This easy lentil bolognese recipe is a rich, hearty vegan pasta sauce made with red lentils, tomatoes and vegetables. It's a healthy plant-based alternative to traditional spaghetti bolognese, packed with fibre and plant protein.
Vegan lentil bolognese is easy to make, budget-friendly and perfect for meal prep. Serve it with pasta, use it in a vegetarian lasagne, or spoon over baked potatoes for a quick healthy midweek dinner.
Recipe Summary: Easy Vegan Lentil Bolognese
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 generous servings
Key ingredients: Red lentils, tinned tomatoes, onions, carrots, and celery
Nutritional highlights: Lots of healthy fibre, plant protein, rich in folate and iron
Allergy info: Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, vegan
Convenience: Easy recipe with pantry ingredients, good for meal prep and freezing, a versatile base for multiple family meals
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Why lentils are perfect for vegetarian bolognese
- Lentils make an excellent replacement for the minced beef that you'd traditionally find in a bolognese sauce. Red lentils are a great source of fibre, folate, and a number of other vitamins and minerals. They are also an excellent source of plant protein and iron. See here for further information about the health benefits of lentils.
- Red lentils cook quickly and easily without soaking. The texture will soften quickly, thickening the bolognese sauce and making it perfect for coating pasta.
- Lentils are great at absorbing other flavours. Garlic, Marmite and herbs will ensure that your vegan bolognese is tasty and delicious.
- Lentils are an easy, cheap pantry ingredient.
Why you'll love this healthy recipe
- Allergy-friendly: vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free. Ideal for Meat-Free Mondays if you are looking to eat less meat!
- Made from a few simple, everyday store cupboard ingredients. Easy red lentil bolognese is perfect for the end of the week when you're running low on fresh ingredients.
- This healthy red lentil ragu is a good base for lots of comforting family favourites such as vegan spaghetti bolognese, veggie shepherd's pie or lentil lasagne.
- Budget-friendly. You can make six servings of this lentil bolognese sauce for just a couple of pounds.
- Ideal for meal prep. The sauce can be made ahead and reheated. It also freezes well.
Whilst not vegan, I have this easy lentil pasta sauce recipe on regular rotation as it's a good way to get my family to eat healthy lentils! I batch cook it so I've got extras for the freezer.
Ingredients for vegan lentil bolognese
Vegan red lentil bolognese is made mostly from pantry ingredients, plus a few veggies that you may already have in the bottom of the fridge.
- Lentils: You'll need dried red lentils for this recipe. They don't need soaking, and they cook through quickly.
Use the rest of the packet to make this easy easy red lentil dhal. - Onions, carrot and celery: These veggies make a great tasty base for an easy red lentil bolognese. I usually chop the veg for this recipe in the food processor, as it's good to have them finely and evenly chopped
- Canned tomatoes and tomato puree: Doubling up with both canned tomatoes and puree adds extra depth of tomato-y flavour. Either whole or crushed tomatoes are fine
- Flavourings: Red lentils have a relatively bland taste, so adding extra flavour is important. You can use either Marmite or Worcestershire sauce to add a savoury umami flavour, and fresh thyme adds a lovely herby taste. If you prefer to use dried thyme, reduce the quantity to 1 teaspoon, as it is more concentrated. You could also replace the thyme with a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs if that's what you have available. Finely chopped garlic adds more flavour. I don't add further seasoning, as the Marmite and stock are quite salty
- Stock: You can use any veggie stock you have available - in this version I used a stock cube, but you can use fresh homemade stock if you have it. If you like, you could replace 100 ml of the stock with a small glass of red wine.
- Olive oil, or you could use coconut oil if you prefer
How to make red lentil bolognese sauce
It's quick and easy to make this one-pot veggie bolognese recipe. Use a pan with a well fitting lid.
Saute the onion, celery and carrots for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients. This will help the flavour of the finished dish. Add the garlic at the end of the 10 minutes as it burns easily.
Add all the remaining ingredients, cover the pan and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Check towards the end of the cooking time to make sure that the sauce is not starting to catch on the bottom of the pan. If it is, add a splash more stock or water. The finished vegetarian bolognese with lentils will be rich and thick.
