Naturally gluten free and vegan, this Lentil Bolognese recipe is a hearty, healthy lentil recipe that’s perfect for topping pasta or just about anything else!
This is probably the hardest post that I’ve written. I’m not super comfortable talking about myself, so I tend to just talk about the food instead.
Having people criticize my recipes can be hard enough, but sharing extremely personal things like my struggle to lose weight is way (way, way) out of my comfort zone.
In September, I had my third little one. Since this was my third time, I figured I knew what to expect.
Except that this time hasn’t been like the last two time, and I have really been struggling to get my weight loss going this time. I definitely got off track while I was pregnant. I had hyperemesis during the beginning of my pregnancy. Once it was under control, I was hungry constantly, and so I ate.
After being so sick, I was beyond excited to be able to eat and to have food taste good again. At first, I craved healthy foods, and I ate lots of veggies and salads and good stuff. Towards the end, I craved more junk food, and that’s when the weight jumped on.
I gained about the same amount of weight during all three of my pregnancies. The last two times, it started to come off right away. I didn’t diet or do anything special to try to lose it, and it took me about a year both times to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.
This time, though, the weight seems to be pretty happy hanging around. I certainly want to lose this baby weight, but more than that, I want to work on getting healthy again.
So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, the recipes that I share on here reflect what we’re eating. Everything that shows up on here was first tried out on my family and friends.
Even though I don’t talk much about my life, I do want to be honest with what I do share. So, I don’t want to pretend like I can eat a lots of cake, cookies, and other no-so-healthy food and lose weight because I can’t. The struggle is real, my friends. And with that, on to the food!
How To Make Lentil Bolognese
Growing up, my mom made this great dish of lentils and rice, and I loved it. It was one of my favorite dinners, and I still love all lentil recipes. This Lentil Bolognese is my healthier take on pasta sauce. I’m not going to say that you’ll think you’re eating meat when you have this because you won’t.
Instead, this lentil bolognese is delicious in its own right. The sauce is packed with veggies and has lots of flavor. This sauce is incredibly hearty and super satisfying.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, celery, and carrot. Cook until softened, about 5-10 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and then the tomato paste.
Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, seasonings, and baking soda. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in the lentils and water. Simmer until the lentils have softened.
Tips
- I’ve never had trouble with the lentils cooking in the recipe as-written. However, some people have reported that pre-cooking the lentils or partially cooking the lentils has worked better for them.
- Since this sauce is so hearty, it’s great served over a sturdy pasta like a rigatoni (whole wheat, extra fiber, or just regular pasta all work).
- You can also serve this sauce over cooked spaghetti squash for a lower-carb dinner.
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Lentil Bolognese
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 rib celery finely chopped
- 3 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 7 cloves garlic minced
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 2-14.5 ounce cans diced Italian tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons dried sweet basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups red lentils rinsed and picked over
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
- Add onion, celery, and carrot.
- Cook, stirring as needed, until softened, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds.
- Stir in tomato paste, and cook, stirring it in, for 1 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with juice, basil, oregano, baking soda, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in lentils and water.
- Simmer, stirring regularly, until lentils have softened, about 20-30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Originally published 12/27/14. Updated with new photos and tips 12/31/19.
Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Sylvia says
Are the lentils dry and if so do I need to soak or are they cooked in a can. I am just starting to use beans. I eat too much meat. Thanks
Kate says
The lentils are dry. No, they won’t need to soak before you use them. One of the great things about lentils is that you don’t have to soak them unless you’re trying to cut down on the cooking time. Hope that helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions.
Sylvia says
Thank you. I am making this tonight.
ChangosKid says
My only critique of this recipe is how its been labelled under the title “cuisine”. Since when have pasta related dishes been American??? I believe this recipe to be a take on the classic Spaghetti Bolognese which is clearly Italian. Despite this dish not being classically Italian, I would argue that its definitely not American. Having said all that it looks delicious.
Kate says
How would you classify it? I’m asking honestly because I find that this can be a touchy subject for people. Here was my thinking on it – I couldn’t find that this recipe existed when I came up with it. So, it my Americanized take on an Italian classic. Also, I think there are pasta dishes that are American – like Cajun pasta. Hope you enjoy the sauce!
Renny says
Tastes great! My kids ate so much!
I definitely needed to add more water and cook for longer BUT like any good pasta sauce, it just gets better with time. This will be a regular item for us.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you and your family liked it! Thanks for coming back to comment. =)
Karen says
I made this for a family party today and it was excellent. I ended up letting it simmer very slowly for two hours and the flavors were awesome. I am allergic to wheat, so ate it iver steamed broccoli, but others ate it over pasta and liked it better than meat sauce. I couldn’t get the video to play properly on my phone so wasn’t sure where to use the 2 cups of water, but ended up using about that to keep thinning out the sauce as it simmered. This recipe is definitely going to be a new favorite.
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you liked it! I’ve had a few people who eat gf say that they’ve liked it over spaghetti squash, too. =) Thank you for taking the time to come back to comment!
Rhonda Clark says
I made this for my family. It was delicious. I have a large family–6, with three teens–so I doubled the recipe. That was not necessary. We ate it for multiple meals, which is a good thing sometimes! After the first meal, I put it back on the stove and added water to get the lentils to cook a little better. They were not quite cooked with the water amount given in the recipe.But otherwise, a great recipe! Will definitely make it again.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that you liked the sauce. =) Thank you for coming back to comment!
