This lentil bolognese recipe is healthy, earthy, easy to make, and so comforting! If you love eating comfort food but you still want to keep it healthy, this recipe is for you!
Why you will love this recipe
This lentil bolognese is:
- Healthy
- Vegan friendly
- High in protein
- Hearty
- Delicious
- Great to cook for many people
How to make this recipe
First of all, chop the onion, garlic, add the carrots and mushrooms into a food processor, and pulse to chop them finely. Then, sautée the onion, bay leaf, and garlic in a pan with olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat, be careful not to burn the onion. When the onion is soft, add the carrots and mushrooms to the pan and sautée them for more 5 minutes, continually stirring to prevent burning.
Next, add the tomato, tomato puree, and white wine and cook for more 5 minutes, continually stirring until the alcohol has evaporated.
Finally, add the lentils, seasonings, and water, and let it cook for 20 minutes on low heat. Cook the pasta accordingly with the instructions in the packaging while the lentil sauce is cooking.
When the lentils are ready, turn down the heat, remove the bay leaf, and pulse with a hand blender to make it look creamier and combine all the ingredients. Be careful not to over blend.
Serve it with your favorite pasta and garnish it with chopped coriander or vegan parmesan.
Tips for making this recipe
- This recipe works great for meal prepping: Make a batch of this lentil bolognese sauce and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for about four days.
- White wine is a fantastic ingredient to add flavor to this recipe: So I suggest you stick with it. The alcohol evaporates with the heat, so you're not going to feel the taste of it, and it is safe for kids to eat it.
- Don't over-blend the lentils: If you over-blend the lentils, they will turn into a puree, which is different from a usual bolognese sauce consistency.
- You can use any pasta you prefer on this recipe: Spaghetti, penne, and tagliatelle are some examples of pasta that work great with this bolognese sauce. Also, you can use a gluten-free or a vegan one.
FAQ
Is bolognese healthy?
Well, if we are talking about traditional bolognese, I would say that it is not so healthy because of the amount of beef or pork meat and cheese that it contains, which makes it high in fats and not a very balanced meal.
But the good news is that this recipe that I'm about to show you is so much healthier than the traditional version and still tastes delicious.
If you have kids, this is a great dish to make them eat more vegetables and legumes because this dish includes lots of veggies, and the main ingredient in this dish aside from pasta is lentils!
What are examples of lentils?
The lentil is an edible legume high in protein and fiber. Also, it is often used in vegan or vegetarian recipes to replace meat.
There are many different types of lentils, like brown lentils, green lentils, red lentils, puy lentils, etc.
In this recipe, we've used red lentils but feel free to use your favorite one.
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Lentil Bolognese
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan lentil bolognese recipe is delicious, healthy, and so comforting! If you're a fan of a comfort meal on a cold winter day, this recipe is for you!
Ingredients
- 6 oz spaghetti or another type of pasta (175 g)
- 1 can cooked lentils, drained (400 g)
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 carrot
- 4 oz mushrooms (100 g)
- 1 can chopped tomatoes (240 g)
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup white wine (60 ml)
- ¼ cup water (60 ml)
- ½ tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- fresh coriander finely chopped, to garnish (optional)
- vegan parmesan, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Chop the onion garlic and add the carrots and mushrooms into a food processor, and pulse to chop them finely.
- Heat a pan on medium heat with olive oil and sautée the onion, garlic, and bay leaf for 5 minutes.
- When the onion is soft, add the carrots and mushrooms and sautée for more 5 minutes, often stirring to prevent burning.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, and white wine and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes until the wine has evaporated.
- Add the lentils, salt, black pepper, oregano, basil, and water, and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
- While the lentils are cooking, cook your pasta accordingly, the packaging instructions.
- When the lentils are cook, turn down the heat, remove the bay leaf, and pulse with a hand blender to combine all the ingredients. Do not over blend. Otherwise, it will turn into a puré instead of a sauce.
- Serve it with your bolognese sauce with your favorite pasta and garnish with chopped coriander or vegan parmesan!
Notes
This recipe works great for meal prepping: Make a batch of this bolognese sauce and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for about four days.
White wine is a fantastic ingredient to add flavor to this recipe: So I suggest you stick with it. The alcohol evaporates with the heat, so you're not going to feel the taste of it, and it is safe for kids to eat it.
Don't over-blend the lentils: If you over-blend the lentils, they will turn into a puree, which is different from a usual bolognese sauce consistency.
You can use any pasta you prefer on this recipe: Spaghetti, penne, and tagliatelle are some examples of pasta that work great with this bolognese sauce. Also, you can use a gluten-free or a vegan one.
Keywords: lentil bolognese, vegan lentil bolognese
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