This easy vegan lentil bolognese is flavourful, super comforting and rich. It’s made with simple, accessible ingredients and ready in under 30 minutes – a perfect weeknight dinner! Serve with pasta of your choice for a meal that everyone will love.
As it gets colder and colder outside, daily comfort food is a must. I mean, that doesn’t change at all for me throughout the year. But few things do as good of a job at making cold weather bearable as a big, cozy bowl of deliciousness. And vegan lentil bolognese happens to be one of my personal favorites!
The best vegan lentil bolognese
If I had to pick one dish to eat for the rest of my life, it would be variations of vegan spaghetti bolognese. I mean, a vegan bolognese sauce has everything I look for in a recipe. It’s simple, requires no fancy ingredients, doesn’t require complicated preparation.
This vegan lentil bolognese is flavorful plant based comfort food at its best. It’s rich and savoury with hints of smokiness, and the texture is super ‘meaty’ and thick without the use of any soy products such as tofu and tempeh or processed vegan meat alternatives. Another thing that makes this recipe great is just how simple the ingredients are. You probably have most of them in your pantry already.
How to make this vegan lentil bolognese
Firstly, heat olive oil in a large frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat. Next, add garlic, onions, carrots, tomato paste, cumin and paprika. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant.
Next, add tomatoes and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more, until the mushrooms shrink down and the tomatoes soften.
Now add the red lentils, canned tomatoes, sriracha, dried thyme, coconut sugar and vegetable stock. Stir all the ingredients together and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until the lentils are soft but not mushy. If the lentil bolognese sauce starts to look too dry, add extra vegetable stock.
At the end, stir in fresh cilantro and serve immediately with pasta of your choice.
Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup onion diced
- 2 cups carrots diced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 cups tomatoes diced
- 2 cups mushrooms chopped
- ½ cups red lentils dry
- 1 can tomatoes
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
-
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or saucepan over a medium heat. Next, add garlic, onions, carrots, tomato paste, cumin and paprika. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant.
-
Add tomatoes and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more, until the mushrooms shrink down and the tomatoes soften.
-
Now add the red lentils, canned tomatoes, sriracha, dried thyme, coconut sugar and vegetable stock. Stir all the ingredients together and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until the lentils are soft but not mushy. Add extra vegetable stock as necessary.
-
Stir in fresh cilatro and serve immediately with pasta of your choice.
