One Pot Vegan Lentil Bolognese

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

16 ounces uncooked gluten free spaghetti (or regular)

1 large white or yellow onion (diced)

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium carrots (peeled and diced)

1 stalk celery (diced)

1/2 cup Pinot Noir (or other red wine)

28 ounce can plain tomato sauce

15 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups dried brown, green, or french lentils

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

2 teaspoons dried basil or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh

3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1-1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 large bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)

Black pepper to taste

Fresh basil for garnish

Directions

chop onion

Finely chop the onion and garlic and add to a large pot or dutch oven.

saute

Saute with the olive oil for about 5 minutes or until the onion begins to look translucent.

add carrot

Add in the peeled and chopped carrot and diced celery.

cook

Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the veggies soften and brown slightly on the bottom.

add wine

Stir in the wine (don't skip it! it's key for flavor), and let simmer over low heat until the liquid is absorbed, or reduced by at least 50%.

add everything else

Once all of the wine is absorbed, add all remaining ingredients.

stir

Stir well to incorporate. Bring to a low boil.

boil

Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the lentils are fully cooked. Stir roughly every 10 minutes throughout to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom and the lentils cook evenly. You want to keep the heat on low to ensure the liquid doesn't cook off before the lentils get a chance to cook.

cook pasta

About halfway through, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions.

simmer

After about 30 minutes, the sauce should be thick and the lentils cooked. If the lentils aren't cooked well but the sauce is thick, add in another 1 cup of broth and simmer, covered, until cooked.

stir

Discard the bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Add more salt, pepper, or any additional herbs if desired.

blend

Use an immersion blender to very lightly puree the sauce. You definitely don't want to completely puree the sauce, there should be plenty of texture, but blending slightly gives it a really nice texture.

add to pot

If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer about 2 1/2 cups worth of sauce to a regular blender and process until mostly smooth, then add back to the pot and stir.

serve

Serve the sauce over pasta with fresh chopped basil, parsley and cashew parmesan.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bowl, with pasta
• Calories: 523 kcal
• Total Fat: 6.9 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 78 g
• Dietary Fiber: 12.4 g
• Total Sugars: 8.5 g
• Protein: 24.4 g