It feels like meat is getting more and more expensive every day, y’all. But you know what is still cheap? LENTILS. 🙌 I know we’ve sung their praises a thousand times, but lentils are cheap, versatile, and will keep you full all. day. long. So they’re a great substitute for meat in bolognese, whether you’re vegan or not. This lentil bolognese is rich, hearty, full of big savory flavor, and budget-friendly!
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What is Bolognese
Bolognese is a super rich Italian meat sauce reigning from the city of Bologna, Italy. Typically, this sauce starts with finely diced vegetables (onion, celery, carrot) that are cooked down with fatty beef and pork. Tomatoes or tomato sauce are added to give the ragú a tomato base, and white wine and milk are added to give the sauce extra richness. This extra lush sauce is typically served over pasta.
Because meat is getting so darn expensive these days, we decided to make a bolognese-like sauce using lentils instead of meat. The lentils make the bolognese sauce extra hearty for pennies on the dollar, and also add a great dose of fiber. We made sure to add tons of delicious herbs and spices, as well as some rich coconut milk, to make this lentil bolognese just as rich and flavorful as its meaty counterpart.
What kind of lentils to use
You’ll want to use red lentils for this recipe because they break down quickly, helping the sauce thicken up and get extra rich. They’ll retain just enough texture to feel “meaty,” without looking like lentils. The red/orange color of the cooked lentils also helps the bolognese sauce retain a nice deep red/brown color.
How to Serve Lentil Bolognese
Serve this hearty sauce over a pile of your favorite pasta, with some garlic bread and a light salad on the side. Because this sauce is so rich and thick, it pairs really well with larger pasta shapes, like rigatoni or tagliatelle because it clings well to pasta even without lots of ridges or crevices.
Lentil Bolognese
Servings 4 1 cup sauceIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.37)
- 1 carrot ($0.15)
- 1 stalk celery ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts ($1.07)
- 1 cup uncooked red lentils ($0.67)
- 1 15oz. can crushed tomatoes ($1.00)
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.27)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
- 1 tsp garlic powder ($0.10)
- 1 Tbsp sugar ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper ($0.02)
- 3 cups vegetable broth ($0.36)
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk ($0.81)
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion, carrot, and celery. Mince the garlic.
- Add the olive oil, onion, celery and carrot to a large pot. Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes over a medium until the onions are translucent and the vegetables have softened.
- Once vegetables have softened, add the minced garlic, crushed red pepper and walnuts to the pot. Saute for 2 minutes over medium-low heat, or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the lentils, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, salt, sugar, pepper, and vegetable broth to the pot. Mix everything together and bring the sauce to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, semi covered with a lid, stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes. After about 25 minutes the lentils should be soft and the sauce thickened. If the sauce is still too thin for your liking, continue simmering until it has reached your desired consistency.
- Once the bolognese has reached your desired consistency and texture, stir in the coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste the bolognese and add salt to taste. Turn off the heat. The bolognese will continue to thicken as it cools.
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Equipment
Nutrition
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How to Make Lentil Bolognese – Step by Step Photos
Finely dice one yellow onion, one carrot, and one stalk celery, and mince four cloves of garlic.
Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil to a large pot and heat over medium. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and sauté until the vegetables are soft and the onions are translucent.
Add the minced garlic, ¼ tsp crushed red pepper, and ½ cup finely chopped walnuts. Sauté over medium-low heat for about two minutes more.
Add 1 cup uncooked red lentils, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, ½ tsp salt, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp black pepper, one 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes, and 3 Tbsp tomato paste to the pot. Add 3 cups vegetable broth and stir to combine.
Allow the sauce to come up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After about 25 minutes, the lentils should be soft and the sauce should be thick. If the sauce is still too thin for your liking, allow the sauce to simmer a bit longer. If the lentils are not yet soft, continue to simmer, adding a small amount of water as needed to prevent it from drying out.
Once the sauce is thickened, stir in ½ cup full fat coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes longer.
Taste the sauce and add salt if needed.
Could I sub brown lentils?
You could, just keep in mind that the red/orange color of the red lentils help the bolognese sauce retain a nice deep red color and make’s it seem more like a regular meat sauce. But If you’re not worried about then go for it!
Easy to prepare. Good flavour. A nice alternative to a meat-based pasta sauce.
This is delicious and will be joining the regular rotation of recipes at my house.
Absolutley loved this recipe! So much flavour and was a beautiful rich, creamy sauce! We always love having this and i freeze the leftovers for next time. Just as good out of the freezer!
