If you have never tried tinned lentils in Bolognese sauce you have got to try it out!
The lentil and mushroom Bolognese recipe is a great budget-friendly recipe that is nutritious and high in inexpensive protein.
Using canned lentils in this easy-to-make lentil Bolognese saves time but you can easily cook brown lentils from scratch as well for a cheaper and healthier option.
This easy canned lentil Bolognese sauce comes together in no time and is bound to be a family favorite.
The lentil Bolognese is spiced with the classic Italian flavors (basil, oregano, and bay leaves) and a touch of coconut sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
A little trick I learned from a chef is to add sugar to tomato sauce or pasta sauce to neutralize the acid found in tomato sauce. If you ever notice that your pasta sauce tastes a little to acidic sugar will help to soften the acidic flavors and meld the flavors of the pasta sauce together.
A classic pasta sauce is often lacking the liver cleansing vegetables, but this vegetarian lentil Bolognese is filled with health-promoting vegetables to make sure you are getting enough veggies in your diet (which many of us are lacking)
The caramelized vegetables simmered in the Italian spices and tomato sauce bring depth and flavor to this delicious vegan lentil Bolognese. It is so good and a healthy way to enjoy the classic comfort food pasta dish.
I served this canned lentil Bolognese sauce with red lentil pasta spirals … just to keep with the theme. But seriously it was so yummy and a healthier option in comparison to regular white pasta.
These days there are so many options and kinds of pasta from gluten-free brown rice noodles, buckwheat pasta, chickpea pasta, and lentil pasta which all taste amazing!
Ingredients for the Tinned Lentil Bolognese Sauce
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1 carrot
1 cup mushrooms
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
1 400 gram can lentils
1 400 gram can crushed tomatoes
1 500 g jar store-bought pasta sauce
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
½ tsp chili flakes
3 bay leaves
1 tsp coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste
To make this lentil Bolognese with canned lentils sauce start by finely dicing the garlic and onion then place in the frying pan with the bay leaves, coconut oil, salt, and pepper.
Let the onion and garlic saute for 1-2 minutes before adding in the remainder of the chopped vegetables (zucchini, red pepper, mushrooms) and grated carrot.
Continue to let the vegetables sautee until nicely browned (approx. 5-10 minutes) before adding in the remainder of the spices, coconut sugar, crushed canned tomatoes, pasta sauce, and canned lentils.
Let all the ingredients in the lentil Bolognese sauce simmer for another 10 minutes to allow all the flavors to meld together.
Serve this vegetarian lentil Bolognese over your favorite gluten-free pasta, buckwheat pasta, red lentil pasta or zucchini noodles with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese! So yummy!
If there are any leftovers of this lentil Bolognese sauce you can freeze any extras for a later date.
If you like to batch cook simply double the recipe for lentil Bolognese and freeze into individual portions either in a freezer bag or BPA free plastic containers.
When you want to make a lentil Bolognese pasta simply let the lentil Bolognese defrost then heat up in a frying pan and serve with freshly make zucchini noodles or gluten-free pasta.
You can make this into a creamy lentil bolognese by blending half a cup of cashews with water then adding it to the sauce at the end. I recently made this vegetarian bolognese and added the blended cashews which was so tasty!
For more delicious and healthy recipes grab my E-book Simply Delicious and Naturally Nutritious.

Tinned Lentil Bolognese
Equipment
- frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 carrot
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 zucchini
- 1 red pepper
- 1 400 g can lentils
- 1 400 g can crushed tomatoes
- 1 500 g jar store-bought pasta sauce
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Finely dice onion and garlic. Chop Zucchini and red pepper. Slice mushrooms and grate carrot.
- Melt coconut in pan then add onion and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes before adding in the reamainderof vegetables. Continue to saute for 10 minutes.
- Add in spices, pasta sauce, crushed tomatoes and lentils. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
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