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
Absolutely love this! I follow the recipe exactly. Doubles well and is even better the next day.
Thanks Sandra!
Right now this is my favorite vegan recipe. The taste is incredible! I am tempted just to eat it with a spoon like chili.
Haha, thanks Tim and why not! -it is all good stuff in there!
Made this tonight and oh my goodness!! So delicious! Didn’t even miss the meat! In fact, my stomach felt so much “lighter” than when I eat meat based bolognese. Even my meat loving husband loved it! I added some chopped steamed beets and three or four handfuls of spinach just to “beef” up our veggie content. Served it over cauliflower gnocchi. LOVED!
Perfect Trace!
Easy easy & delicious … we are nit vegetarian but w/ recipes like this you don’t miss meat! and freezes well so kids can take leftovers to school for lunch
This is the bolognese of my dreams! so easy to make and so friggin full of flavor — all equals to scrumptioisness. I put it pasta, rice, toast. Yum!
Love it Peg!
Loved this dish! Just wanted to know if you can use canned lentils.
HI Dee- I have never tried using canned lentils here- if you do use them you would only need maybe tiny bit of broth.
I wish my mom knew about this when I was a kid
Glad you enjoyed this!
Are beluga lentils the same thing as caviar lentils?
Pretty close, yes!
This is a lovely recipe. I didnt have wine but still very flavourful. I also didnt have celery so I used mushrooms instead. Yum Yum! Thank you!
Thanks so much Jo!
Savory and hearty, perfect for cold weather.
Glad you enjoyed this Jill!
Love the Lentil Bolognese!
Great to hear!
Tried the lentil bolognese absolutely delicious and I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you Sylvia.
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed this!
I tried the lentil bolognese absolutely delicious. Thanks Sylvia. Will give your other recipes a try.
Great to hear! Thanks so much!
Another brilliant dish from this talented lady! Great depth of flavour.
Adding this to our “meatless” weekday rotation. So good!
Thanks Julie!
Thank you for this great recipe! We are a family of 6 and while we are not vegan/vegetarian we are on a tight budget. This is a great, healthy, and tasty recipe. I was surprised that my pickiest eater requested this recipe and my entire family (aside from the toddler, who wasn’t feeling well) ate it all up! I will make it again soon, and perhaps double it and freeze some. Thank you!
Great to hear!
Wow! Totally delicious a big flavour packed in simple ingredients. For the most part i follow the measurements – cooked for 6 but we ate like 8. I follow the cooking time after adding the stock (i used French green lentils) and after the 25 minutes, i felt they were still undercooked and left for another 15 minutes covered then another like 15 min while the pasta was getting done uncovered. Added some pecorino romano cheese and some garlic bread and super deli meal. thank you very much. can’t wait to try others. picking this one was very defficult since others look just as delicious.
Glad you gave this a go! Yes, lentil cook time will depend on the lentil size. I used very small ones here. 🙂
made it last night ! my boyfriend does not know how to cook so it was easy to show him haha deliciosooo and incredibly filling 10/10
Glad you enjoyed!
Great recipe! Just one question… it says at the bottom that the sodium content is 481.6 mg. However, after a quick google search, 1.5 tsp of salt alone should have around 3500 mg. Is that maybe lost in the cooking process? Disclaimer: I’m new to investigating nutrition. Thanks!
You are correct- but the nutritional info is per serving size, not for the whole recipe, so it gets divided by 8 if that makes sense?
Exceeds expectations! So good with the black caviar lentils. I also added fresh okra from the garden. I served it to my friends who were visiting and they loved it! Thank you for a great recipe!
Great to hear Angeli!
I’ve made this several times over the past few years. It’s so easy to make, delicious and husband always asks for seconds! I make mine with big hollow tubed pasta noodles and top his with a spoonful of sour cream as he is not vegan.
Had a diabetic neighbour over for a bowl full last night and she loved it and said this morning her sugar counts had lowered somewhat! She was very pleased!
Thanks for a great recipe, you’re making people really happy and we are all enjoying your food!
Mandy
Awwww, great to hear and thanks Mandy!
WoW! Amazing! I must admit that I was extremely skeptical about this recepie being a meat eater, but I have to say that this recepie is just delicous and even tastier than a meat bolognese.
Wow- high praise, thanks so much!
Does it freeze ok please? Now cooking it and it smells divine.
I think it would freeze great!
My husband wanted to surprise me with dinner and found your recipe. Not only easy for him to prepare but also incredibly tasty with a lot of depth of flavor! It has become one of our regulars and we’ve passed the link for the recipe along to others who have also enjoyed!
Thanks so much Nadine!
Absolutely love this recipe and so easy to make hubby loved it too
Wonderful Lillian!
Quite flavourful,well balanced and robust. Served over rigatoni with garlic toast and Chianti.
Sounds perfect Patty, so glad you enjoyed!