Vegan Lentil Bolognese

Healthy lentil bolognese! You’ve gotta try this vegan lentil bolognese made with mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes and lentils.

this Recipe

It was only a matter of time before I posted a vegan lentil bolognese recipe. My eggplant bolognese and my pumpkin bolognese recipes are two of my favorite vegan pasta recipes. And if you love bolognese pasta, then you’ve also gotta try my mushroom bolognese with rigatoni and my tempeh bolognese.

This lentil bolognese is packed with plant-based protein and incredibly hearty. A must make this fall and winter.

Ingredients for Lentil Bolognese

• Olive oil 
• Garlic cloves
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Spices
• Red wine
• Lentils
• Crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• Balsamic vinegar
• Rigatoni pasta

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

I use the umami powder from Trader Joe’s because I find that it adds an extra punch of plant-based umami. You can also used a dried porcini powder, but if you don’t have either then it’s OK to omit both of them.

I find that the crushed tomatoes has a more rich flavor than tomato sauce but either one works. Depending on the acidity of your tomatoes, you may want to add in a smidge of brown sugar. I typically don’t add in any sugar to my tomato sauce recipes, but I find that the balance was needed in this dish. As with the sugar, the balsamic vinegar adds a depth of complexity to the sauce and don’t recommend skipping it.

Canned lentils work really well in this recipe. When I rested this one with dried lentils, I found that they didn’t become as tender as canned lentils do. Therefore, I highly recommend using canned lentils or cooking the lentils first and then adding to the rest of the sauce ingredients.

How to Make Lentil Bolognese

Cook the onion until tender

Heat the oil large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Finely chop the vegetables

Place the garlic, mushrooms and carrots to the base of a food processor and chop until very well chopped. Add the vegetables to the onions and cook until reduced and browned, about 8 minutes.

Add the spices

Add in the umami powder, if using, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes and sugar. Cook another few minutes, then add in the wine. Cook until reduced by half.

Add the lentils and tomatoes

Stir in the lentils and tomatoes and simmer until thickened. Right before serving, stir in the balsamic vinegar.

Toss with pasta, basil and cheese

Toss sauce with cooked pasta, fresh basil and parmesan cheese of choice

Tips for Perfect Bolognese Sauce

To mimic the texture of ground meat, the key is finely chopping the mushrooms, onions and carrots together. I do this in a food processor so the pieces are mostly even, but you can also do so by hand. In the photos above, you can see how finely chopped the vegetables need to be. As they cook down, this gives a similar texture to ground beef and makes the vegetables the same size as the lentils.

To keep this sauce a vegan bolognese, I recommend using a vegan parmesan cheese like my homemade recipe or your favorite store bought recipe. I’m partial to Violife’s parmesan cheese but any will work.

Will red lentils work in this sauce?

Red lentils break down completely when cooked so they won’t work in this recipe the same way that canned brown lentils do. The cool thing about red lentils is that you don’t really notice there are there in a sauce; which is how I use them in my lasagna recipe to add in extra protein and fiber. However, in this recipe you’ll want to use canned lentils (preferably) or brown lentils.

As mentioned above, if you aren’t using canned lentils then I highly recommend cooking the brown lentils first before adding them to the sauce.

More Vegan Pasta Recipes:

• Rigatoni with Sausage and Peppers
• Kale Pasta with Butternut Squash
• Easy 20 Minute Vegan Pasta
• Caramelized Onion Fettuccine
• Spicy Vegan Pasta with Sausage
• Tuscan Kale Soup

If you try this recipe, make sure to come back and leave a rating. Your feedback helps other readers and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!