Zucchini Pasta with Lentil Bolognese (30 minutes!)

The flavor was delicious! I used brown lentils and would definitely cook them beforehand next time—they were pretty crunchy, even after cooking for 30-40 minutes in the sauce.

I’m actually cooking this right now as i type,its about halfway done and tastes absolutely Phenomenal! The only difference i made was i added sone vege stock instead of water and also a splash of Worcestershire sauce,i didn’t have red pepper flakes so i used a mix of smoked and Hungarian paprika.
This will definitely be a weekly staple at our home.
Thankyou sooo very much for sharing this super delicious recipe and all of your other incredibledishestoo 😋 😍 😀

I hesitate to rate this as I needed to make so many changes BUT this recipe is really great (& flexible). I didn’t have bottled tomato sauce so used recipe to make my own using fire-roasted petite cut tomatoes (3 cans) & tomato paste (6 oz). Lots of basil, oregano & Italian herb seasonings, salt, red pepper flakes & 1 T sugar. I also used green lentils because I didn’t have red lentils. Forgot the water 🤦‍♀️ but loved the final results. I used spaghetti squash because it was already cooked and ready to go & a dollop of vegan ricotta cheese. It was awesome!

I was nervous about my first foray into spiralizing but this recipe knocked it out of the park!
I used crushed tomatoes and stirred in a handful of fresh oregano and basil at the end. I thought we’d miss the pasta but actually prefer the slight crunch of the zoodles — and the sauce is beyond yummy!

I love this sauce! Thanks for the recipe.

Loved this recipe. I only had cooked brown lentils, which needed very little cooking time and no added water. I add cashew cream sauce and it was delicious! I had it with brown rice pasta. Love your recipes and I will be adding this one to my favorites! xoxo

I made this tonight. I used whole wheat pasta, and the flavors were excellent. The only issue that I had was with the red lentils. They didn’t fully cook, so while most thicken the sauce, a few of them were a bit chewy. I tried cooking them a bit longer, but that still didn’t work. So, I’ll make it again; however, I recommend cooking the lentils after the scallions, garlic, and carrots with the water before adding the pasta sauce.

So simple and quick, and delicious! The added coconut sugar really makes the flavor pop. And of course with your cashew parm on top too :) Thanks!

This receipe is so easy and very tastey! I didn’t have red lentils and used green lentils, used Passatta strained tomatoe sauce and all the spices. Added a little extra water to cook the lentils. Very flavorful!

Will definitely make this receipe again and again!

Such an easy recipe and flavors are amazing. Most ingredients people normally have on hand, so great weeknight dinner!

Another winner! The flavor is out of control good. I put this over regular penne pasta–so easy to make!

OMG, where has this recipe been all my life? Delish! Another home-run recipe!

Loaded with veggies and protein. Shredded carrots are mixed with homemade marinara sauce, lentils, garlic, a shallot and spices. I garnished it with homemade vegan parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

I have a spiralizer and love making zoodles. So easy and tasty, always al dente and a great way to fit in more veggies.

This came out great! I added some celery and pepper because I had it laying around. Put it over brown rice pasta! Will definitely use zucchini noodles next time; the pasta left me missing that bright flavor!

I have made this recipe several times now, since being vegan. It is literally one of the best recipes I’ve come across. Even my non-vegan kids love it. Thank you so much!

It was great, but I would definitely use less marinara sauce and/or take out the water if I make it again. Also, be careful when cooking or stuff can splatter if you aren’t paying attention!

This lentil bolognese is a WINNER! I usually “wing it” in the kitchen on this kind of sauce, but my spouse found this recipe and decided to try it. So glad he did. We will definitely be making this again.

We served it over whole wheat noodles, but when zucchinis are in season, we’ll definitely be trying it with “zoodles”!

This was super easy! I added celery and a whole onion instead of a shallot to give it some more volume. Definitely about 4 very hearty portions with that – at least. Also had no need for sugar even sugar free marinara. Overall an easy hit!

