Vegan Spaghetti Sauce (with Lentils)

Square cropped image of a close up of a plate of lentil spaghetti sauce over pasta, garnished with chopped parsley.

Vegan Spaghetti Sauce (with Lentils)

This easy, flavorful vegan spaghetti sauce recipe uses simple ingredients to create a thick, hearty pasta sauce. It’s loaded with veggies, lentils and flavor! Serve over your favorite pasta.

Course Main Course, Sauce

Cuisine American-inspired, Italian-inspired, Vegan

Keyword Vegan spaghetti sauce

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings Servings

Calories 333kcal

Equipment

Cutting board
Knife
Sauce pot (large or medium)
Measuring cups and spoons
Large pot (to cook pasta)

Ingredients

Vegan Spaghetti Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic , mined
1 cup onion , finely chopped
1 cup bell pepper , finely chopped
3 cups mushrooms , finely chopped
2 cups lentils , drained and rinsed (1 19oz can) *
3 cups crushed tomato (tomato puree/ tomato sauce)
¼ cup nutritional yeast (optional)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons dry oregano
1 ½ teaspoons dry basil
½ teaspoon salt , or to taste
⅛ teaspoon black pepper , or to taste

To Serve

375-400 grams spaghetti pasta , uncooked

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare Vegetables and Cook

Begin by chopping the onion, bell pepper and mushrooms; mince the garlic. Chop as finely as you like, depending on your preferred spaghetti sauce texture.
1 cup onion, 1 cup bell pepper, 3 cups mushrooms, 4 cloves garlic
In a sauce pot, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic. Cook, stirring regularly for 4-5 minutes.
2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 cup onion, 4 cloves garlic
The onion should soften but not brown (if they brown, lower your heat).
Next, add chopped bell pepper and chopped mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes. If the mushrooms release a lot of water, cook until there’s little or no water remaining in the pot (or drain excess water away).
1 cup bell pepper, 3 cups mushrooms

Step 2: Prepare Spaghetti Sauce and Simmer

Drain and rinse a can of lentils.
2 cups lentils
Once your vegetables cook down, add the remaining sauce ingredients to the pot, including lentils, crushed tomatoes, nutritional yeast, sugar, dry oregano, dry basil, salt and pepper to taste.
2 cups lentils, 3 cups crushed tomato, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons dry oregano, 1 ½ teaspoons dry basil, ½ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Stir to evenly mix the sauce together.
Simmer the sauce over low heat for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leave your lid partially on the pot to prevent splattering. If it splatters a lot, lower the heat.

Step 3: Make Pasta and Serve

Prepare your favorite spaghetti (or any shape) pasta according to package directions.
375-400 grams spaghetti pasta
Serve hot sauce over the cooked and drained spaghetti pasta! You could also toss the sauce and pasta before serving if you like.

Notes

*You can also use veggie ground round or a vegan ground beef alternative. Cook it with the onions and garlic until it’s cooked through.

**If you find the sauce watery, add 1-2 tablespoon tomato paste to thicken it.

Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrition