Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese

Vegetarian Version Of Meat Recipe

Having for many years been in the position of cooking vegetarian meals along side meat based ones I have several tried and tested easy vegetarian equivalents of meat recipes so the extra effort of cooking two meals is minimal. I have often cooked this vegetarian version of the traditional spaghetti bolognese recipe and it is indeed a well like family favourite (well amongst the vegetarians anyway!)

This lentil bolognese sauce is always a hit in our family and you make think it is better than the meat version

Lentils – Low Cost And Nutritious

It uses lentils – that trusty ingredient that is so useful as a meat substitute – and is good for adding to meat recipes to make the meat go further. I use green lentils for this recipe rather than red lentils as they hold their shape better and are more robust to give a texture more like meat. You could use puy or brown lentils instead but these are less readily available in supermarkets although are usually quite easy to find in health food shops.

Lentils are low fat, high fibre and full of vitamins and iron and being so low priced.

Meat Substitutes

Of course often now people use quorn or soya mince as a meat substitute. And these can be fine and very useful – but they are highly processed so no good if you want to avoid over processed food. Soya has become more controversial as to whether it is healthy or not and quorn has its critics too

It is very difficult to discern whether these kind of products are good for you or not and to me using lentils is low cost and has less controversial health or ethical issues associated with them.

Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce

This recipe is really based on my meat spaghetti bolognese recipe. If you are cooking both you can use the same ingredients apart from the meat so they cna easily cook side by side. I add pepper – red or green (or both) to the sauce and grated carrots. I got used to adding grated carrots to recipes as a way of getting my son to eat them as for some bizarre reason he didn’t like them (and still doesn’t as an adult!). However the addition of carrots adds a lovely sweetness to the bolognese sauce and our traditional family recipe wouldn’t be the same without it!

Serving Suggestions

Serve on a bed of pasta – spaghetti if you prefer but it is delicious with any pasta shapes. A dish such as this is always good with a green salad and if you really want to push the boats out – some garlic bread! And of course a sprinkling of grated parmesan or cheddar cheese is always welcome along with plenty of black pepper. Don’t forget to check if your cheese is veggie as many are not…..

Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese

Easy vegetarian version of classic dish

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 40 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Calories 510 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 250 g green lentils
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red or white onion peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 red or green pepper peeled and chopped
• 1 large carrot peeled and grated
• 1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
• 150 ml vegetable stock
• 400 g spaghetti or pasta shapes
• grated cheese to serve

Instructions

 

• Place the green lentils in a saucpan and cover with plenty of boiling water
• Bring to the boil and simmer for about 40 minutes until soft, adding more water if it is getting dry
• Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan
• Add the onions and cook until soft and transparent
• Add the garlic and pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes
• Add the lentils
• Add the tin of tomatoes and stir well
• Add the grated carrots
• Add the stock, tomato puree and oregano
• Stir thoroughly, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer
• Cook for 30-40 minutes
• Just 15 minutes before the bolognese sauce will be ready, boil the kettle with plenty of water
• Use a large saucepan
• If using pasta shapes, place in the pan, cover with boiling water, and stir
• Simmer for 12-15 minutes or according to packet instructions
• If using spaghetti, pour the water into the pan and bring back to boil
• Place the spaghetti into the pan, vertically and gently lower it into the pan as it softens in the water
• Once all into the water, stir gently to prevent sticking
• Simmer for 12-15 minutes or according to packet instructions

Keyword easy supper