Hey Beth, sorry if this is a silly 5 are walnuts absolutely necessary for this dish? Nuts are crazily expensive where I live and it would be nice not to buy them if possible.
That’s totally understandable! Feel free omit. If you want, you can add in 1/4 cup more lentils instead.
My partner and I both thought the walnuts made for a really weird (not good) flavor and texture addition. We also didn’t get much tomato flavor. Maybe the spices and tomatoes could have used a bit of dry cooking before adding the broth?
I tried this over polenta. Heaven in a bowl of comfort food! Thank you for your wonderful site and all the work that goes into your recipes.
I love BudgetBytes recipes but this one just didn’t work. 3 cups of stock made this very watery and the flavor was lost. I added in some soy sauce for umami but it was not my favorite.
An absolute go to now – so easy, cheap but so so tasty. Make this all the time now!! I add in some balsamic vinegar to bring out the tomato flavour a bit, but otherwise keep everything the same.
To call this sauce a personal revelation would be understating it’s case! Really, really good when simmered low and slow. It’s going to be my new meatless Monday go-to! Luscious 😊
I love this recipe! My husband and I are vegetarian and make it all the time – we like to double the recipe, and either freeze the leftovers (works well reheated from frozen), or eat it across several days. I feel like it has the perfect combination of tasting really good, being healthy, and tasting just as good reheated. Another winner from Budget Bytes!
Very good! My mother makes a similar pasta but it is not a traditional bolognese, it was fun to try this spin version.
No need to add sugar, if you want to cut the acid in the canned tomatoes add a carrot, they add natural sugar without making the sauce sweet. I also chose to omit the walnuts to make the recipe nut-free.
Made this (heard you on life kit!) and I have a question. Is there an alternative to the coconut milk? I really hate the taste of coconut so I left it out.
If you are vegan I recommend the Country Crock plant cream, it’s like heavy whipping cream. It’s like $4.99 at the store!
Wonderful vegan pasta recipe! I didn’t find the coconut milk necessary and I added a couple teaspoons of red wine vinegar at the very end to balance out the acidity. I may reduce the sugar next time as well but over a great budget byte!
Made this to accompany some left over pasta & it smells amazing & tastes even better (we are fans of the pinch of red pepper flakes added!!)
What I wonder is…what suggestions have you to share for the remaining coconut milk? Can this freeze for future use? Most of your recipes I like to make call for a full can – so I’d love your ideas about what is recommended for the other half of the can 🥥
Sure! You can definitely freeze it, but also check out our coconut milk recipe archives for some other recipes that call for coconut milk. :)
1 T is too much sugar. I liked it otherwise; will halve sugar next time.
This was amazing! We aren’t vegan – just trying to eat less meat for health and budget reasons. Followed to the letter except used a dash of regular cream instead of the coconut cream. This is going into the regular rotation. One batch also makes a good portion so I’m going to freeze the leftovers for future easy weeknight dinners. Loved it!
Love this recipe and I’m back to make it again! I had a bag of red lentils in my pantry I needed to use and found this recipe. I was really shocked at how good it is and like I said I’m back to make it again. This is an easy way to make a hearty meal that is healthy and packed with protein. And leftovers reheat beautifully! Thank you for this great recipe!!
We made this tonight, and it was a huge hit. I subbed pecans for walnuts because it’s what we had on hand, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. We are mostly plant-based and love pasta, but finding yummy sauces that include a plant-based protein can be tricky. This one was definitely a winner for us! After reading other reviews, I was hesitant about the coconut milk, but I really loved the addition of it! We will definitely be making this again.
We tried this in hopes of finding a good red pasta sauce that didn’t use red meat. We swapped heavy cream for coconut cream, like several have suggested. It’s fine, but nothing I’d make again. It’s got a weird texture that’s like refried beans mixed with spaghetti sauce. Again, it’s fine. If I someone made this and fed it to me, I’d eat it, but I won’t make it again.
This is really good. I made a few mistakes when cooking it(minor) that altered it a little bit. However I can see where the flavors/textures were heading and I thought it was still good(even with my errors).
Am going to try making it again and hopefully not make the minor mistakes I made
Sauce was much better before the (in retrospect baffling) addition of coconut milk. In future, to add creaminess, I’ll add heavy cream. Otherwise this was delicious!
