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Healthy Lentil Bolognese Recipe
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Healthy Lentil Bolognese Recipe

This comforting Lentil Bolognese is your ultimate healthy comfort food. It's loaded with veggies and lentils and may be appreciated on your favorite pasta, spaghetti squash, or even on its own!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Breakfast, diet, Dinner, low carb, lunch, Main Course, main dish, Side Dish
Cuisine: daily free, gluten free, Italian, low carb, vegan
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 240kcal
Author: Feodora Nastashia

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2 big carrots
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 portobello mushroom
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 tbsp avocado oil or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup red wine
  • 2 cups cooked lentils I use french lentils
  • 2 cups crushed tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 large handful of fresh parsley finely chopped
  • pasta spaghetti squash, rice, etc. for serving

Instructions

  • Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, mushroom, and pepper to a food processor and chop into small bits.
  • Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat and add in the chopped vegetables and salt.
  • Brown the vegetables in the pan for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. (Do not skip this step! Browing the vegetables is where all the flavour happens!)
  • Once the vegetables are browned, add in the wine. Cook on medium heat until the wine evaporates.
  • Next, add in the lentils, and crushed tomatoes, and the rest of the ingredients (except the pasta) and mix together until well combined.
  • Lower the heat to low, add in the water and let cook down for another 20 minutes.
  • Remove the bay leaves and slightly pulse the sauce with an emulsion blender.
  • Serve over your favorite spaghetti or pasta.

Notes

Don’t replace the red wine in this recipe with water or broth. Red wine is essential for a delicious and flavourful bolognese! French lentils or beluga lentils work best in this recipe. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before pulsing the sauce! You don’t want to end up with little chunks of bay leaves mixed in. Only blend the sauce slightly. You don’t want to end up with a puree. You should still have texture and be able to see the lentils in the sauce.
Nutrition
Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe
Calories: 240
Sugar: 8g
Sodium: 370mg
Fat: 5g
Carbohydrates: 35g
Fiber: 14g
Protein: 11g