I loved this recipe! Satisfied my “pasta” craving without the bulk of pasta noodles. I actually added leftover red lentils that I cooked the day before which added a creamy texture and just placed the zoodles on top of the cooked sauce to steam them a bit and it came out delish! Thank you!

Good recipe but agree that the time is not correct, red lentils do not cook in 17-20 minutes. Agree with other that using previously cooked lentils would allow this to be a ’30’ minute meal.

I’m not sure what all the negativity is about in the comments. I thought it was delicious! I did add extra off all the herbs and fresh garlic plus garlic powder and lots of nutritional yeast for richness. Instead of doing the zoodles raw I coated them in a bit of evoo and salt/pepper and roasted them for just 5 mins. They still retain their crunch from a quick roast, rather than getting kind of soggy from sauteing. It turned into a super comforting and nurturing bowl of goodness. I look forward to living off the leftovers for a few days:) Thank yoU!!

I love this recipe, I cooked it in the Instant pot which solves the dry lentil problem. It doesn’t get as thick but still tastes the same. My toddler also loves it too.

I also didn’t realize I was supposed to pre-soak the lentils. It would be really helpful to put right in the ingredients list (note: lentils must be presoaked) to avoid other people skipping that step. When I read it I thought “are these cooked or uncooked lentils?” but because it didn’t specify soaked, cooked, or dry I assumed dry, wishing for the best, I suppose.

This recipe 100% needs to add directions to use soaked lentils or already cooked lentils.

This is a fantastic recipe! I have made it several times. It’s super cozy and comforting for a winter meal on a cold day (or any day). I cook it for about 45 minutes to soften the lentils more and add a 5 oz package of baby spinach at the end that wilts right in quickly. It’s great served with pasta or any whole grain as well. Thank you so much!

This was alright. Since other reviewers said this made way more than 2 servings of sauce, we made this for 4 people, and still ended up with 3 times too much. However, we found the sauce quite sour and a bit one-note. We added lots of seasonings, so we’re not sure what went wrong. We also added some corn to cut the acidity, but it’s hard to cover up.

This was great and easy to make!
I added about a cup of shredded zucchini and celery as well. I also added a 1/2 cup of TVP for a meatier texture.
I’d say it makes much more than 2 portions of sauce – probably more like 6!

This was so good! I might have missed it in your description but the lentils took FOREVER to cook because I did not let them soak overnight. I would highly recommend not skipping this step. I think my total cooking time was about an hour, but I kept adding water and eventually they cooked through.

This was DELICIOUS! I did my lentils in the instant pot for 6m then added to the mixture. Such a hearty and healthy meal! Thank you

This recipe was incredibly easy to follow. I like a little bit more heat in my tomato sauce so I was a bit more generous with the chile flakes. Overall, it’s now my favourite veggie dinner! (I am trying to cook more vegetarian, low carb, and high protein dishes for the environment/health) and I absolutely loved it. I LOVED the noodles raw, also because the heat of the sauce naturally breaks down the fibres a bit, so by the end you’ve got an al dante vibe any ways. Thank you, I loved this recipe and highly recommend it :)

What a great recipe, thanks! We tried it in the instant pot for ten minutes, and after an initial burn notice, then adding a little bit more water it turned out great. Definitely a keeper, was eating the sauce by the spoonful.

This meal is delicious! I have leftovers and will look forward to some yummy lunches this week. I doubled the recipe for four eaters but this is would not be necessary and I will not next time to save time.

Thank you for another tasty meal!

This was great, although I didn’t have any marinara/tomato sauce and so had to do a lot of tweaking. I used a tin of fire roasted diced tomatoes and some tomato paste instead, and found that it took close to 40 mins for the lentils to get soft enough, as others have mentioned. By the end it wasn’t quite saucy enough so I pureed half of it and added it back in, and kept simmering with more spices and tomato paste to try to get it more flavorful. It’s yummy, hearty, and healthy, thank you for the recipe! I’ll give it another go sometime when I have marinara kicking around so it’s quicker/easier as it’s meant to be.

