Friday morning for some meal time inspiration, I suddenly remembered a thrifty chilli bake recipe which the talented Helen posted a while ago where she used bread – yes bread – in place of minced beef!! I was thinking of making a bread bolognese having looked through my food cupbaords, especially given that I had half a loaf of slightly stale wholemeal bread. Anyway, lo and behold Helen had made such a thing herself but with lentils aswell as bread!!
So feeling inspired and a little creative (and sneaky to my meat loving OH hee hee!) I decided to have a go at making my own Bread Bolognese – and trust me not only did it look just like it contained minced beef, it tasted very similar too! You don’t believe me do you? Well, read on and be amazed !!
- 1 tbsp oilve oil
- 6 slices of wholemeal bread, cut into small cubes
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped finely
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped finely
- 1 oxo cube
- 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes with herbs
- ½ mug of white wine (only because I had some that needed using up, otherwise use hot water)
- 1 x 400g can baked beans (optional, not something I normally add to meaty bolognese but i had some in the cupboard!)
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp oregano (dried)
- 1 tsp basil (dried)
- black pepper for seasoning
- *To serve*
- pasta of your choice
- grated cheese
- heat the oil over a moderate heat and add the onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes until softened
- add the peppers and garlic and herbs and stir, and cook for a few more minutes
- add the bread and the oxo cube and mix again
- add the tomatoes and baked beans (if you choose to use them) and white wine and bring to the boil
- then reduce the heat, add a lid and cook for 40-45 minutes until the carrots are soft remembering to stir occasionally to avoid it drying out/sticking to the bottom of the pan
- serve with your choice of pasta
Not only was this super easy to make, super thrify and saved me throwing out some semi stale bread, it passed the family taste test!!! *does a happy dance*
Seriously, they all ate it and once I confessed to my OH what it actually contained he actually admitted that he liked it and not only that but he admitted that using bread in place of beef mince works!!! *still dancing happily*.
I think this would be perfect for a vegetarian option too – obviously change the beef oxo cube to a veggie one- and could save someone from using quorn mince for any meat eaters, just use bread! GENIUS !!!
This meal is very thrifty as I mentioned and although I used wine because I had some which had been opened a few weeks , if water was used in its place I worked out that this meal costs (approximately worked out)
6 slices of bread – 50p
2 carrot – 16p
1 red pepper – 33p (taken from pack of 3 for £1)
1 onion – 16p
1 tin of value chopped toms – 45p
1 tin of value baked beans – 24p
1 oxo cube – 10p
herbs & garlic – 10p
oil – 10p
£2.14-
thats just 42p per portion and if you omitted the baked beans then that brings the price per portion down to 38p!!!
This is going to be made again and I will be experimenting with it now so watch this space (and thank you Helen for the idea!)
Linking up to
Wow I would never think that bread in place of mince would work but now I think about it my mum always puts bread in her chicken mince too when she’s making kebabs and it never tastes any different!
just brilliant Jenny! I can’t believe that the boys ate it & Jon was happy with it too! Bloomin brilliant!! It really does look & taste like the real thing doesn’t it – it definitely has to be tried to be believed!!
Thanks for the mention…
x
How can it look just like bolognese but contain bread instead of mince?!? It truly is genius! I love the fact it tastes so good and is so thrifty, I’ll be trying this one out!
#Recipeoftheweek
Wow! I have fooled him with quorn mince before but never bread! If he wasn’t now on a gluten free diet I’d give it a go, But it’s worth trying for us vegetarians!
That looks so good! I am going to have to give this a try, I am always looking for cheaper meals that tastes good too. I have never heard of using bread before, it’s a fab idea. :))
Wow, that’s a great idea. I’d definitely shove in lentils too for a bit more substance. There’s no way I could do that with my OH though. Beef farmer would definitely recognise it by look and go ballistic. The son would be fine though.
Interesting and yummy x
Would this freeze well do you think or would the bread go a bit soggy?
It’s fine I have frozen it before. Just maybe make your bolognese sauce a little thicker so it doesn’t get watery when defrosted x
Fantastic, thank you! 🙂