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
my incredibly finnicky 15 year old who eats almost no protein except meat that has no marble, no dark marks, no this ,no that/…. actually caught me by surprise. he ate this with no begging -just ate it!!!
Used ordinary white onions.3 of them, then 4 carrots and only 1 stalk of clery that was left..did not add wine. added 1 tsp turyaki and any vinegar. it was fine. used dried oregano( no chilli). used about 300 gram red lentils soaked halfhour and 3 full cups leftover simple vegetable soup instead of broth. no nuts yet still good- hurray!!!
Amazing,love it Leah!
This vegan thanks you!!!Love it!!
Yay! thanks Isabella!
so yummy! I put vegan mince in mine instead of walnuts
Sounds good!
Really delicous, especially the next day. Added the miso – made the taste pop. Even my carnivore husband liked it. Love the hemp seeds in it.
Perfect, so happy to hear this Barb.
This is delicious! Thank you Sylvia.
Thanks Elizabeth!
Wowza! I was a bit unsure when I started this but it came together perfectly!! I adjusted to ensure my 9 month old could eat it too (omitted the salt, wine, red pepper) and used hemp seeds because it’s what we had.
I served over polenta and my little one loved it! I added a dash of soy sauce, red pepper for the adults serving and it was DELISH!
Perfect Sarah!
This was delicious. I used brown lentils and it turned out tasty, served over fettuccine. Thanks for a great recipe! I am thinking to use the extra sauce that was leftover as sloppy joes but just need to up the tomato flavour for that I think? I’ve never had a sloppy joe haha. Any ideas?
I bet that would be good!
Holy moly, this is amazing. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Joann!
Delicious! Used walnuts and water with a drop of teriyaki sauce and white wine instead of red. (Ingredients we happened to have in the house). Everyone loved it.
Perfect and love your adaptions- nice work!
I stopped eating meat this year and haven’t missed it but I did miss the rich flavor of bolognese sauce. This recipe captures the complexity of that sauce minus the meat. I didn’t think that would be possible! I used hemp seed and it added a nice nuttiness. Next time I may include some toasted walnuts. I’m usually a cheese freak when it comes to pasta. This dish doesn’t need cheese at all. Every recipe I’ve made from Feasting at Home has been a wonder. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed this Cathy!
Delicious, fragrant and satisfying! I used chopped almonds in place of the hemp seeds, that’s what I had on hand and it turned out great. Served over whole wheat spaghetti. First time trying beluga lentils, they’re awfully cute 🥰 Thanks for this great recipe, recommended by a fitness friend who follows your blog, as I will now too!
Perfect Joanie!
An excellent healthy recipe which I will definitely make again. I served it over roasted broccoli with crispy garlic bread. I used some suggested variations because of what I had around…I used green lentils which needed more time and added liquid. I used toasted chopped walnuts, not hemp. I used 3 fresh roma tomatoes and about a cup of oven roasted cherry tomatoes. I also used dried herbs not fresh. Everything was suggested by the author and all the variations were great options! Thank you!
Sounds delicious Gabrielle!
Sauteed all veggies using the instant pot, reduced broth to only 2 cups (because it doesn’t cook off or evaporate in an instant pot) Set it cooking for 10 minutes, allowed it to naturally release pressure. PERFECT! LOVED THIS!!!
Yay! Great to hear Holly.
Absolutely satisfying! This is probably recipe #100 that I’ve made of yours and #100 that I’ll recommend!
Wow! Awesome Kellie, thanks so much!
Oh my god. This was an incredible meal. So hearty and filling and savory, but not at all heavy. Perfect served over spaghetti!
Thanks Amanda!
My love for lentils is a ongoing work in progress however this recipe is a absolute favourite of mine! Being in the UK I substitute the balsamic for Marmite 😄. Marmite has become a great addition to adding a umani flavour to my dishes! Yum!
Interesting- sounds good Alex!
Can this be frozen?
Yes, the sauce should freeze beautifully.
This was amazing! Everyone loved it! The flavor was exceptional. I used pecans instead of the hemp seed, as that is what I had. I served it on top of the instapot polenta.
Sounds great!
I’ve cooked this perhaps five times so far, and cooking it again tonight. It makes 4-5 large servings, perfect for taking leftovers to lunch.
Flavour wise – it’s damn good! My 5 year old loves it too.
I’ve toyed with a couple of small changes – using spaghetti instead of bows, using Green lentils instead of black, an extra tablespoon of tomato paste, and no celery.
Awesome Tristan- so happy you are enjoying this one!
This recipe is amazing! It tastes as if your eating a real meat sauce together with protein pasta! You have a delicious and healthy meal.
Glad you enjoyed this one Lisa!
I love vegetarian bolognese and this one was delicious and meaty. I realized later I forgot the balsamic vinegar but we didn’t even notice. Another hit from Feasting at Home.
Thanks so much!
I added shiitake and portobello mushrooms with sun dried tomatoes (4) used the oil from these to cook veggies and increase tomato paste to compensate. Then did a mix of hemp seeds and walnuts.
Perfect Tara! Love it!
Made this today for a birthday dinner. It was amazing!
Thanks Janet! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
So DELICIOUS!!! I served it over creamy polenta- I have fallen in love with those little black lentils.
Wonderful Julie!
Can I use green lentils?
Yes- that should be fine- color will not be the same though. 🙂