Bowl of Vegan Bolognese with Lentils and Walnuts

Bolognese sauce is a favorite in our house. I thought I would try to make meatless version, and this recipe is one of my new favorites.

What does this Vegan Bolognese taste like?

It tastes hearty and rich with a touch of sweetness, because it’s stewed for about an hour with earthy mushrooms, sweet carrots, onions, celery, lentils, and walnuts in a red wine tomato sauce.

How do you make Vegan Bolognese?

Start by chopping onion, celery, carrots, garlic, mushrooms, and walnuts pretty fine.
Heat up some olive oil over medium high heat, and saute all of the vegetables for 3-4 minutes until they are soft.
Stir in the walnuts, some tomato paste, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, then a splash of red wine.
Cook down the red wine for 3-4 minutes, then toss in some lentils and vegetable broth.
Simmer everything for 25-30 minutes and serve over hot pasta!

I love the combination of chopped mushrooms, lentils, and walnuts to substitute the meat in this bolognese. The mushrooms add an umami flavor, the lentils add some body, and the walnuts add a pleasant meaty texture. Using all three together really makes this sauce filling and “meaty”.

Full disclosure we are not Vegan, but I enjoy experimenting and testing vegan and vegetarian recipes. I love this recipe because I have all of the ingredients on hand most of the time.

Serve this bolognese with a nice green salad and some toasty bread and you are good to go! If you love this recipe, I would love to know! You can rate this recipe and leave a comment below. If you take a picture tag me on Instagram @hungrywaitress! Here’s the recipe:

Vegan Bolognese with Lentils and Walnuts

Author: thehungrywaitress
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Total Time: 1 hr
Yield: 4 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onions, chopped fine
1 cup celery, chopped fine
1 cup carrots, chopped fine
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped fine
2 cups mushrooms, chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
3 cups vegetable stock or broth
1/4 cup lentils
1 lb pasta, cooked

Instructions

Heat up the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat.
Toss in the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, mushrooms, salt, pepper, Italian season, and red pepper flake, and cook down for around 4-5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and walnuts and cook another 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the wine and cook another 2-3 minutes until it’s reduced by half.
Add the vegetable stock and lentils, and give everything a good stir.
Simmer the sauce for 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally.
Serve over hot pasta!