This was delicious! I made a few modifications– I didn’t have garlic, shallot, or coconut sugar so used a medium onion, a healthy dose of garlic powder, and brown sugar instead. I also added a dollop of vegan butter for some extra richness, and used 1.5 cups grated carrot. The cook time was around 35 minutes for me on stovetop, but well worth it– I look forward to eating the leftovers and then making it again in the future! Thank you!

My family loved this recipe! This will definitely be on repeat. It came together very quickly. I noticed that I needed more than 1/2 cup of water to keep the lentils cooking and to help from sticking to the bottom of the pan. I eyeballed the amount of water every few minutes so I didn’t end up with a soup. The end result was thick, hearty, garlicky, and just delicious! The carrot also adds a great flavor to the sauce. My husband took a bite and immediately said, “WOW….. wait, this has lentils in it?” Hahaha!! My toddler ate every bite and then some. We also made this with penne rigatoni pasta and garlic bread with oregano, garlic, and Miyokos butter. YUM!

Loved this – didn’t change a single ingredient. Only mod was cooking it in the Instant Pot. This recipe will be a cool weather staple for sure!

A big hit for the whole family. Super filling and flavorful. We used a premade marinara that had low sodium/added veggies (Muir glen?) and I didn’t have as many carrots as it called for but was still so good. Also we put it over ziti instead of zoodles this time. My daughter ate the sauce alone like a stew and loved it. Cannot wait to make again!!! Had a little extra and froze it for future meals, too!

it was very yummy although i also tweaked it a little, adding some celery and instead of chilli flakes some cayenne pepper also added a dash of balsamic vinegar. Also reduced the marinara sauce as I didn’t have it to a 420g tin of tomatoes and some tomato paste (2 tablespoons) with a extra water to make up the difference. Also had on buckwheat pasta which tasted great. Very good recipe. I’ll definitely cook this again.

Dana, gurl , mmm mmm very good.. I made this twice, delicious. 1st time I just follow your recipe, yum! 2nd time making your recipe, I used a slow cooker ( 4 1/4 hour hrs,) & put all the ingredients in but add 1 1/2 – 2 cups water also use Soaked green lentils Instead For pasta was both wild rice pasta mix with the zucchini noodles.. ?Great recipe D! Thanks for making plant based meals yummy and simple. Happy 2020.. peace

My family loved this !!. The dish was so simple that I was able to include my son while spiralizing the zucchini and grating the carrots and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you

Made this for my friends after a last minute impromptu crowd arrived at dinner time and it was perfect! I ended up cooking the lentils separately, which worked well, then reused that pot for some whole wheat pasta. I also added broccoli, extra garlic, and a fair amount of cayenne pepper. My friends loved it and there were no leftovers!

I love this recipe! I had similar issues with lentils not cooking for 40+ minutes, but I’ve found this recipe converts well to the Instant Pot to fix this issue. I sauteed the shallot/garlic/carrot, then added the remaining ingredients, bumped the water up to 3/4 a cup and cooked in the IP for 20 minutes on high, then 10 minutes natural release. My coworkers are always jealous when I bring this for lunch because it smells so good!

Have made this a few times now (with traditional pasta) and it’s always a winner. The sauce definitely makes more than needed for one meal so I freeze the rest. My two year old had like, 7 helpings for dinner tonight! When I don’t have marinara, I use some combo of canned tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with a squeeze of tomato paste and it’s poif.

The lentil bolognese sauce is incredibly delicious. I’ve made vegan bolognese before, but with brown lentils. Red lentils are definitely the way to go! Mine did take longer to cook though than stated in the recipe. I left mine on simmer for 40 minutes. It might be that I had the heat on too low.

My husband and I are pretty new to vegetarian eating. We both loved this hearty recipe. It did take longer than expected for the lentils to soften. Maybe next time I will cook them separately. I like the idea of serving over spaghetti squash as an alternative. Thanks for the great recipe!