Julie says
Hi. I live in the UK and we don’t have cans of tomato paste and tomato sauce. Are they the same as our tomato puree and ketchup?
Kate says
Hi! I’m not sure what the best UK equivalents are. Tomato paste in the US is a paste made from concentrated tomatoes. Tomato sauce is a thin, unsweetened sauce made from tomatoes. It’s a thin puree of tomato. I’m not sure if UK ketchup is sweetened like the US ketchup, but neither tomato sauce nor tomato paste are sweet. I hope that helps!
Steve says
Hi, Great recipie! Having spent time both sides of the pond I found US Tomato paste = UK Tomato puree and US Tomato Sauce = UK Passata (sieved tomatoes). Hope that helps!
Kate says
Hi! Thank you! I appreciate you jumping in with that info. =)
Loutrina Staley says
Use tomato puree called passata
Kate says
Thank you!
Roni says
Why do you add baking soda?
Kate says
The baking soda helps to neutralize some of the acid in the sauce. =)
Erin Martinez says
Is 1 cup a serving? What is the measurement for a serving
Kate says
It’s a generous cup. Hope that helps! =)
Gab says
Do you have the grams per serving?
Kate says
No, unfortunately, I don’t have that.
lg says
Sauce made, added fresh herbs… basil, oregano and marjoram. Freezing more than half for a two person home. Lentils do take way longer and still have a chew to them. Added sugar and dried chili flakes for a spicy dish. Tomorrow is cooking chickpea pasta and blending with cheeses for a bakes, low carb, pasta dish.
Kate says
Sounds good! I need to try the chickpea pasta. I’ve wondered how it is. Thanks for commenting, and hope you enjoy! =)
Pete says
I normally make a meat bolognese sauce that is the talk of my family. However this is not about me or that sauce.
My daughter who is a vegetarian asked me to please make a vegetarian style bolognese sauce for her.
I followed your recipe and as someone mentioned, I too added mushrooms.
Thank you Kate for your recipe because my daughter thought it was phenomenal!
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad that she liked it! I love to hear things like this! Thank you for coming back to comment.
Raquel says
This is delicious, I made it tonight. I, too, added mushrooms, though I doubt they added much. I found the lentils took longer to soften, and I ended up adding a little more water to keep it from drying out. But the flavors were wonderful and it very satisfying. It makes A LOT, so I froze portions for a later date. I expect it will be even better once rewarmed!
Kate says
I’m so glad you liked it! Yes, it makes a lot! =) We have a big family, and I usually freeze half for later. Thanks for commenting!
Landon says
This stuff is SO GOOD!! I put it over angel hair pasta and even my meat eating boyfriend loved it. Put a little nutritional yeast on it and yum :)
Kate says
That’s awesome! I bet the nutritional yeast was great on top! From its name, it doesn’t sound super tasty, but it really adds some oomph. Thanks for coming back to comment! =)
Jake says
How much pasta would you pair this amount with? A 1 pound package? Looking forward to trying this one out for a nice vegan bolognese that doesn’t rely on meat replacements!
Kate says
It’s easily enough sauce for a 1 pound package of dry pasta. This recipe makes a lot of sauce! I hope you enjoy it! =)
Jessica says
Thanks for this recipe! I used vegetable broth instead of the oil, but otherwise stuck to the recipe. I need a bigger skillet :D It was delicious on pasta for dinner, and after putting our little one to bed, my husband ate a bowl of just the sauce! This will be a regular in our household.
Kate says
Yes! This recipe makes a lot of food! =) I’m glad that it was a hit with your family. Thank you for coming back to comment!
Barbara Gonzales says
I have saved this to my photos in my phone and will make it for Sunday Night dinner. I will serve this over either spaghetti noodles or wild rice, taking those additional WW points into consideration. You had me at “lentils”. ?
Kate says
Yay! I hope you like it! =)
Catherine says
Delicious recipe ! Love love love it!
I know you wrote you are not a nutritionist but 1 gram@ 195 cal…? That means if I have one cup of this delicious sauce I would have eaten 48750 cal?
Kate says
Thank you! No (thankfully!), the program that I use to calculate the nutrition facts defaults to “g” unless I fill in “serving”. The nutrition information shown is for 1/10 of the recipe. I’ve filled it in for clarity. Thanks again! =)
Suzanne says
I LOVE this! Have made it several times, usually adding mushrooms and it’s always a big hit. It’s my go to recipe when I have company and even the meat eaters love it. I’ve done it with soaked lentils, unsoaked lentils, more or less tomato paste or sauce and it’s always super. Thank you!
Kate says
Thank you! And thanks for your note about different methods! That’s really helpful. =)
Elizabeth says
I made this tonight and it was fantastic. I added crushed red pepper flakes to give it a bit of a kick. And I didn’t have red lentils, so I used the plain brown ones. Also, I used the preseasoned diced tomatoes (basil and oregano) so I didn’t add any more of those spices. It was still great.
Kate says
I’m so glad you liked it! The red pepper sounds like a yummy addition! Also, good to hear that brown lentils worked for you. Thank you for coming back to comment. =)
Julie says
Great recipe! I’ve been looking for healthy dinner recipes and this one is a keeper. I also added mushrooms after reading the comments and my kids liked it.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that your family liked it! Thank you for coming back to comment. =)
Maddy says
Fantastic! This is a yummy, inexpensive dinner – just what I’ve been looking for!