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!
A comforting vegetarian bolognese
This recipe for Lentil Bolognese is loaded with flavour and is equally as yummy as a traditional bolognese sauce.
You will need to devote a bit more time to make this recipe, but what’s the rush anyway? Time is your friend when creating a super-rich and flavourful bolognese sauce. And trust me, it’s SO worth it. Time is your key ingredient which produces a bolognese taste so yummy. It allows all the flavours to come out and creates a sauce that’s just so damn great.
The fantastic news is because you are likely to get to start a bottle of red wine for this recipe, so you can put on some music, pour yourself a glass, and relax in the kitchen while you cook!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- This dish is the ultimate comfort food. Need I say more?
- It is obviously vegan, gluten-free and high in protein so it’s a fantastic dish that everybody can enjoy.
- The combinations of sweet, salty, and sour give this sauce incredible flavour.
How to make a Lentil Bolognese
Pulse the veggies in a food processor then add them into a pot or pan to brown. Cook the vegetables down for about 15 minutes, constantly stirring to keep them from burning. Please don’t rush this step and just cook them for 5 minutes. You need them to cook and construct flavour.
Next, add the red wine. And not just a splash, an whole 3/4 cup of wine. Again, don’t skip this and use water or broth instead. Red wine is a critical ingredient in baking that this bolognese taste incredible. Let the wine cook-off in the pot.
Add the peas, crushed tomatoes and seasoning and let everything cook down. Or if you’ve got enough time, let it cook on low for around an hour. Then use an emulsion blender (or standard blender) and pulse the mixture just slightly to break it down. Do not over pulse it though! You want to make sure to have texture in your bolognese.
Serve up this bolognese in addition to your favorite pasta, some spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, rice, on its own, or however, you like!
Tips for making this recipe perfectly
- Give the veggies time to brown in the pan. Please don’t rush through this step and only cook them for 5 minutes! Browing the vegetables builds flavour, which is essential for a tasty vegetarian bolognese.
- Do not substitute the red wine in this recipe with water or broth. Red wine is also crucial in this dish for creating a super flavourful bolognese sauce. Any red wine will probably get the job done.
- French lentils or beluga lentils work best in this recipe. Don’t replace with red lentils.
- Make sure to take out the bay leaves before mixing the sauce! Bay leaves are extremely tough, and it will be unpleasant to consume small chunks of these.
- Simply blend the sauce ever so slightly! Please don’t go crazy and blend it up into a puree. You want the sauce to have a wonderful chunky feel still and be able to observe some bits of lentils inside.
- Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge, or freeze leftovers.
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Please, if you recreate this Healthy Lentil Bolognese Recipe, don’t forget to give me star rate or comment below. Thanks!
Try these other Delicious Recipes options:
- Super Easy Vegan Burrito Recipe
- Apple Pecan Fall Salad
- Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili
- Broccoli Cashew Stir-Fry Easy Salad Recipe
- Easy Taco Salad Vegan Recipe
- Chickpea Salad Recipe Vegan and Oil Free
Healthy Lentil Bolognese Recipe
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
Calories: 240
Sugar: 8g
Sodium: 370mg
Fat: 5g
Carbohydrates: 35g
Fiber: 14g
Protein: 11g