This recipe was super tasty. I loved the added shallots (just not chopping them). The sauce is amazing. I served mine over spaghetti squash.

Really delicious and nutrient dense vegan meal. I love the addition of the lentils and carrots to the sauce as a Bolognese, very filling and hearty. Took longer to make than 25min and makes more sauce than you need for the noodles but overall super tasty and can’t wait to make again!

This has been a steady part of my dinner rotation since I first tried it a couple of months ago and I absolutely love it, both with regular fettucine and with zoodles. Like some other commenters, I’ve found that I need to cook the lentils in advance or they stay hard indefinitely though (living abroad and there’s only one place to get lentils of any description nearby, so perhaps it’s the kind I’m buying?)

Delicious recipe. Great flavor. Added extra garlic! Thanks!

So easy to make and very delicious!
Will definitely be making this again.

This was delicious and very simple to make! Thank you so much Dana for sharing.

Great recipe!

I tried it out in its original form first, and then tweaked it a little… okay, a lot!

I can’t quite get my head into mixing sugar into a savoury food [ever], so I left it out. I substituted grated sweet potato for the carrot, and jacked up the amount. I also fried it to reduce its volume a little, and amp up the flavour. I used a couple of teaspoons of vegetarian chicken stock instead of salt, and I garnished it with toasted pine nuts, toasted flaked almond [just for something crunchy for texture] and grated parmesan to serve.

My grown daughter, a recent convert to vegetarianism, loved both versions.

I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My boyfriend loved it too. I subbed traditional pasta, but I’ll definitely make it again with spaghetti squash or zoodles. Your recipes never disappoint!

I made this with for my meat and potatoes husband and he loves it!!! We are trying to go meatless and this was a great success! Thanks for the great recipes!

This Bolognese is fantastic! Excellent flavour. Served over conventional pasta. (Also makes a good sandwich filling!)
Thanks!

This is one of my favorite recipes! I make it regularly for a quick weeknight meal, usually serve it over traditional pasta.

I made this for my daughters birthday dinner and it is very tasty, great vegan recipe and would recommend it

OK! so I just made this and have wanted to for a long time. One thing is that I already had cooked green lentils so I followed all of the instructions and then added the lentils about 10 minutes into the cooking time and finished up the time from there. It’s SO delicious and I’m so glad I finally made it. PERFECTION.

Thanks for the great recipe, has become a favourite for everyone in the house :) I use half pasta/half zoodles, cuts down on carbs and adds veggies without missing out entirely! Thanks again!

I made this tonight. My mother in law was here and I haven’t even made the recipe before! But Minimalist baker hasn’t let me down let. Everything was perfect. I did add prob 1/4 C or a hair more water at end like suggested to lentils. I usually cook my lentils 20 mins and they are perfect. What a hit! I BARELY sautéd my zucchini noodles just to get them warm. So good!! Thank you!

I made this last night and my BF (meat eater) loved it! I soaked the lentils a couple of hours prior due to past experience I’ve had where they didn’t soften enough, they came out great. I used whole wheat pasta because I couldn’t get my $5 hand spiralizer to work correctly. Will definitely use this recipe again.

I just made this tonight – except I used your marinara sauce recipe to add to it which was DELICIOUS as well. This was one of the best vegetarian meals I have made. I added some Tabasco on top for extra kick. Wish I could post a photo for you! Thanks!

I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious, I added two celery sticks and used a yellow onion. Huge hit with my husband and almost 2 year old daughter as well.
Thank you for always providing home run recipes!

I love this dish! I omit the sugar and the salt, go heavy on the chilli, add a few diced field mushrooms, then top the whole thing off with nutritional yeast. The bolognese is hearty and so good that my meat eating boyfriend requested the meal be added to weekly rotation. We’ve had it three times since! I’ve even converted my meat eating mother to lentil bolognese. It’s a real crowd pleaser. The zucchini noodles are fresh and unexpectedly good, no more wheat pasta in this house! ? ? ? This recipe is a keeper.