Lentil bolognese is a great vegan meat sauce that’s very easy to make. No weird mock-meat taste. Eat it with pasta or stuff it in sandwiches!
A traditional meaty bolognese is not difficult to make, yet, a lentil bolognese is even simpler — without the presence of raw meat, meaning less things to wash and no cross-contamination!
Plus, you’ll add a lot of vegetables into it, that’s said, it’s good for your body! Lentils is a great substitute for meat and it doesn’t have the weird taste of mock meat. I’ve added red wine vinegar and a little sugar in the sauce, so the pasta had a subtle fruity taste and slightly sweet.
You can experience with different lentils. It’s good to soak it in advance to shorten the cooking time, but it’s not necessary. For the vegetables, broccoli, sweet peppers, aubergine would be great choices too. Feel free to try out different combinations!
Lentil Bolognese Recipe
Split lentils do not require soaking, makes cooking a vegan bolognese one step easier. Use whichever vegetables you like. They’ll work out their way and make it tasty!
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 150 g any pasta (I used fettuccine)
- 130 g red split lentils
- a handful of cauliflower florets
- a handful of frozen peas
- ½ small onion
- 1 small carrot
- 2 mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 300 g tomato passata
- 100 ml water
For the Seasonings
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- black pepper
How To Make
- Wash, rinse and drain well the lentils. Dice the onion, carrot and mushrooms. Cut the cauliflower into small florets.
- Warm a tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat, sauté the onion and carrot, until the onions are softened. Then add the garlic, cauliflower and a generous pinch of salt to cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Tip in the lentils, tomato passata and water, also add the seasonings and stir well. Put the lid on, cook the vegetables and lentils until soft, around 12-15 mins.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta.
- When the lentils are soft enough, add in the frozen peas and cook for 3 minutes more. Cook for longer if you want it be more concentrate. Have a taste and adjust if needed.
- Drain the pasta and set it into a bowl. Ladle on top the lentil bolognese sauce. Sprinkle some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
