Rich and robust, this vegan lentil bolognese recipe is hearty, “meaty” and full of depth of flavor. Toss it with your favorite pasta, or spoon it over creamy polenta– either way, this simple nourishing vegan meal is one the whole family will enjoy. With a video!
The last few nights have been chilly here. The air smells of leaves, pine, and woodsmoke from nearby chimneys. It’s getting darker sooner. I’ve got my wool socks on, and all I want to eat right now is pasta—and bread! Cozy comfort food.
So this is how this flavorful dish came to be. Brian and I were both craving something rich and “meaty” the other day, something that would hold up to a glass of red wine, all the while staying plant-based. Full of protein, fiber, and umami flavor, this vegan bolognese sauce was delicious over spaghetti. Then we served the leftovers over creamy polenta the second night. I can’t decide which way I liked it better. Both were so good!
Why you’ll love this!
- Healthy! Full of protein and fiber, this is a powerhouse of nutrients while being totally vegan and plant-based.
- Flavorful. We show you how to create umami and depth in this recipe so you won’t miss the meat.
- Great for meal prep. Think of Vegan Bolognese as your new “Sunday sauce”. Make it ahead for the busy week, and serve it up over pasta, polenta, spaghetti squash, etc.- it will keep up to 4 days.
Lentil Bolognese | 60-sec Video
Ingredients in Lentil Bolognese
- Lentils- the smaller the better! I prefer black Caviar lentils (or sub-French Green Lentils or red lentils)
- Onions and garlic – for depth of flavor
- Carrots and celery- for sweetness and complexity
- Fresh oregano or thyme –or substitute 2 teaspoons dried oregano, or Italian herbs and bay leaf
- Tomato paste – to add depth and richness
- Red wine -optional, to add complexity
- Fresh tomatoes –or sub canned tomatoes
- Vegetable broth or substitute water plus veggie bullion, or chicken stock
- Hemp seeds (or toasted walnuts or pecans) for texture and richness
- Balsamic vinegar – for a punch of flavor and brightness
- Salt and black pepper
How to make Lentil Bolognese (instructions)
Step one
In a large pot or Dutch oven saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until fragrant and golden.
Step two
Add carrots, celery and garlic, continue cooking and stirring about 5 minutes. Add herbs and seasonings. You could add other vegetables at this time, too- mushrooms, red bell pepper, even zucchini.
Step three
Add tomato paste, browning it a bit. Deglaze -add a generous splash of red wine ( or dry white wine) and cook this off. (Optional.)
Step four
Add tomatoes and their juices and cook these down a bit.
Add the lentils, hemp seeds or walnut nuts, and broth.
Step five
Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for 20-30 minutes
Step six
Once the lentils are tender, remove the lid and cook off some of the liquid.
Step seven
Taste and adjust seasonings, and stir in the balsamic vinegar.
Chef’s Tips
- Toasted ground walnuts add really great earthy flavor (make sure to grind finely using a food processor or coffee grinder) but I like the ease of adding the hemp seeds– no grinding necessary!
- Use small lentils! Keep in mind the smaller the lentils the faster the bolognese will cook! These little black caviar lentils are the best for quick cooking- just 20 minutes of cooking time. Of course, you can use other lentils, but they will likely take longer.
- For added depth at the end, add a tiny splash of soy sauce or miso paste.
Serving Suggestions
- Spoon the lentil Bolognese over creamy polenta, mashed potatoes, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or toss it with your favorite pasta or gluten-free pasta.
- Top with fresh basil ribbons and red pepper flakes.
- Keep it vegan if you like or sprinkle it with parmesan or pecorino cheese. Vegans may enjoy our vegan parmesan or vegan cheesy sprinkle.
Lentil Pasta Storage
Lentil pasta can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days or can be placed in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Reheat over low heat in a covered saucepan.
More Favorite Lentil recipes!
- 50+ Pantry Staples for the Vegan Kitchen
- Our 25 BEST Lentil Recipes! (Plus how to cook Lentils)
- Red Lentil Soup
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Vegan Lasagna Bolognese
- Turkey Mushroom Bolognese
- Simple Braised French Lentils
- Moroccan Lentil Quinoa Soup
- Easy Healthy Veggie-Driven Pasta Recipes! (Vegan-adaptable)
- High Protein Meatless Meals
On the homefront: It’s been a beautiful week here. The leaves are turning, the sun is shining, and the birds are singing. Nature doesn’t seem to notice what is in the news or all the world drama and happenings; it just keeps unfolding in its own time.
Mercury is in retrograde until mid-October, meaning it has the appearance of moving backward in the sky. During this time, some believe this backward motion can disrupt travel, communication and technology. Coincidence, perhaps, but compelling given the events of this week. 😉
And while it is always good to have a healthy dose of cynicism I find this retrograde particularly interesting. How life often mirrors a bigger story. Are we not, after all, made of stars? Lately, on a personal level, I’ve noticed, “signs” directing me to be “patient and wait”, or hold my tongue, or delay a big decision, or to not force things.
When I take heed, things are easier…
I hope you are having a beautiful start to your week friends! Enjoy this recipe for Lentil Bolognese and please share how you serve it or adapt this!
xoxo
Lentil Bolognese Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
- Category: vegan main, pasta,
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Rich and robust, this plant-based Lentil Bolognese is hearty, “meaty” and full of depth of flavor. Toss it with your favorite pasta, or spoon it over creamy polenta- either way, this simple nourishing vegan meal is one the whole family will enjoy.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced (2– 2 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/2 cup carrots, small diced
- 1 1/2 cups celery diced
- 4–6 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes- optional
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano or thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs)
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- Generous splash red wine (optional) 1/4 cup-ish
- 1 1/4 cups black caviar lentils (or other small lentils for quick cooking-see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced with juices (or sub a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes)
- 3 1/2 cups veggie stock or broth (or sub water plus 2-3 boullion cubes)
- 3/4 cup ground toasted walnuts (hemp hearts or ground pecans)
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes stirring until fragrant. Lower heat to medium, then add the carrots, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and herbs. Saute 7-8 minutes, stirring.
- Add the tomato paste, browning it just a bit in the pan (this will deepen the flavor), then deglaze with wine if you want, scraping up any brown bits. Once most of the wine has cooked off add the tomatoes and their juices, cook them down for just a few minutes.
- Add the lentils, veggie stock and hemp seeds or walnuts. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, lower heat to low, and simmer gently 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Bigger lentils will take longer. Uncover.
- Continue cooking uncovered until most of the liquid has cooked off. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, vinegar and chili flakes to your liking. Keep in mind, you want this just slightly salty if tossing with pasta.
- Serve this tossed with your favorite pasta or serve it over this creamy polenta or this Instant Pot Polenta. Sprinkle with optional pecorino cheese… or try this Vegan Cheesy Sprinkle!
Notes
If using hemp seeds- use the shelled soft “hearts”- not the whole seeds ( these will be gritty).
Broth: If your veggie broth is bland or your bolognese is bland, you can intensify the depth here by adding a tiny splash of soy sauce, or miso paste mixed with a little water, or a little veggie stock bouillon paste.
Lentils: For fast cooking use small lentils: French Green Lentils or Split Red lentils. Brown lentils will take mush longer to cook.
Storage: This can be made ahead and will keep up to 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 268
- Sugar: 6.4 g
- Sodium: 481.6 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.9 g
- Fiber: 6.6 g
- Protein: 13.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Mmmm…
I’m excited to try this, it looks so good. Just wondering, would it be possible to substitute the walnuts with hazelnuts instead?
Yes Nadine, I’d just toast them first and crush or grind them.
Hi Sylvia. Thank you for posting your recipe! I’m new to the vegan life and can’t wait to try you’re recipe!
Quick question. Would you suggest shelled or unshelled hemp seeds, or does it not matter?
Thank you in advance xx
I don’t think it matters here Natasha!
This looks great and I can’t wait to try cooking it. Would it be okay to substitute chia seeds for the hemp seeds? I just already have so many of those. 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Wendy- I dont think the chia would work great here- they will get gelatenous. Do you have walnuts or another nut, you could grind?
This is excellent. Thank you.
Thanks Andrea!
Very rich and a great alternative to bolognese, I am not vegan but cooked this dish for a friend and actually prefer it to usual bolgnese
I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
Served this with the polenta recipe (no mushrooms) as suggested. Both were fabulous!
Thanks and So happy you enjoyed this Louise!
This is truely a bolognese!
Yay Jordan- glad you think so!
LOVED the flavor! wow so “meaty” . But I had the same issue with the carrots (I did a small dice 1/4″) They took forever to cook and just seamed to never cook down. Maybe I should of used baby carrots or something. Definitely would cook them first over everything else. Otherwise, I had an amazing time cooking this. The red wine and balsamic really rounded out the flavor and it did not make it taste vinegary or to acidic at all 🙂
Interesting, did you use tiny lentils?
There was no note on the lentils. I’m probably going to use red lentils.
Hi Celeste- red split lentils will work fine here- adjusted notes to include.
