Vegetarian Spaghetti Sauce with Red Lentils

This vegetarian spaghetti sauce makes a tasty meat-free alternative to the traditional Italian dish of spaghetti bolognaise. It's also super-healthy - packed full of low-fat protein-rich red lentils and nutritious tomatoes, peppers and garlic. Even the most devoted meat-eaters in your house may be converted when they see how good it is for them!

Preparation Time 15 mins - Cooking Time 15 mins - Serves 2-3

Ingredients

150g red split lentils, rinsed and drained

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 yellow pepper (capiscum), chopped into small pieces

1 small red chili, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Half a pint of vegetable stock

150g wholewheat spaghetti

Salt and coarse black pepper

Handful of fresh basil leaves

Olive oil

Method

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan. Add in the peppers, garlic, onion and chili and cook for a few minutes until the vegetables start to soften slightly.

2. Next, add in the tin of chopped tomatoes, the red lentils, the vegetable stock and a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over a medium heat for 10 minutes.

3. Lastly, while the sauce is cooking, boil the wholewheat spaghetti in a large pan of salted water for the time indicated on the packet. Drain and serve immediately with the vegetarian spaghetti sauce. Garnish with some fresh basil leaves.

Variations

Instead of serving with spaghetti, this sauce is also a great baked potato filling. Or serve with some delicious homemade garlic bread.

Top Tip

Don't overcook the vegetarian spaghetti sauce as the lentils can become too 'mushy'. At the end of the cooking time the sauce should have thickened, but the lentils should still have a little bit of firmness to them.

Nutrition Nugget

Lentils are particularly rich in fiber and can help to lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar levels after a meal.

For more vegetarian pasta recipes like this vegetarian spaghetti sauce, click here.

Or return to our home page for other free vegetarian recipes.

P.S. We also now have a fantastic FREE monthly newsletter, Bon Appetit!, which you can sign up to for exclusive recipes, handy cooking tips and techniques, and honest product reviews.