This Vegan Lentil Bolognese Pasta is easy to make and tastes similar to the true bolognese sauce but is plant-based and gluten-free.
As you may know, we are not strictly vegan in our diet, as we eat mostly plant-based reducetarian. That means, that our diet is mostly plant-based, but we do consume meat, eggs, and fish (and some dairy) on occasion. We do like to eat our vegetables, though, and we add it in the meals often times even when vegetables are not part of the recipe (ahem, carrot cake apple breakfast muffins and pineapple spinach green smoothie)
That said, due to circumstances, we’ve eaten our share of meat bolognese sauce in the past month and it got me thinking how I could veganize this popular pasta sauce.
And so the Vegan Lentil Bolognese Pasta was born and added to our menu.
Now the texture might only slightly resemble the true meat sauce, but the taste is almost on point. This Vegan Lentil Bolognese Pasta is so so good! You just have to give it a try!
Making this Lentil Bolognese sauce is also really simple! You may think such a sauce requires a ton of ingredients and hours in the kitchen, but you would be wrong. Just a couple basic ingredients, that you probably already have in your pantry and fridge, an hour of cooking (mostly standing idle by) and dinner for 4 is served.
And by the way.
I make this sauce recipe in batch and freeze at least 2 servings in my freezer, so when I know I’ll be short on time for cooking (or just plain lazy), I just take a serving out of the freezer, defrost it overnight and bam, lunch in 10 minutes (just as long it takes the pasta to cook).
Also, use gluten-free pasta to keep this dish gluten-free. But regular pasta works just as well if you tolerate gluten.
Bon Appetit!
Vegan Lentil Bolognese Pasta {Gluten-Free}
This Vegan Lentil Bolognese Pasta is easy to make and tastes similar to the true bolognese sauce but is plant-based and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 0.5 celery stalk
- 1 carrot
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 0.5 cup brown lentils
- 2 cups canned diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- pinch of salt
- dash of black pepper
- 400 grams gluten-free pasta
Instructions
- Finely dice onions, celery and carrot. Wash and drain brown lentils.
- In a large skillet heat a tablespoon of olive oil and lightly fry the finely diced onion, celery and carrot until the vegetables soften. Add finely diced garlic.
- Set the vegetables aside and add tomato puree to the middle of the skillet. Fry until it darkens. Add brown lentils, stir to combine and pour over with canned tomatoes.
- Add a cup of water, bay leaf and season with oregano, black pepper, salt and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook on low until the lentils cook through. If needed, add more water as the sauce cooks, depending how thick or thin you want it.
- When the sauce is done, remove the bay leaf.
- In a pot of salted water cook gluten-free pasta according to package instructions. Save a cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and mix with the lentil bolognese and saved pasta water.
- Serve with vegan parmesan.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 228Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 244mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 10gSugar: 6gProtein: 7g
Nutrition data is automatically calculated using Nutritionix and may not be accurate.
- See more pasta recipes here >
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