Lentil Bolognese is an easy, vegan and gluten free version of the traditional bolognese pasta sauce. This tomato based sauce is hearty, healthy, and delicious!! Serve it over pasta, zoodles, spaghetti squash, quinoa or just about anything!!
What is Lentil Bolognese
I've always been keen to try the bolognese sauce but since my husband doesn't eat meat I thought of making the vegetarian version of this famous sauce.
A little about Bolognese sauce, this is a meat based tomato sauce from the region of Bologna in Italy. This sauce has a lot of texture from the veggies and meat. It is typically served with flat, broad noodles like tagliatelle, fettuccine, pappardelle or tube shaped pasta's like rigatoni or penne.
Spaghetti is not a popular choice to pair with this meat sauce. Hence spaghetti bolognese is considered inauthentic in Italy but is widely popular outside of it like in other parts of Europe and America.
Today I'm sharing the delicious vegan and gluten-free version of the Bolognese sauce using lentils. Lentils make the perfect substitution for meat since they still keep this dish hearty and protein rich.
Irrespective whether you serve this lentil sauce with traditionally paired pasta or spaghetti like I did, its simply is delicious and comforting!
Ingredients for Lentil Bolognese
This Lentil Bolognese recipe is super easy to make using pantry staples. All you will need is
Veggies: basic ones like onions, carrots and celery to make the base and garlic for aromatics. Other veggies like mushroom, zucchini can be added too.
Lentils: Meat is replaced with hearty, healthy protein packed lentils. My preferred lentil for this recipe is split red lentils as they are they cook quickly and are delicious!
Tomato base: I prefer using store bought tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to get that rich tomato sauce. Tomato paste or marinara sauce can be used instead as well.
Seasonings: You just need salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and oregano. Like I said, you don't need a lot to make this simple delicious lentil dish.
How to make Lentil Bolognese
Typically the bolognese sauce is a slow cooked sauce but I prefer making it the quick and easy way using Instant pot. The stove top version is mentioned in the recipe card below
Let see a step by step on how to make this dump and go Instant pot Lentil Bolognese recipe.
Wash and rinse the lentils and keep aside. Soaking them is not required.
Start Instant pot on saute (normal) mode. Once hot, add oil, onion, carrot and celery and saute till onions are translucent. Stir in garlic and cook till raw garlic smell goes away.
Press cancel and close the lid with vent to sealing. Cook on manual high for 8 mins followed by quick release after 10 mins. Give it a quick taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add a teaspoon of sugar to balance the tartness. (optional).
For thicker consistency of sauce, start saute mode and cook stirring intermittently till desired consistency is reached. This sauce thickens as it rest so keep that in mind. Alternately for a thinner consistency adjust using water or broth.
Serve over boiled pasta, zoodles, spaghetti squash or quinoa topped with some chopped parsley and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano (skip cheese to keep vegan).
Can I freeze Lentil Bolognese
Yes!! The Lentil Bolognese sauce stays good for upto couple of days in the refrigerator. For longer use, freeze it in quantities you tend to use for a serving.
When ready to use either thaw it overnight in fridge or directly empty the frozen contents in a sauce pan and cook until its completely heated through. Serve over pasta of choice.
More such delicious Pasta recipes for you to try:
BEET AND CARROT MAC AND CHEESE
CREAMY GARLIC PASTA WITH VEGGIES
Hope you enjoy this Lentil Bolognese as much as we do!! If you give this recipe a try, we did love to hear from you ❤️. Please let us know your rating ⭐️and feedback in the comments below. Thank you!
Recipe Card
Lentil Bolognese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 15oz can tomato sauce or marinara sauce
- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
- ½ cup split red lentils
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 cup water or vegetable stock more is needed for stove top
- 1 teaspoon sugar Optional
- Salt and freshly crushed black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes adjust to taste
For Serving
- Boiled pasta for choice
- handful fresh parsley roughly chopped
- parmigiano reggiano freshly grated, to taste
Instructions
Using Instant Pot
- Wash and rinse the lentils and keep aside. Dont have to soak these.
- Start Instant pot in saute (normal) mode. Once hot, add oil, onion, carrot and celery and saute till onions are translucent.
- Add garlic and cook till raw garlic smell goes away.
- Next add in the lentils, seasonings (dry oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and water or vegetable stock. Mix well ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Press Cancel and close the lid with vent to sealing.
- Cook on manual high for 8 mins followed by quick release after 10 mins.
- Give it a quick taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add a teaspoon of sugar to balance the tartness. (optional)
- For thicker consistency of sauce, start saute mode and cook stirring intermittently till desired consistency is reached. This sauce thickens as it rest so keep that in mind. Alternately for a thinner consistency adjust using water or broth.
- Lentil Bolognese is ready! Serve over boiled pasta, zoodles, spaghetti squash or quinoa topped with some chopped parsley and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano (skip to keep vegan).
Using Stove Top
- Wash and rinse the lentils and keep aside. Dont have to soak these.
- In a cooking pot or dutch oven, heat oil on medium heat. Once hot, add oil, onion, carrot and celery and saute till onions are translucent.
- Add garlic and cook till raw garlic smell goes away.
- Next add in the lentils, seasonings (dry oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper), tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and (2-3) water or vegetable stock. Mix well cover with a lid and simmer until the lentils are cooked approximately 20-30 mins. Stir intermittently.
- Lentil Bolognese is ready! Serve over boiled pasta, zoodles, spaghetti squash or quinoa topped with some chopped parsley and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano (skip to keep vegan).
Notes
- Cook pasta or grain of choice separately as per package instruction while the sauce is cooking.
Happy Cooking!
Shweta
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