Coming from a beef eater, this was realllly good! I realized I bought split red lentils and was apprehensive if they would work (I never buy beans). They were fine. Family loved it even if they did give me looks after I told them it was lentils, they continued eating it. The one and only thing I would suggest for those who are trying the recipe for the first time…be sure that you really chop your walnuts finely. I thought I did, but there were larger chunks of walnuts that were not pleasing. Cooker error, not recipe.
Thanks for another great meal.
This was delicious, relatively fast for bolognese, and easy to pull together. I subbed half and half for the coconut milk. My only note for next time would be to use a bit less sugar.
We liked this one! It seems like nicely filling comfort food. Full disclosure, none of us has tried any other kind of bolognese before so we have nothing to compare it too! I used slightly fewer walnuts and a splash of cream instead of coconut milk just because that’s what I had on hand. I made a double batch and stashed a bunch of dinner-sized portions of sauce in the freezer for low-effort nights. We decided about 1 cup of sauce over 2.5 oz of dry pasta (then cooked, of course) made an everyday serving size for an athletic adult woman, served next to a salad, if that helps anybody.
Ooops, forgot click the star rating with the review so now I’m replying to myself. Probably 4 stars for good, basic flavors, but then add easy-to-find, vegan ingredients, straight-forward assembly, and produce something healthy and freezable? That’s 5 stars.
Thanks for doubling back to leave a rating. We really appreciate it! ~ Marion :)
Delicious! I swapped out the tomato paste for tomato sauce.
Pretty good. As other commenters suggested, I upped the spices and used Better than Bouillon beef broth. As with all sauces, it’s much better a day or two after making. I use it as a kind of dip with pita bread instead of pasta. Will definitely make again.
Delicious and easy. I subbed half and half for the coconut milk. Served with some red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, and broccoli. We would make again!
This was really very good and we will make again, and it made great leftovers. I have to say, I feel a little virtuous when I include some meatless meals to the rotation and this is a keeper. (That said, there is something glorious about beefy bolognese sauce that is something else.) But this one is also VERY GOOD! Thank you Beth!
This bolognese is packed with a variety of vegetables, legumes, and herbs, it is super healthy, delicious, and thrifty. That’s the direction I want to go. :)
This one is legitimate. The mouthfeel was very Bolognese and the flavor of the sauce was delicious. My partner was SUPER skeptical when I told him what we were having for dinner and by the first bite he was sold. It also made for some nice left overs at work.
I did negate the vegan (and arguably the vegetarian) part of the recipe by putting parmesan on top. It did add something to make it feel more like a traditional pasta dish but it wasn’t necessary.
This recipe is SO GOOD! I changed nothing and it turned out amazing. My freezer is stocked with this and your sausage and lentil stew – huge hits in my house!
This kind of recipe is the reason I’ve come to hold Budget Bytes in such high esteem over the years. It’s creative, uses basic ingredients, and gets me excited about assembling more delicious meatless meals for my family. Thank you for this winner!
This was so good! I used almonds instead of walnuts (just because that’s what I had in the pantry) and it was still amazing, but next time I’ll definitely try it with walnuts.
Delicious!! The only negative is the sodium content. I Used no salt crushed tomatoes and low sodium vegetable broth. Hopefully that lowered the sodium count
Fantastic recipe, easily one of the best red sauces I’ve ever made. The flavors were rich and flavorful, and I really loved the texture combination of walnuts and lentils. I didn’t have quite enough red lentils, so I did about half red and half brown, which I thought worked out really well. I did let it simmer longer (maybe 45-60 minutes), and I think helped the brown lentils break down a little more. I also used half and half instead of coconut milk and added a glug of wine because why not? Highly recommended, and I’ll definitely have this recipe on repeat.
Just made this & it was delicious! However it was not at all red, more brown & I had to make a few changes. I didn’t have tomato paste so I used equal amounts of ketchup, didn’t have any coconut milk & had to blenderize canned diced tomatoes because I didn’t have any crushed tomatoes. All in all good flavor. Would tomato paste make it redder? And how different would it taste with the coconut milk?
No nutritional info listed??
All of the nutritional information is listed at the bottom of the recipe card! Also, just to point out our disclaimer, all the information here is calculated using software called Spooktacular API, and should only be used as a rough estimate. https://www.budgetbytes.com/nutrition-information-disclaimer/
I hate to be that person, but I could not find any red lentils so I substituted it for brown. I think it still turned out amazing in case anyone else runs into the same predicament.