First let me share that I love every one of your recipes, haven’t had a bad one yet! Thank you for your creativity and keeping my family well fed. On the Lentil Bolognese, mine tasted incredible but the black lentils turned the entire dish jet black. So taste was on point, but it didn’t look appetizing at all. Yours seems to have held more color from all the ingredients. Do you have any suggestions? I used Black Lentils from Whole Foods…would this be different than Black Caviar Lentils?
Did the tomato not come through? Mine was pretty black too?
I cringe when posters rate a recipe after leaving out ingredients or gah, adding in their own version. Having said that; “I” left out the balsamic on this because I just wanted to taste the bolognese, sans vinegar. IT WAS DELISH!! I’m going to make another batch today (because I have all ingredients) I’ll be adding more liquid and another tbl of tomato paste, more red wine because, why not!! Lol
Also making polenta this time and if all works then I have a new dish to impress my guests! Thanks again, Sylvia!!
Glad you enjoyed it. And also, I was quite surprised how the balsamic really elevated this…but up to you Karen!
I made this tonight and we really liked it, however, I used a yellow onion and I just noticed in your pictures that you used a red onion. I’m wondering how it would be different and if it would be even better had I used a red onion.
Hi Denise, I used a red one, solely for the color- I think flavorwise- pretty similar.
YUM! This is an awesome weeknight dinner. Easy and real family pleaser. Thanks Sylvia.
Thanks Daniel- glad you enjoyed this! 🙌
Can you use beluga tiny black lentils?
Yes, absolutly Heather!
Oh what a combination! Delicious. My husband who is not Vegan loving it.
I used black Beluga lentils and san marzano tomatoes in can with whole wheat pasta 👌thanks you for sharing .
Perfect Irene! Glad you enjoyed this Vegan Bolognese!
Made this for dinner last night … so hearty and full of flavour … served it with pasta and the while family enjoyed it ! Another fantastic recipe from my favourite food blog … thank you !
Thanks so much Maria! I appreciate this very much!
Fantastic, tasted really hearty and meaty paired with pasta and parmesan, yum! I’m always amazed by just how versatile and frankly delicious lentils are, I might start a fan club. Will have to try this with polenta next!
I used normal green lentils as couldn’t find any smaller ones and accordingly my cooking time was quite a bit longer. I also didn’t have any red wine to hand but used a tiny bit of marmite instead to add depth (was quite cautious as hadn’t used it before, might use a bit more next time). Also omitted the vinegars at the end, purely because I’m not a vinegar fan.
Also loving that this has filled my freezer with delicious healthy meals for when I’m feeling lazy some other time 🙂
Thanks, Cris-glad you enjoyed this!
This was sooooo good! A vegan friend of mine regularly comes over for dinner and I always like to surprise him with something tasty. Well, this most definitely was! We all loved it! I ate the leftovers the next day in a casserole with melted cheese (I’m a vegetarian 🙂 and again; marvelous! Thank you so much for your fabulous plant-based recipes, you rock!
Thanks so much Ina- glad this worked for you!
I made this recipe with great anticipation as I love lentils, especially the tiny dark ones. I had one major complaint with the final result – the carrots and celery were STILL too firm and crunchy, drawing too much attention in the otherwise balanced sauce. And this was after I reversed your instruction to cook the onions first and then add the celery, carrots and garlic. I find that if celery and carrots are expected to soften and blend into a dish, they need much longer than a few minutes. I even covered the pan for a while to steam them, but apparently not long enough. I also increased the tomatoes and stock to make a wetter sauce.
Thanks for the feedback Catherine! Would it have helped if carrots and celery were cut more finely? I may have forgot to state that.
Used toasted walnuts and red lentils (simmered for 20 mins). Will definitely be making this again!
Great to hear!
Just made this last night – with the toasted walnuts – served over creamy polenta and some grilled zucchini on the side, all sprinkled with pecorino. Meatless Mondays will never be the same! Yummmm! So hearty but healthy. Thank you!
Yay, Angie! thanks and so glad you enjoyed this!
We made this for dinner and this didn’t disappoint at all. Super flavourful. We all greatly enjoyed it. Much healthier than beef, for sure, and kind to the planet. A definite do over again and again. ❤️
Great to hear Daria!
Hello! I was planning to make this recipe this week 🙂 but I am having a hard time finding the black caviar lentils. Would a green or red lentil be a good substitute? Thank you!!
Yes Erin, either of those would work, just take care that they don’t over or under cook. 🙂
This looks like the perfect cozy fall meal! I cannot wait to try it with a fat glass of red wine. Thanks for another great recipe Sylvia!
Thanks Angie!