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This Vegetarian Bolognese recipe is just about as easy as it gets. I call it my “lazy vegan bolognese” because I use a jar of prepared marinara sauce to make it on busy weeknights, when I need to get dinner on the table fast!
Using red lentils in this recipe adds an excellent source of plant-based protein to each serving, while also keeping this whole meal as fast as possible. (Red lentils cook faster than other lentil varieties.)
I throw this meal together in our Instant Pot at least once a week. It’s kid-friendly (my 1-year-old loves it!) and takes practically no time to prepare. Simply dump the three ingredients into the pot, press a button, and walk away until it’s ready.
(If you don’t have an Instant Pot, scroll down to the bottom of this post for stove top directions.)
When you serve this sauce over spiralized zucchini noodles, you don’t even have to cook the pasta. I find that they wilt just enough to be tender, without becoming watery, when you add the piping hot sauce over the top.
If you prefer a slightly more tender pasta, you can quickly sauté the zucchini noodles over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or serve this sauce over your favorite high-quality pasta instead.
I hope you’ll enjoy it the next time you need a quick meal!
Instant Vegetarian Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 (25 ounce) jar marinara sauce (no sugar added)
- 3/4 cup red lentils
- 1/2 cup water
- salt & pepper , to taste
- Spiralized zucchini "noodles" or cooked pasta, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the marinara sauce, lentils, and water in the bowl of your electric pressure cooker and stir well.
- Secure the lid and turn the vent to "seal." Using the manual button, adjust the machine to cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the vent at the top to release the rest of the pressure. (It's okay if you let the pressure naturally release all the way, too.) Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve warm, over spiralized zucchini noodles or your favorite pasta.
- Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. For best texture, I recommend storing leftover zucchini noodles separately, so they don't get watery when reheated.
Video
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 119, Carbohydrates: 20g, Fiber: 10g, Protein: 8g
Stove Top Directions:
If you don’t have an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker, simply combine the ingredients in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and cover until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Adjust any seasoning to taste, then serve warm over your favorite pasta.
Recipe Notes:
- Be sure to read the label of your store-bought marinara sauce. My favorite is the Fat-Free Organic Marinara Sauce from Whole Foods’ 365 Brand, but this jar from Muir Glen also has no added sugar and looks like a good option. If you’d prefer to make your own sauce from scratch, try the recipe in my first cookbook, Everyday Detox.
- If you need to avoid nightshades, try this tomato-less marinara sauce recipe instead.
- If you substitute another type of lentil, you might have to add more cooking time to this recipe.
- Feel free to dress up this recipe however you see fit! Sometimes I’ll add some extra veggies into the mix, like shredded carrots or cauliflower rice, and I like to season with a touch of salt and pepper at the end to make the flavors pop. For some spice, you might want to add a pinch of red pepper flakes, too.
As always, if you modify this recipe please leave a comment below letting us know what worked for you so we can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your go-to weeknight dinner? Any more Instant Pot recipe requests?
I followed this recipe exactly and it completely burnt. I had to throw the whole thing out – total waste of food
I found sauteeof zucchini noodle much better in textures and taste I used japaleno pepper very effective for spice or a drop or 2 of sriracha sauce
Based on other comments I added 3/4 cup of water and the lentils. Then I dumped the sauce on top without stirring (since tomatoes tend to burn in the instant pot).
Then I cooked as directed. When I opened the pot there was the tiniest bit of burn starting in one corner. But otherwise it was great. I’ll add a full cup of water next time but the flavor was great, and couldn’t have been easier!
Thanks Megan!
Burn notice on my Instant pot. Ruined my dinner and wasted all that food.
Really wanted to like this, but got the burn notice as well (twice) until I finally gave up and transferred it to the stovetop. Any advice for avoiding the burn notice on this recipe?
5 minutes didnt work for me more about 15 minutes to cook the lentils just saying thank you . Dw
Made this with green lentils instead of red and had to cook for significantly longer than the stovetop recipe. I was warned I would need to, so just confirming lol. Very easy and tasty, great for a weeknight dinner after a long day at work. Next time I think I’ll try adding chopped veggies for more dimension, but overall a hit as is. Thank you for another delicious recipe!
I made this as posted except gluten free pasta i had to cook an aditional 10 minutes as my lentils were the green ones other than that i like the way it turned out ! My only thing i would like to add is how would i make it more ( saucey ) ? It was kind of dry ? Thank you ! Dw
Oh mine burnt a lil bit too i did have olive oil in the pan too
How much is a serving? Is it 1 cup or 2 cups????
The dish was really tasty, but only after I scraped out the non-burnt portion in the instant pot. Unless my marinara was too thick, this does not work out well for the pressure cooker.