I did have to simmer for 40 mins instead of the 25 mins and ended up smashing a bit of the lentils at the end to give it more of a meaty texture (brown lentils hold their shape and texture more than red).
It was a great recipe and will make again. Thanks Budget Bytes for helping us creatively combat inflation.
This was delicious! So hearty and filling, with a nice mix of complex flavors and textures. It really is a nice rich brownish-red color, too – very meat-like. I threw in a bunch of kale that I had lying around, and while it wasn’t a completely necessary addition, it was a nice extra. Thank you, Beth, for another winner!
One question, though: the walnuts worked great in this batch, but I’m planning on making this for a family gathering, where one person is allergic to walnuts. Do you have ani recommendations for other nuts that could be used in place of the walnuts? Or just extra lentils?
You could substitute them with pecans or cashews (but both will change the dish’s flavor slightly since they are somewhat sweeter than walnuts). They could also be left out but the sauce won’t be as rich! We also have a number of other vegan (and vegetarian recipes) on the site that you might find something that works well for your group without making any swaps. ~ Marion :)
Here’s a link to our NEW roundup — Best Lentil Soups (and Stews): https://www.budgetbytes.com/lentil-soup-recipes/
Oooh, pecans and cashews both sound like great ideas. Thanks, Marion! And thank you as well for the recipe roundup. :)
Seriously, anytime!
I made this as written and I think it’s absolutely delicious. It’s the best lentil Bolognese sauce I’ve tried. I really like the addition of the walnuts.
I had to add some water and I wish I had added more, because I don’t feel the lentils cooked as soft as I like. But your mileage may vary, depending on how watery your other ingredients are. And I would definitely cut down on sugar – are you sure it’s meant to be 1 tbsp, not one teaspoon? Or is it just the famous American sweet tooth?
The sugar amount is correct, but reducing it to suit your taste definitely wouldn’t make or break this recipe. When it comes to the lentils, I’m curious about what kind you used. As we mention in the post, prefer red or yellow lentils in this recipe because they break down more and help thicken the sauce much better than green/brown lentils, which tend to hold their shape even after cooking (and do so in much less time!). Cook times can also vary from brand to brand, so I would advise checking the package for a suggested cooking time and adjusting our recipe accordingly. ~ Marion :)
I did use red lentils (cooking time on package 10 – 15 min), but now I’ve realized I quite forgot that there were nuts in the dish and I probably mistook their crunch for undercooked lentils. Silly me!
No worries at all! If you’re not a fan of the nuts, you can always omit them next time. ~Marion :)
I only used 1tsp of sugar and feel this was the max amount for our taste. Thanks for the heads up 😋
Would this freeze well? It would be great to have some on hand for busy nights.
Yes! ~ Marion :)
This recipe was fantastic! I’m pescetarian but always looking for good vegan and fully vegetarian recipes. I followed the recipe as written but I doubled the amount of spices (I typically add extra when following recipes from this site). The sauce comes out super thick, rich, and flavorful. Rigatoni was a great vessel for the sauce.
Delicious! Would appreciate if pasta were added to the ingredients list, because I 100% failed to read that part and/or take notice of the picture and had to run back out *facepalm*
Does it have to be Red lentils?
PS You’re my favorite recipe site
I made this without the nuts because I didn’t have any, and I used half-and-half instead of coconut milk because I didn’t want to open a whole can just for half a cup. With those substitutions – it’s delicious! How much pasta would you make to go with this amount of sauce? It seems like it ought to be enough for a lot, maybe even 2 pounds of pasta.
This was so good!! I used the vegetarian Better Than Bouillon that’s meant to emulate beef broth. To me it doesn’t taste wildly different than their normal vegetable base, but it’s fun to use for recipes like this and french onion soup :)
I’ll try this at my next book group. Our group has 2 vegetarians, 1 almost vegan, and 1 who can’t eat cheese. This looks like it would work both for those with limitations and those of us without.
Can nuts be eliminated altogether? Thanks.
I bought walnuts and made the recipe as-is! I’ve had a bag of lentils in my pantry for too long, not knowing what to do with them. My husband and I are huge meat eaters and we were so surprised by this dish, we loved it! I seasoned it a bit more than the recipe notes but was so tasty. Thank you!
I did hesitate to try a new recipe with few reviews but this turned out wonderfully. Followed the recipe, no substitutions, although maybe a little heavy on the spices because I don’t measure them. Served over bucatini noodles. Made 5 generous servings.
Hi! Would this work with pecans instead of walnuts? Thanks!
