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Easy Lentil Bolognese (Vegan)

This super hearty and wholesome red lentil bolognese was one of the first recipes I ever posted on By The Forkful, and has been honed to cozy, flavorful perfection over the course of six years. Using red lentils and walnuts, and ready in less than an hour, this lentil bolognese is a firm favorite for a comforting, satisfying weeknight dinner with my family.

red lentil bolognese in a white pan

Bolognese is, to me, the perfect comfort food. I feel like sometimes people don’t always connect vegetarian and vegan recipes with cozy, comfort food – but this delicious red lentil bolognese absolutely proves that notion wrong.

It’s the perfect blend of warm, hearty, and comforting flavors that literally warm you up from the inside out.

Want something similar to this recipe but with an extra boost of protein? Try this amazing tofu pasta recipe.

Pasta, Pasta, Pasta!

I love how versatile pasta dishes can be: you can have a rich, hearty meal like this lentil spaghetti bolognese perfect for cozy nights in, or you can have a light, summery pesto pasta dish that leaves you satiated but not stuffed.

Another similar recipe to this lentil bolognese is my super popular jackfruit bolognese recipe, which I’d highly recommend trying. Another hit is this creamy vegan butternut squash pasta – just yum!

My lentil spaghetti bolognese took some time to master. After all, the perfect bolognese has a deep, hearty, almost indulgent taste that can be hard to replicate with lentils.

An overhead shot of a plate of red lentil bolognese on spaghetti, topped with vegan parmesan. In the background there are cherry tomatoes,  half a lemon, an a few cloves of garlic for decorative purposes.

How To Make Your Red Lentil Bolognese

To start, we finely dice the essential trial: celery, onion, and carrot. Finely dice into a vegetable sofritas (i.e. super small chunks!) and saute for around 8 minutes in about a tablespoon of olive oil until they begin to soften.

Really take the time to dice up the vegetables nice and small. It’s worth it.

Add minced garlic and a large heap of tomato paste (I’ve included the full quantities of everything in the recipe card below). Cook until the tomato paste is combined with the vegetables and turns a deep red colour, then add your red wine.

CHEF’S TIP: If you don’t want to use red wine, for whatever reason, you could omit it from this recipe completely. A dash of balsamic vinegar be effective at giving the bolognese that same tangy edge.

Adding the lentils and walnuts

Once your red wine has cooked down, we add soaked red lentils (soaked for about 30 minutes) and finely blitzed walnuts. I blitz mine into an ultra-crumbly texture in my Nutri-Bullet.

Then, add vegetable stock, passata, seasonings (all listed below), two bay leaves, and give everything a good stir.

Cook for 30 – 35 minutes, adding more water if required, until the red lentil bolognese comes together into a super thick, hearty sauce. It will smell divine at this point!

What Pasta Should You Use For Red Lentil Bolognese?

I recommend using a thicker pasta, like tagliatelle or mafalda pasta, as this really grabs hold of the bolognese sauce when mixed. With spaghetti, the bolognese sauce will often sink to the bottom of your dish.

Alternatively, you could use a short pasta like rigatoni or even conchiglie shells to your red lentil bolognese sauce.

What Lentils Are Best for Lentil Bolognese?

Like we’ve used in this recipe, I believe red lentils are the most suitable type of lentil for a beautifully hearty, wholesome bolognese sauce. The red lentils break down into the sauce so it feels really thick and luscious in texture and taste.

I have occasionally made this recipe with tinned green lentils before and while delicious, they don’t break down the same way so the sauce has a different texture.

An alternative is to use soya mince – like I do in this vegan chilli recipe – but the texture will obviously be quite different.