Expert tips
- If you like, replace 100ml of the stock with a glass of red wine. The alcohol will evaporate as the sauce cooks down and you'll just be left with the flavour.
- For extra richness, you can also add a splash of balsamic vinegar.
- Vary the herbs to suit. A handful of fresh basil or parsley both go well in this vegan bolognese with lentils recipe.
- Add a pinch of dried chilli flakes if you want a little spiciness.
- For a more meaty lentil pasta sauce, use this vegan mince recipe with mushrooms, walnuts and green lentils.
8 quick meals with easy vegan bolognese
- Serve your red lentil pasta sauce with spaghetti plus a sprinkling of nutritional yeast or grated cheese. Of course, you can also use other types of pasta such as tagliatelle or penne pasta. Wholemeal pasta is the healthiest choice.
- Use as a plant-based topping for spiralized veggies such as courgetti for a low-carb alternative.
- If you want to make your lentil ragu into a veggie lasagne, this easy white sauce recipe will speed the process up. Or for a vegan recipe use this dairy-free white sauce.
- Make a lentil-based veggie shepherd's pie with a topping of sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes will complement the flavour of the red lentils perfectly. See here for the full post on how to make a red lentil shepherd's pie.
- Or for an even simpler healthy meal, bake sweet potatoes in the slow cooker and top them with this vegan bolognese. Use white potatoes if you prefer
- Serve in tortillas with some avocado and grated cheese
- Serve on nachos, or even quicker, tip the lentil bolognese into a bowl and add tortilla chips on the side
- Use as a filling for stuffed veggies such as peppers or courgettes. Or simply pop the lentil bolognese into lettuce cups
You can also serve this lentil ragu as a healthy side dish - for non-vegetarians, it goes well alongside sausages and adds a good portion of healthy fibre and vegetables.
Storage
- Red lentil bolognese sauce stores well in the fridge for up to a week. You can easily reheat it on the stove in a pan. It's ideal for meal prep.
- This vegan lentil ragu is easy to batch-cook and is a great freezer-friendly meal. Pack into plastic bags or boxes and freeze for up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, lentils make a fantastic vegetarian bolognese sauce. Red lentils are ideal as they cook down quickly to a good texture. Using lentils to replace mince is good for your health and your wallet.
No, red lentils don't need to be soaked before cooking. If you look closely at a red lentil you can see that it has been split in half. That makes them very quick and easy to cook.
Yes, lentil bolgnese is a healthy recipe which is high in fibre, low in fat and a good source of vitamins and minerals. Lentils are also a good source of plant protein.
Other healthy lentil recipes
Lentils are a really flexible and useful ingredient. They make fantastic vegetarian burgers, and lentil pasties with spinach.
Lentils are also great to add to soups. They add plant protein, extra fibre and naturally thicken the soup. Red lentils will break down completely in a soup, so fussy eaters won't even know they are there;)
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Recipe
Easy Lentil Bolognese
Equipment
- large pan with a lid
Ingredients
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 1 stick celery finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic peeled and very finely chopped
- 400 g canned tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon Marmite or use 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 200 g red lentils
- 700 ml vegetable stock
Instructions
- Place a large lidded frying pan over a medium heat, and add the olive oil. When it's hot, add the onion, celery and carrot, and fry for 10 minutes until starting to colour slightly.1 onion, 1 stick celery, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 carrots
- Add the garlic, tomatoes and puree, herbs and Marmite and stir to mix.1 clove garlic, 400 g canned tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp Marmite, 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- Add the lentils and stock, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.200 g red lentils, 700 ml vegetable stock
- Towards the end of the cooking time, check that the bolognese is not starting to catch on the bottom of the pan - if it is, add a splash more stock or water.
Notes
- If you like, replace 100 ml of the stock with a small glass of red wine.
- Dried thyme can be used in place of fresh. Reduce the quantity to one teaspoon as it's more concentrated. You can also use other herbs such as basil or parsley if you prefer.
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
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