This hearty vegan lentil bolognese is packed with flavor for a rich, satisfying pasta sauce. Make a big batch ahead of time and freeze excess for future dinners.
Sometimes, you just need a classic, comforting pasta dinner. If you're vegan, that's bit more difficult to accomplish.
But with this flavorful vegan lentil bolognese sauce in your recipe arsenal, you can whip up a classic Italian favorite in no time. Hearty lentils replace ground beef as the main meaty component and provide plenty of plant protein. Without all of the meat, this also makes for a significantly lighter and healthier bolognese.
This isn't the quickest recipe. The sauce needs plenty of time to simmer and soak up flavor, so I wouldn't suggest throwing it together on a weeknight unless you have enough time on your hands. It's best to let this simmer slowly on a Sunday, and then save for later in the week.
Whether you serve with regular pasta or lighter zucchini noodles, it's sure to satisfy all of your Italian comfort food cravings.
How to build flavor
Without the fat and deep flavor from ground beef, you'll need a few extra flavor enhancers in this vegan bolognese.
- Cook your lentils in vegetable broth. To add a bit of extra flavor to lentils (which can be relatively bland), we suggest cooking them in vegetable broth instead of water. A large pinch of salt in the cooking liquid will help, too.
- Red wine = flavor! Red wine brings acidity and depth to this vegan bolognese. Don't worry, the alcohol cooks out.
- High quality tomato products make a huge difference. Seriously. There's a big difference between different brands of canned tomato products. Cheaper, lower quality products often have a tinny, too acidic flavor. Higher quality brands will add much more flavor and won't leave you with a metallic aftertaste. The same goes for tomato paste. A few brands we love include Mutti, Cento and Muir Glen.
- Fresh and dried herbs. A dried Italian seasoning blend adds plenty of herbiness, but we also love adding in a big handful of fresh parsley at the end for extra fresh flavor.
- Salt, salt, salt. Salt is your friend. Don't be afraid to add more to taste - you might need more than you think.
- Let it simmer. The longer this vegan bolognese cooks, the more flavorful it will be. I suggest at least an hour of simmer time, but longer won't hurt. If it simmers for too long, you can always add a splash or broth or more tomatoes to rehydrate.
Serving suggestions
For most of the year, I like to keep things traditional with regular pasta. Spaghetti, fettuccine, pappardelle, tagliatelle, rigatoni, penne – they'll all work.
In the warmer months, however, I sometimes swap pasta with zucchini noodles for a lighter version. Especially during summer when we have a lot of extra zucchini on hand, it's a great way to use up our bounty. (We also love making big batches of these amazing zucchini fritters!)
How to make zucchini noodles
If you’ve made zucchini noodles (zoodles) before, you may know that they can end up a bit soggy and unappetizing. Here are a few tips for improving your zoodle game:
- After you spiralize the zoodles, transfer them to a large bowl, sprinkle with 1 tsp salt, and stir to coat. Let them sit for about 15 minutes. You’ll notice almost immediately that the zoodles soften and start to release moisture.
- After 15 minutes, you can transfer the zoodles to a salad spinner and spin to remove moisture.
- Then, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and lightly pat the noodles dry to remove as much moisture as possible.
- At this point, you can simply toss the zoodles with olive oil and seasoning and enjoy as is. Or, you can lightly sauté them in olive oil for 5 minutes before serving with this vegan lentil bolognese.
How to freeze
If you like meal prepping, we suggest making a double or triple batch of this bolognese. You can freeze excess and reheat for future dinners.
To freeze, make sure the sauce is completely cooled. Transfer to freezer safe, airtight containers or a vacuum sealed bag. Freeze for 3-4 months. Defrost in the refrigerator the night before using. Gently simmer in a pot until fully defrosted and serve as usual!
More vegan pasta recipes
When the comfort food craving hits, here are a few recipes to try:
- Vegan Mushroom Alfredo
- Creamy Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta with Caramelized Onions
- Vegan Pasta Bake
- Nut Free Vegan Mac and Cheese
- One Pot Vegan Pumpkin Alfredo via Rainbow Plant Life
If you make this vegan bolognese recipe, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.
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Vegan Lentil Bolognese
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This hearty vegan lentil bolognese is packed with flavor for a rich, satisfying pasta sauce. Make a big batch ahead of time and freeze excess for future dinners.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion (about 1 medium onion)
- 4-5 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup carrot, diced (2-3 medium carrots)
- 1 cup celery, diced (3-4 stalks)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning blend
- 2 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp coconut sugar or regular sugar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 42 oz crushed tomatoes (no salt added)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cups dried green or brown lentils (2 cups cooked), cooked according to package directions in water or vegetable broth
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large sauce pot, then sauté onions for 7-10 minutes, or until translucent and softened. Add garlic and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes.
- Add carrots, celery and continue cooking for 7-10 minutes, stirring often. Add tomato paste, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, coconut sugar, pepper, red pepper flakes and bay leaves. Add red wine and let reduce for a few minutes, stirring.
- Add tomatoes and simmer for at least one hour, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, cook lentils according to package directions in either vegetable broth or water + a large pinch of salt. Drain and set aside.
- When sauce is finished, use an immersion blender to roughly blend sauce - you don't want any large chunks of vegetables remaining, but you also don't want a complete puree. Just a few pulses will do. When finished, stir in lentils and parsley and serve over pasta of choice. Enjoy!
Keywords: vegan bolognese
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