Lentils are wonderful in my opinion and often given a bad reputation as a ‘hippie’ food only eaten by those following a vegetarian or strictly plant-based diet. I eat meat, but I always make sure that my cupboards are well stocked with protein-packed legumes and pulses, for those days when I just don’t fancy any meat at all. Eating too much meat can leave me feeling a bit ‘meh’ so I like to balance the heavy meat dishes out with a couple of vegetarian dishes each week and lentils are a fabulous substitute.
At the moment, I’m trying to budget a lot more and one thing that I’m massively trying to reign in is our food budget. I will be sharing lots more budget friendly healthy meals on the blog over the next few months as well as some budget-friendly grocery hauls too. A lot of the time, when I say I’m going to cut the shopping bill, I make a big effort for the first few weeks and then it spirals out of control again – I love my food, what can I say! However, this time, I’m on a mission and taking it more seriously.
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 500 g dried red lentils
- 700 g passata
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 500 g spaghetti or your favourite pasta
- 150 g frozen petit pois
- 1 aubergine eggplant, cubed
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In a large saucepan, heat some oil and fry off the onion, aubergine (eggplant) and garlic until tender and aromatic (around 15 minutes)
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Stir in the lentils, passata, tomato puree, vegetable stock cube, balsamic vinegar and herbs. Cook for a further 20 minutes on a low simmer. Finally add the petit pois at the end of cooking to warm through.
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While simmering, cook the spaghetti as per the packet instructions.
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Serve the lentil bolognese over the spaghetti and top with grated parmesan (optional).
Ingredients like lentils are a wonderful budget-friendly food and can be used in so many meals, as the star ingredient or as an added extra to bulk out meals. Talking of bulking out meals I added some lovely petit pois to this bolognese as well as some meaty aubergine for even more fibre and wholesomeness.
This lentil bolognese in its rich tomatoey homemade sauce is really delicious and so simple to make. I would normally make this with organic minced beef, but I really didn’t miss the meat at all because the lentils are so hearty. Next time I make this I’m going to make a massive batch that I can store in my new freezer. This way I will have a healthy budget friendly meal all ready to go when I’m in a rush and don’t have time to cook.
I love aubergines so need to give this a go! Looks so yummy.
Thank you! They taste great in this.
I never really know what to do with lentils, but this is a great idea – thanks for sharing x
There’s so much that you can make with them. So great in a curry too!
That is a different take on bolognaise and I bet it is delicious, what a yummy idea.
Thank you! It’s a nice veggie alternative.
this looks so tasty, it’s healthy and tempting.
Thank you!
We make lentil bolognese often, and I actually prefer it to using mince. I am going to have to try adding some aubergines next time too.
This sounds so gorgeous! My kind of comfort food 😀
Thanks Nadia!
Lovely recipe! I always seem to save red lentils for dhals, and use green for ‘meaty’ dishes, but you’ve convinced me to start using red lentils for more. This bolognese sounds so delicious and I love all the veggies in it.
Thanks Kate! Red lentils aren’t as robust as green lentils, but they do have a lovely ‘meatiness’ about them too.
Its interesting to see how people use lentils in so many different creative ways . We use them as lentil soups in Indian cooking.
I love lentil soups, yum!
This looks like a fab recipe, I love lentils – in daals, soups etc. I try to eat less meat these days, cheaper and healthier! This would make a fantastic veggie alternative!
So true, meat is so expensive these days and I always feel ‘lighter’ after a couple of meat free days.
This looks great- I love lentils in moussaka too.
Thanks, Maria! I bet they’re lovely in a moussaka.
I love the combination of lentils and pasta. I always add them into a bolognese even if its a meaty one.
I love that you add then to a meat based bolognese too, amping up that protein power!
Lovely recipe! I like the addition of aubergine but I would skip peas as I don’t like them. I normally have lentils in the soup so I am really interested to see how they would turn out with pasta.
You could easily skip the peas in this and add something else instead.
This looks really delicious! I love red lentils.
Thank you!