Make up a pot of this delicious and healthy Vegan Lentil Bolognese for dinner, with plenty leftover for freezing.
Got a bag of dry brown lentils in your cupboard that you have been wondering what to do with?
It might be time to dig them out and get a pot of this Vegan Lentil Bolognese on the go.
If you have both meat eaters and vegetarians under your one roof, this might be the dish to please you all. It's comforting, filling and pretty budget friendly too.
I do let it simmer for quite a while on the stove, but seriously if you want all those amazing flavours, a bolognese is just the best when cooked this way. Just to skimp on the time and you won't get those same rice flavours.
I do recommend using a chunky lentil, like green or brown lentils and not red lentils, because you want the lentils to keep their shape, red lentils tend to go mushy and are best used for things like dhal curries and thickening soups etc.
I used dried brown lentils because they are just so cheap and you don't have to do any soaking overnight like dried beans. So they are super easy to prepare. Just add them to a colander and discard any that are discoloured etc, then give them a good rinse with clean water and you can add them straight to the pan.
Whenever you buy some lentils at the store, always try and buy a bigger bag in bulk, rather than the teeny little bags, you will save yourself quite a bit of money and they last a long while.
Wondering what other recipes you can make with that bag of lentils? Check out these other lentils recipe, that are perfect for green or brown lentils:
- Spicy Lentils and Spinach
- Sausage and Lentil Casserole
- Coconut Green Lentil Curry
- Lentil Shepherds Pie
- Bacon and Lentil Soup
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil Curry
- Sweet Potato, Vegetable and Lentil Chilli
I try to add as many meat-free dishes as I can into my week because whenever I go the meat-free route, I always add a lot more veggies too, and vegetables are a speed food, so it's all good.
This lentil bolognese has vegetables such as tomatoes, carrot, zucchini, celery, onion and garlic as well as delicious sweet potato, sometimes I will swap the sweet potato for butternut squash, as you really don't notice the difference, it all depends on what I have available. Butternut squash will add more speed foods, so if you are trying to increase those on your plate, that would be the better option.
But if you want to up the speed foods even further, serve it alongside a delicious mixed green salad. I love baby greens, with a bit of shredded carrot, and cooked beetroot. As for if you add a dressing is totally up to you. For a healthy option, I like a little bit of olive oil (just a teaspoon is enough, whisked with a some balsamic vinegar and black pepper - yum!!)
Even my kids love this Lentil Bolognese, so it's a great dish for me to make for the whole family, if I want to get some healthy wholesome food into them.
If there are leftovers, they often take it for lunch in their Thermos Food Flask, with some parmesan in a little tub for them to sprinkle on top just before they dig in. My kids are quite funny and quite often get fed up with the regular packed lunch sandwiches, so mixing things up for them and giving them this, is much more appealing to them.
If you don't have heating facilities at work, or are often out of the office and travelling around during the day, a food flask can be a great investment. A Thermos Stainless Steel Food flask like this one below is a perfect option.
It will hold just under 500ml of food and keep it warm for up to 9 hours, which means it is perfect for soups, chilli's, curry, and dishes like this lentil bolognese.
What Kitchen Items do I need to make this Lentil Bolognese:
- Deep Saucepan
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Blender or Immersion Stick Blender
- Wooden Spoon
- Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
- Chopping Board
Recipe Card
Lentil Bolognese
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan, Slimming and Weight Watchers friendly
WW Smart Points - 2
Ingredients
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 200g of carrot, finely chopped
- 200g of zucchini (courgette), finely chopped
- 200g of sweet potato (or butternut squash), finely diced
- 4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- ¾ cup (150g) of dried brown lentils, rinsed
- 2 cups (480ml) of passata (or crushed tomatoes)
- 4 cups (960ml) of vegetable stock
- 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
- mixed herbs
- salt and black pepper
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil spray
- Fresh Italian Parsley and basil
Instructions
- Spray a large pot over a medium high heat with some Olive oil spray and add the onion and garlic and fry until softened.
- Add the carrot, courgette (zucchini) and sweet potato (or butternut squash) and fry for a further 5 mins. Add a little of the stock to prevent sticking if needed.
- Add the lentils and mix well.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, mixed herbs and splash of balsamic vinegar
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for approx 1hr and 30 mins.
- Check it a couple of times through cooking time, just incase it looks like too much liquid has been absorbed ,as you may need to add a little more stock/water.
- Season with salt and black pepper and top with some chopped fresh Italian parsley and a little basil.
- Serve with pasta or another choice of sides.
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 150Total Fat 0.3gSodium 291mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 10.1gSugar 9.7gProtein 7.7g
Jenny Robinson says
have earmarked this for next week, just added a couple of ingredients to my shopping list
lucie42 says
can I check tomato paste is tomato puree?
bubbyk says
yes they are the same thing lucie
frugalfifer says
looks great, I too am trying to introduce more pulses into my diet, one to try later in the week. thanks for posting
Terry Heath says
Is 2 hours coking time on the stove the right time - thought the veg would disappear in that time?
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
yes it is 2 hours cooking time, on a very low heat. The slow cooking improves the flavour, you could cook it for a shorter time if you prefer on a slightly higher heat.
disqus_S1Y0q928HW says
Could you use red lentils instead?
Jade says
I've just made a massive batch of this! Is it onto freeze some portions? Thank you! X
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
yep this is fine to freeze 🙂
Emzy says
This sounds amazing. Do you know the calories per portion please?
Many thanks x x x
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
This is one of my older recipes, where I haven't got round to adding nutritional info etc yet, I will hopefully get it worked out soon.
Betsie says
Can I check if the calorie count includes the pasta, or is this just for the sauce?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
the approx calorie count, is always only for what is in the ingredients list. So for this it will be just the bolognese 🙂
Caroline says
Can you use red split lentils? I can’t seem to find brown ones. X
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Chunky lentils like brown or green are best, as they hold their shape.
Sam says
Can I do this in a slow cooker? If so, what time do you recommend?
Claza says
How long would you do this in the instant pot for?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
I haven't had a chance to test this out in the instant pot, but I would brown as per normal and cook for 12-15 minutes with a quick release.
Katie Davies says
Stupid question. (New to lentils). If I use green lentils and soak overnight, is it 150g measures when dried and unsoaked? Thanks !
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
no need to soak the lentils overnight, green or brown are fine. If you do prefer to soak, I recommend weighing before soaking.
LRV says
Just made this recipe. Really delicious and very filling. Added some chopped mushrooms near the end and a few drops of Worcester sauce. Delicious!