Rich and robust, this vegan 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. With a video!
Looking for more? Check out our 40 Mouthwatering Vegan Recipes and our 50 Best Vegetarian Recipes!
The last few nights have been chilly here. The air smells of leaves and pine, and woodsmoke from chimneys nearby. 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 recipe 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. And here it is- Lentil Bolognese!
We made a big pot of this vegan Bolognese and tossed it with pasta the first night, then served over polenta the second night. I can’t decide which way I liked it better. Both were so good!
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 Split lentils)
- Onions and garlic – for depth of flavor
- Carrots and celery- for sweetness and complexity
- Fresh oregano or thyme –or substitute 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
- Tomato paste – to add depth and richness
- Red wine -optional, to add complexity
- Fresh tomatoes –or sub canned tomatoes
- Veggie stock -or substitute water plus veggie boullion
- Hemp seeds (or toasted walnuts or pecans) for texture and richness
- Balsamic vinegar – for a punch of flavor and brightness
How to make Lentil Bolognese
Step one
Saute onion in olive oil until fragrant.
Step two
Add carrots, celery and garlic, continue cooking and stirring about 5 minutes. Add herbs and seasonings.
Step three
Add tomato paste, browning it a bit. Deglaze -add a generous splash of red wine and cook this off. (Optional)
Step four
Add tomatoes and their juices.
Add the lentils, hemp seeds or walnut nuts, and broth.
Toasted ground walnuts add really great flavor- but I like the ease of adding the hemp seeds– no grinding necessary!
Keep in mind the smaller the lentils the faster the bolognese will cook! These little black caviar lentils are the best- just 20 minutes of cooking time.
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.
Step eight
Serve! Spoon this over creamy polenta, or toss it with your favorite pasta. Keep it vegan if you like or top with parmesan or pecorino cheese.
More recipes you may enjoy
- 50+ Pantry Staples for the Vegan Kitchen
- Vegan Lasagna Bolognese
- Turkey Mushroom Bolognese
- Our 25 BEST Lentil Recipes! (Plus how to cook Lentils)
- Simple Braised French Lentils
- Moroccan Lentil Quinoa Soup
- Easy Healthy Veggie-Driven Pasta Recipes! (Vegan-adaptable)
On the homefront: It’s been a beautiful week here. The leaves are turning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing. Nature doesn’t seem to take notice of what is in the news and all the worldy 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
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Lentil Bolognese Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- 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
- 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 cup black caviar lentils (or other small lentils- see notes)
- 3 medium 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 hemp hearts, or ground toasted walnuts or 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. 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- use the shelled soft “hearts”- not the whole seeds ( these will be gritty).
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.
Feel free to sub-French Green Lentils or Split Red lentils
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
Excellent! The flavor is impressive for such a simple recipe. It’s true comfort food, perfect for a chilly day. The first time I made this I added sausage. This time I did not, and I liked it even more. I added a large green pepper and cut the amount of carrot down significantly since I don’t care for cooked carrots.
Great to hear Karen! 🙌
Unfortunately husband and I didn’t like this. We’re not veggies but I thought it would be nice to have a non-meat meal for a change. I used green lentils and had to cook them for a lot longer than the recipe. We found it bland and I didn’t notice your suggestion of adding some soy sauce. Still don’t think we’d have liked it though. Had it over cheesy polenta which I hadn’t cooked before. We didn’t like the texture of it. Oh well. You have to try new things occasionally. I’ll pick another of your recipes next time.
Sorry this didnt work for you Marian.
Delicious. I’m not a vegan, but I enjoy making vegan dishes. I used the instant pot and followed the directions until the cook time. I put it under pressure for about 12 minutes. It was so good, will definitely save this recipe.
Glad this worked for you Kathy!
Wonderful recipe – so complete! Excellent on any ‘foundation’ 🙂
Thanks Maya! Glad you enjoyed it!
I love this recipe and have been sharing it with all my friends who need vegan dinner ideas. I small chopped cremini mushrooms in my food processor and added with the other vegetables during the sauté. Great way to boost veggie intake and hide mushrooms from those who won’t eat them!
Love it Maurie! Great idea with the mushrooms!
This was GORGEOUS!!!
So happy you enjoyed!
Your photograph of the recipe drew me in – wonderful. I made it this week and loved it. I doubled the red pepper flakes and had to add a little more broth as my heavy pan has a vent so liquid evaporated through the process, but I expected that. Wonderful leftover, as well! Thank you for this! I loved the idea of another commenter to put over roasted potatoes!
Thanks and happy you enjoyed it!