Finally, you could consider using a mix of finely chopped mushrooms and walnuts. This will have less protein in it, but can be a good option for people who find pulses difficult to digest.

red lentil bolognese in a white saucepan

Soaking Your Lentils

I recommend soaking the red lentils for 30 minutes before making this recipe. It’s not an absolutely essential step, but does begin to soften the lentils nicely to add to that thick, gorgeous bolognese sauce.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

I constantly changed this red lentil bolognese recipe when first testing it out (all the way back in 2018!) to try to get the deepest, richest flavor possible.

I knew I had succeeded when I served this dish up to my Dad (who begrudgingly tries to cut down on his meat intake), and he actually loved it. I definitely count my recipes a double success when I’m in love with and when a meat-eater gives their seal of approval too!

Alongside this lentil bolognese, other pasta recipes you might enjoy include this creamy orzo mac and cheese, this tomato pasta sauce with cashews, or this beautifully creamy butternut squash and white bean pasta.

You could also use the lentil filling in this recipe for a shepherd’s pie or lentil hotpot.

Is This Vegan Bolognese Suitable for Meal Prepping?

This lentil spaghetti bolognese is perfect for batch-cooking so you’ve got lots of leftovers for lunches and dinners for the next few days – I find the lentils actually take on even more flavor the longer they mix with the other ingredients.

If you are planning on meal prepping this recipe, I’d highly advise keeping the sauce and the spaghetti separately. While super delicious with traditional spaghetti, this recipe is also great with other forms of pasta (rigatoni and fusilli are my two favorites) as well as on top of a baked potato for lunch – don’t knock it until you try it!

Other heavenly and hearty pasta recipes you might like include this jackfruit bolognese (so good!), cashew-tomato pasta (so, so good!)or maybe this roasted butternut squash pasta recipe (so, so, so good!).

Storage

This is a great recipe for meal prepping – both me and my mum like to cook up big batches to enjoy for lunches and dinners throughout the week. Just keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it should store for 3 – 5 days.

The lentil sauce is also perfect for freezing. Just defrost fully before reheating and cook your spaghetti fresh.

Variations/Adaptions

One of my favourite things about this recipe is that it really is so easy to adapt. Once you’ve made it a couple of times, you can just start to make your lentil bolognese intuitively, without following the exact quantities of the recipe.

If you have extra vegetables, chuck them in! Add chocolate or cinnamon, a vegan meat substitute, beans, whatever you fancy!

Red Lentil Bolognese

Red Lentil Bolognese

Yield: 4-5 portions
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

A gorgeously rich, hearty red lentil bolognese sauce made with walnuts and a splash of red wine for extra flavor.

Ingredients

  • 200g dried red lentils
  • 1 large white onion
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 stick celery
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 200mls red wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 300mls vegetable stock
  • 3tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 container of passata

Herbs:

  • 2 tsp flaky salt
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1tsp black pepper
  • 30g walnuts, finely pulsed
  • 2tbsp olive oil

Pasta

  • 300g pasta of your choice

Instructions

  1. Wash your lentils in a bowl and cover with water for 30 minutes.
  2. Finely dice your onion, celery, and carrot, and mince your garlic.
  3. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and saute the onion, celery, and carrot for 8 minutes until soft and translucent.
  4. Add the minced garlic, cook for another minute, then add the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Tip in your glass of red wine and allow it to cook down for 5 minutes or so, continuing to stir the mixture.
  6. Add your soaked lentils (drained), pulsed walnuts, veggie stock, and passata.
  7. Stir in the herbs, bay leaves, and salt and pepper, and stir everything together
  8. Place the lid on your pan and cook for 30 - 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  9. If needed, add a little more water to the bolognese to allow the lentils to cook fully.
  10. Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to the package instructions.
  11. Stir in the cooked pasta to coat it fully, then plate up and top with some fresh basil and vegan parmesan.

Notes

If you plan on making this recipe ahead of time, cook the pasta separately just before serving. Store your bed lentil bolognese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months, defrosting fully in the fridge before reheating.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 133Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 428mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 6gSugar: 4gProtein: 6g

Nutritional information may not be 100% accurate.

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