Lentil bolognese

5 from 6 votes

Our lentil bolognese is a staple recipe for those who are trying to eat a little less red meat in their diet.

It's a rich sauce, with plenty of flavor and texture. Yet, this is a simple everyday recipe, perfect to make ahead and to store for those busy mid-week dinners.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time50 mins

Course: Dressing & Sauces, First Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: bolognese, lentil

Servings: people

Calories: 151kcal

Author: Nico

Equipment

Immersion blender

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
1 medium onion
1 stalk celery
1 large carrot
1 sprig rosemary + 1 bay leaf optional
8 ounces white mushrooms
1 cup green lentils or brown lentils
⅓ cup wine dry white or red (optional)
24.5 ounces (one glass bottle) tomato passata or tomato puree
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water (optional - depending on your lentils cooking time)
⅓ cup unsweetened plant-milk (soy, almond, or oat milk)
⅓ cup soy sauce (optional for a flavour boost)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

USA - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the ingredients

Finely chop onion, celery, and carrot. Grate the mushrooms with the large holes of a box grater. Rinse the lentils under running water and check if they hide small stones.

Make the lentil bolognese

To a large pan or in a pot add olive oil, onion, celery and carrot. Gently fry for 5 minutes.
For the oil-free version: to a pot add the onion and stir continuously on low heat for 3 minutes. Add celery and carrot and stir for another 2 minutes.
Add a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf, then add grated mushrooms. Stir, then when the pan is hot and dry, add the wine.
When the wine has evaporated completely add lentils, vegetable stock, tomato passata, salt, and pepper.
Let simmer gently for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your lentils. Stir occasionally.
When almost cooked, add unsweetened plant milk, stir, and blend some of the lentils with an immersion blender.
Taste, adjust for salt, and if you like a richer lentil bolognese, add the soy sauce. Finish cooking for a few more minutes before serving.

Serving suggestion with egg-free tagliatelle

Put some sauce in a pan, toss in the pasta cooked al dente, add a ladle of pasta cooking water and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, till the tagliatelle are fully coated in it.
Arrange on a plate, add some sauce on top, a couple of leaves of basil, and a drizzle of olive oil, and enjoy.

Video

Notes

Nutritional values are for 1 portion of sauce out of 10, without pasta.

Nutrition