Words cannot describe how delicious this sauce is. Wow. Simply amazing!! For all you people out there thinking about cooking this . . . run, don’t walk, to your stoves! Thanks again, Sylvia, for your most amazing recipe!!! Being a vegan, I really appreciate all your vegan or vegan-friendly recipes on your website. I have eaten this Bolognese sauce four days in a row – I cannot get enough – over small portions of pasta – but also just on its own! I used no oil (just water sauteed) to reduce calories and added 1/2 tsp. of fennel. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!! Please, please, publish a cookbook!! 🙂
So happy you are enjoying this Christina!
Great recipe, I substituted mushrooms for the walnuts and added a little vegan butter for creaminess.
Perfect- mushrooms would be delicious here! Glad you enjoyed this!
We love this recipe and have made it several times. Last night we made it for a small dinner party and served it over broiled slices of polenta, and topped it with vegan pecan parmesan and fresh parsley. (We used hemp seeds instead of nuts in the sauce.) If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and elegant dish, give this a try. Everyone went back for seconds and asked for the recipe (even the non-vegans in the group!)
Awesome Kathy 🙌 Great to hear!
I’ve made this about 4 times now and every time I make a little more so that it lasts another day. With pasta, on toast or over rosemary roast potatoes it’s delicious. Rich and satisfying. So pleased I found it. Worth the effort.
So nice to hear you are enjoying!
So good. Browning the tomato paste is key and using wine.
Thanks Leslie- and yes, I agree!
This is so delicious! I added more basaltic and some almond aminos. Thank you! I have loved every recipe I have tried of yours! My 3 year old liked it too.
Great to hear Audra- and thanks so much!
Our family of six adores this dish! We have made it with both hemp and toasted walnuts and I prefer the latter. I usually double the wine 😊 – what else can I say except YUM!!
Awesome Aria! Great to hear!
Yet another winner! Will definitely be making this one again often. Left out the hemp seeds / nuts and used small brown lentils in our instant pot plus doubled up on the chilli. Utterly delicious – many thanks, Sylvia.
Perfect Barbara!
I loved this recipe! I am not vegetarian, but love cooking with lentils, so I sustituted beef stock because I had it in my pantry. I used green lentils and it turned out amazing! I added the soy sauce near the beginning and omitted balsamic for preference.
Thank you for this tasty recipe!
Thanks Jenna! Glad you enjoyed. I think the balsamic really elevates- but understand your hesitancy!
Meh 🫤 it was ok! But not something I’d want to eat for leftovers day after day. It was an acceptable meatless Monday meal and the rest went into the freezer for another Monday. 🤷♀️
Shoot Joanne- did you happen to change anything? Just curious. 😉
I just started trying to go vegan today and this is my first attempt at cooking vegan. Wow, it’s good!
So happy you enjoyed!
This was fantastic! If you are on the fence to make this or not, make it. The whole family enjoyed it, even the non-vegans.
Wonderful David! So glad you all enjoyed!
I just added some sugar. Always add a touch to my red sauces since cooking in a New Orleans kitchen as a young person.
Thanks Dani!
I made this tonight and it was FABULOUS!!!! Fun to make and so delicious. Trying to incorporate more plant based meals that also have high protein and nutrition. My husband is a big meat guy and he LOVED this recipe. There is hope . . . a little at a time. Ha ha I also made your arugula pear salad with the vanilla fig dressing for a starter. WOW, what a great-company worthy meal. Thank you, Sylvia.
Great to hear!
This bolognese is lovely and has a great flavour. I use it to impress people that are used to meat versions. They love it! Thank you.
Great to hear!
We were amazed at the deep richness of this dish. I used the toasted ground walnuts, and I think that was a big part it. I also found some little lentils that looked black to me but since I couldn’t find the black caviar label I used them. They were called green French Dupuy lentils. Although they took a while to cook (30 mins?) they did not cook down and get mushy the way the orange and sometimes the regular green/brown lentils do.
I plan to make a big batch of this and keep it in the freezer for the next time I have a dinner party. Paired with a simple salad and a hearty loaf of bread and served over fresh egg noodles, it will be a snap to pull together and a hit I’m sure.
Thank you Sylvia for this fantastic recipe and your website with beautiful photos and step by step directions. I find myself here more and more. It is so satisfying to eat vegetarian food that stays with you and leaves a smile on your face.
Yay Lana- so happy you are enjoying the recipes and thanks for being here!
Perfect Blaine!
Love this recipe. It’s my go-to bolognese. I added mushrooms, olives and an extra small can of tomatoes.
Thanks so much Blaine!