Lentil Bolognese

This rich and hearty lentil bolognese is the ultimate in comfort food. Made with budget-friendly ingredients, this recipe is full of savoury, meaty flavour while being naturally vegan and dairy free. This classic vegetarian pasta dish is sure to be a meal everyone will enjoy!

Bolognese sauce is a classic, and one that is a staple in most households. It’s something I grew up eating, something I ate at friends houses during our uni days, and something we still cook on a regular basis at home. Throughout each situation, it has taken on some form of evolution with each person putting their own flavour and flair to the king of pasta sauces.

This recipe is not for the bolognese purists. Instead of using beef mince, or even a combination of beef and pork mince, we are removing the meat but keeping all of that hearty comforting flavour by using brown lentils instead.

If you’re looking for a more traditional bolognese recipe that uses either plant-based mince or regular mince, try my gnocchi bolognese recipe instead!

Lentils come in many forms and are adaptable and inexpensive. They make the perfect pantry staple as they last forever. Unlike my lentil chilli which uses red lentils which tend to break down when cooked to give almost a creamy thickness to a dish, brown lentils which we are using here hold their shape when cooked and have a more earthy flavour making them perfect for bolognese.

I’d also like to mention because I think a lot of the time people who eat meat look to vegetarian versions of food and try to compare them to the original and I am not here to tell you that lentils taste like beef – because they don’t. But if you are looking for a meat free alternative that still tastes incredible, is rich, hearty and comforting, then this is going to absolutely tick all of those boxes for you.

So if you have a can of lentils hiding in the back of your pantry, or you simply want to look at reducing your meat intake, for health, environmental or cost reasons, this is a great recipe to try.

Key Ingredients

This recipe uses simple ingredients to create a hearty and comforting plant-based dinner that is perfect for a lazy Sunday or even a weeknight.

Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Onion and garlic – the flavour base of our sauce.
• Mushrooms – I like to use swiss brown mushrooms, also known as cremini which have a slightly firmer texture and richer, more intense flavour compared to white button mushrooms, however they also work fine.
• Tomato paste – to give the bolognese a deep, rich, tomatoey flavour.
• Dried herbs – for flavour I am adding a combination of dried oregano and basil but you can also use an Italian herb blend.
• Red wine – a deep red wine such as a cabernet or shiraz provides a much richer flavour to the sauce but if you prefer to cook without alcohol, just use extra stock.
• Canned tomatoes – a pantry staple!
• Vegetable stock – I always choose a salt reduced stock so I can control the amount of salt. If you’re using one that contains salt, make sure to taste the sauce before seasoning.
• Brown lentils – I am using a can of brown lentils. Green lentils will also work however you cannot substitute red lentils in this recipe. I haven’t tried this recipe using dried brown lentils.
• Spaghetti – use any pasta you like. Sub for gluten free pasta or use a high protein pasta to increase the nutritional value.

Step-By-Step Instructions

To make this lentil bolognese you really only need a nice large and deep frying pan and a pot to cook the pasta. I am currently obsessed with my GreenPan Padova cookware set that I picked up for my birthday this year and I love using the sauté pan for cooking dishes like this as it’s the perfect size.

It’s really important that you cook this slowly and take your time cooking each element before adding the next. You want to make sure to sauté your onions until they are beautifully soft and translucent otherwise you are going to end up with crunchy bits of onion in your sauce and let me tell you that no one wants that.

I always cook the onion on its own first before adding the garlic as the onion takes longer to cook and you don’t want to risk burning the garlic as this will add a bitter flavour to your whole dish.

Once you add in your garlic and mushrooms cook those down until reduced in size and nice and brown looking. Add in the dried herbs and the tomato paste and stir this through for a few minutes. This step allows you to cook out that raw tomato flavour and again helps to build on the flavour base for the sauce.

Next comes the wine. I remember my Dad telling me that you don’t want to cook with wine you wouldn’t drink, and I don’t know whether that’s because once you pour the wine into the sauce, it’s a good time to also pour yourself a glass? That’s what I’m going with anyway!

Before adding the rest of the ingredients, cook the wine down for a little bit. This reduction of the wine BEFORE adding any stock will ensure the wine has a chance to cook out some of the alcohol and really concentrate its rich flavours. Again, a game changer in terms of building a rich sauce.

Finally, add in everything else and turn down to a low simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until beautifully thick.

Mix a little of the sauce through your cooked pasta and then serve between bowls with extra sauce on top.

Recipe FAQs

More vegetarian recipes using lentils:

Chickpea and Lentil Curry
Vegan Lentil Lasagne
Healthy Vegetable Soup with Lentils and Barley
Slow Cooker Vegan Chilli

Lentil Bolognese

This rich and hearty lentil bolognese is the ultimate in comfort food. Made with budget-friendly ingredients, this recipe is full of savoury, meaty flavour while being naturally vegan and dairy free. This classic vegetarian pasta dish is sure to be a meal everyone will enjoy!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Australian

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 4 people

Author: Sally

Equipment

• GreenPan cookware set

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 200 grams mushrooms see notes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ cup red wine
• 1 x 400 gram can tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 x 420 gram can brown lentils
• 300 grams spaghetti
• Pepper and additional salt to taste

Instructions

• Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. Slice the mushrooms, first removing their stems and brushing off any dirt.
• Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium to high heat and add the onion. Use a wooden spoon to prevent the onion from sticking. Cook the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and the mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms have reduced in size.
• Add the tomato paste, salt, oregano, and basil, and mix until combined. Add the wine, stirring to combine, and then let cook down for about 5 minutes, until it starts to darken in color.
• Add the can of tomatoes, vegetable stock, and the can of brown lentils. Mix, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
• To serve, mix a little of the Bolognese sauce with the drained spaghetti and serve into bowls with a little more sauce on top.

Notes

Mushrooms: I like to use swiss brown mushrooms, also known as cremini. Otherwise white button mushrooms also work fine.

Lentils: I haven’t tried this recipe with dried lentils as the canned ones are much easier to find, however if that’s all you have, you can try increasing the amount of stock as needed and cooking until they are soft.

Wine: If you don’t want to use wine, just add extra stock, but a deep red wine such as a cabernet or shiraz provides a much richer flavour to the sauce.

This sauce tastes even better the next day once the flavours have had time to develop. You can also freeze any leftover sauce for up to three months. Just reheat the sauce in the microwave or on the stove and serve with freshly cooked pasta.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 665mg | Potassium: 566mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 378IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.

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This post was originally published on the 23rd May 2020 and has been republished to include better instructions, more helpful information and new photos.