Skip to content
    All recipes
    Dinner · Italian
    Vegan

    Red lentil & walnut bolognese

    A slow-simmered tomato sauce that gets its body from red lentils and finely chopped walnuts. Rich and savoury enough that nobody asks where the meat is.

    Prep
    10 minutes
    Cook
    45 minutes
    Makes
    6 portions
    Difficulty
    Easy
    Red lentil & walnut bolognese

    In one portion

    These are the figures for one medium portion. In Susten, each person at your table gets their own portion size.

    To see how one portion fits your day, work out your daily calories and protein.

    Calories
    513kcal
    Protein
    18g
    Carbs
    67g
    Fat
    14g

    Where the calories come from

    • Protein 15%
    • Carbs 58%
    • Fat 27%
    Fibre
    11.3 g
    Sugar
    18 g
    Salt
    0.22 g

    What it costs at Tesco

    Susten matches every ingredient to a Tesco product. Your shopping list names each one, with its price.

    £2.09a portion

    We base this on how much of each product the recipe uses. Half a pack costs half the price.

    We last updated these Tesco prices on .

    Ingredients

    Amounts for
    • 2 ¾ tbsp olive oil
    • 1 ¾ onions, diced
    • 7 ½ cloves of garlic, minced
    • 1 ¾ tsp dried oregano
    • 1 ¾ tsp dried thyme
    • 300g tomato paste
    • 230ml red wine, dry
    • 1.4l vegetable stock
    • 360g red lentils, soaked and drained
    • 60g walnut, crushed finely
    • 790g tinned tomatoes, crushed
    • 740g tagliatelle
    • 1 ¾ tbsp balsamic vinegar

    Method

    1. Leave the red lentils to soak for 30 minutes in enough cold water to cover, then drain.

    2. Warm the olive oil in a deep pan on the hob, over a medium-high heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and give it about 5 minutes. Look for a light golden crust on the pan's base.

    3. Keep it cooking for another 9-10 minutes, until soft and deeply golden. Start by lifting the browned bits with a splash of water, and add more whenever the pan looks dry.

    4. Season with a twist of black pepper and stir in the oregano, thyme and garlic. After 1 minute they will smell fragrant.

    5. Add the tomato paste next. Stir it often over 2-3 minutes as it darkens and starts to smell sweet.

    6. Pour in red wine and let it bubble 1-2 minutes, so the alcohol cooks off, leaving a jammy mixture.

    7. Add the vegetable stock, scraping the pan's base clean, then the walnuts and drained lentils. When it boils, turn it down and let it simmer steadily for 20 minutes.

    8. Tip in the tinned tomatoes for a final 15-20 minutes of simmering, with a stir every so often. Loosen the sauce with a splash of water if it thickens too much, and check that the lentils have turned tender while still holding their shape.

    9. Time the tagliatelle to be ready with the sauce: cook it until al dente in a large pan of boiling, well-salted water, and save a ladleful of its cooking water before draining.

    10. Check the sauce for salt and pepper, then sharpen it with the balsamic vinegar. Add the tagliatelle and toss until the sauce coats every strand, with a splash of the pasta water if it seems tight.

    Adapted from Rainbow Plant Life

    More recipes like this

    See every recipe
    Early access

    A good week starts with one decision, not seven.

    Answer a few questions. Susten plans your first week.

    Build my plan
    • No card needed
    • Free while we build it