Hearty, vegetarian spaghetti with lentils and tomato sauce is a simple and delicious dish. It’s easy to make, requires very simple ingredients that you can easily find in your cupboard and takes less than an hour to cook.
Can you imagine a better ultimate comfort food than a simple and delicious pasta dish with a creamy sauce and loads of cheese? I’ll wait… I didn’t think so! For me, it’s heaven on a plate.
No jokes, on my very first day with my personal trainer I told him ‘You can take anything away from my food menu, but don’t touch my pasta and mozzarella’. He laughed for a good 10 minutes saying that I was clearly very passionate about my food and he wouldn’t try to get between us. Long story short, after my workout session, the first thing I cooked was spaghetti with lentils. Basically, I proved my point and it was worth it.
I think I may have mentioned this already, but one of my 2022 goals is to reduce my meat consumption. Despite this, swapping meat for vegetarian options isn’t always easy.
Until… lentils! They are a perfect ingredient for bringing meatiness, taste and texture to dishes. I especially love puy lentils, which are peppery and have an amazing texture that remains slightly firm even after cooking. For all these reasons, they work amazingly in spaghetti sauce – they won’t get mushy and taste fantastic.
Variations for Spaghetti with Lentils
I kept this recipe very simple, but feel free to customise it and make it work better for you and your loved ones. Here are some suggestions:
- Spaghetti – I used regular wheat pasta, but feel free to swap it for any gluten free options.
- Add more flavour – add a glass of red wine after you sauté your leeks and carrots.
- Add more veggies – you can also add mushrooms, broccoli stock or celery.
- If you’re short on time, add the spaghetti and an extra glass of water in the pan with the sauce and cook everything together (saving on cleaning time).
- For a very cheesy sauce use multiple different types of cheese – mozzarella, cheddar and even a little bit of blue cheese.
Spaghetti with Lentils Recipe
Ingredients
250g dry spaghetti
2 garlic cloves
½ leek
2 carrots
1 tin of tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
250g cooked puy lentils (I used Merchant Gourmet lentils)
50ml double creams
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley
Grated parmesan cheese
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the finely chopped garlic, carrots and leek. Cook them for a couple of minutes until they softened.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, water (use the tomato tin to measure it) and tomato paste. Stir everything together. Season the sauce to your liking.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the cooked lentils and double cream. Mix everything together and gently simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Cook the spaghetti in the salted water, following pack instructions.
- Serve the pasta, add the sauce on top and garnish the dish with the chopped fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese.