You could do that. :) Just keep in mind that pecans have a slightly sweeter taste than walnuts.
This is delicious. I’m a meat eater and grew up on my Italian relative’s pasta sauce. Slow-cooked neck bones in the oven all Sunday. That kind of thing. This competes with that 100%. Thank you for sharing it with the world.
I’m allergic to walnuts. What can you substitute? Thanks!!
You could do pecans or cashews. :)
10/10!
My boyfriend is a meat eater and I’m a vegetarian, so I try to find recipes we can both enjoy. He took a few bites and said “this is better than with meat sauce!”. So that was a win. I didn’t change a thing about the recipe, but I served it with garlic Parmesan bread knots and wine. Felt very fancy :), I will be making this again!
My budget is saying use what you’ve got. 1. There are no red lentils around here. Can I adapt this to common brown ones? 2. Walnuts and other nuts are way expensive here. Can I just leave them out?
Sorry I have to adapt it so much. I’m sure it’s delicious as written. I wish we had an Aldi’s but none within reach. Walmart is fine here but it’s very mainstream. Thanks.
Yes, you can use brown lentils, but the texture of your sauce will be slightly chunkier and maybe not quite as thick. You can leave the walnuts out, but the sauce won’t be quite as rich. :)
My kids don’t like coconut milk, and in the blog post you mention bolognese uses milk. Think whole milk could be a good substitute for the coconut milk? Thanks!
I think it would be. It looks like they were aiming to keep the recipe vegan. I’m certainly going to use regular milk when I make this.
Yep, absolutely! Or even a little heavy cream. :)
Love this idea! Does it still have an Italian-ish flavor profile, or does the coconut milk change that?
Yes, it still has an Italian flavor profile. :) The coconut milk is enough to make it taste creamy, but not enough for it to taste coconutty (just make sure to let it simmer that last few minutes because it will taste a little coconutty right when you add it in, but it dulls down as it simmers).
Thank you!
Super delicious.. I love lentils!!
What would you use instead of coconut milk? I’m not a big fan of it. The recipe sounds amazing! I have made several of your recipes for my family, and the cost of meals is only one of the many reasons I keep your page bookmarked! Thank you!
Well, it depends on the reason you need to substitute. If you’re find with it not being vegan, go ahead and sub a little heavy cream or half and half. If you need it to stay vegan, I’d just leave it out and have it be a non-creamy sauce.
Hi! I’m allergic to walnuts– would you recommend subbing them for another nut (thinking pecan..?), leave them out entirely or add more lentils to this?
Best vegan lentil bolognese recipe I’ve found! Incredibly delicious. The walnuts really add something to the texture. Was doubtful about adding coconut milk so added a little less than in recipe, but that worked really well too! Made enough for four with intention to freeze half the batch, but my partner and I just ate the lot. Thanks!
Pecan or cashews might work. :)
Cool. Thanks, Beth!
Looks good
What is the benefit of powdered garlic? I noticed you use both- fresh and powdered- in this recipe, so I am sure there is some deeper thinking behind it than just “was tired of chopping”. Which is my weeknight reason to use powdered garlic.
Powdered garlic can add further umami to a dish, it has a different flavor from raw garlic, it’s mellower, more rounded, earthy and umami. But too much of it makes a dish taste like flavored potato chips (which tend to use it a lot).
Thanks. Good to know! Love these extra THMs
Garlic powder and fresh garlic have two different flavors, IMHO, so I sometimes use both to get a lot more dimension to the garlic flavor. The powdered garlic is more of a subtle base flavor that permeates throughout, whereas the fresh has a lighter more pungent garlic flavor.
I know that there are two kinds of coconut milk, one for drinking and one for baking, usually found in cartons and cans, respectively. Which kind do you use? My son is vegan and my daughter doesn’t eat beef. I learned about coconut milk this past Thanksgiving when I set out to make a vegan pumpkin pie. This recipe looks good.
I would use canned.
I’m pretty sure this recipe calls for canned coconut milk.
While we’re on the subject please don’t buy canned coconut milk that comes from Thailand. They commonly use monkeys to harvest the coconuts and they’re treated badly.
I could only find Thai coconut milk in my local stores so now I order it online. Product of the Philippines.
Yes, this is full-fat canned coconut milk. :)
The kind that comes in cartons is usually not coconut milk; it’s coconut water.
The government is destroying the currency and racking up massive debt, so eat lentils!
TOTALLY the right place for such a discussion. /s