Lentil Pasta Sauce

5 from 4 votes

Serve this delicious lentil pasta sauce over pasta or with a hunk of bread for an effortless one-pot, 30-minute meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 233kcal

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil *
8 cloves garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
1 medium carrot (finely chopped)
3 stalks celery (finely chopped)
8 oz mushrooms (finely chopped. Use wild mushrooms or cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms, or a mix)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
¼ cup red wine
2 cups tomato puree (about 16 oz)
2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon paprika
28 oz brown lentils (canned. If cooking lentils from scratch, drain and reserve the cooking liquid.)
1 cup vegetable stock (or water)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup parsley (finely chopped, for garnish)

Place olive oil in a large pot or pan with the garlic. Turn heat to medium low and cook the garlic, a couple of minutes, until very aromatic and just beginning to turn color.
Add the sofrito vegetables to the pot - onions, carrots and celery. Add salt and ground black pepper to season and sauté for 3-4 minutes until the onions begin to soften.
Stir in the mushrooms, oregano and thyme into the vegetables in the pot. Turn heat up to medium. The mushrooms will immediately express their juices. Continue to cook until the moisture in the pot has evaporated.
Add the wine to the pot and mix. Cook for a couple of minutes until most of the moisture in the pot has gone.
Add tomato puree and tomato paste to the pot and mix.
Pour the cooked lentils into the pot along with vegetable stock or water or a cup of the reserved cooking liquid (if you cooked lentils from scratch). Add paprika.
Bring the sauce to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook the pasta sauce 10 minutes until it is a bright red. Season with more salt and pepper if needed and stir in parsley.

For less fat, cut down olive oil to 1 tbsp. Or sauté the vegetables in ¼ cup vegetable stock instead of oil.
If cooking lentils from scratch, place the lentils to cook on the stovetop when you start prepping the veggies. They will be ready when it's time to add them to the pot.