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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?
Wow, I’ve never made a bad recipe from your site but this one just doesn’t work! It seems others had the same problem…I got the burn alarm a couple times so I thought maybe I hadn’t stirred the lentils enough…stirred and started over. Again the burn alarm! Stopped it and stirred again and the bottom was BURNT.
I didn’t want to waste my precious Rao’s marinara so I doubled the water and restarted on low pressure for the same period of time…burn alarm burn alarm burn alarm! It thankfully ended up being ok (by avoiding scraping the burnt bottom) but something is off about this recipe!
Recipe was good, and just the right amount of easy that I was looking for! But did you mean lentils need to cook in the instant pot for 15 minutes, not 5? After 5 minutes, with a 15 min NPR, the lentils were hard and crunchy and the sauce was starting to burn on the bottom. I put in 1/2 cup more water and did another 8 minutes manual with NPR. Still no bueno in my opinion, but my 9 year old was happy (she was also starving). Added MORE water, and did another 10 minutes in the IP on manual. I think this was more to my liking, but still a lot of burning on the bottom of the IP. Smelled wonderful though! I will give this another go with more water and more time on manual. Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes!
This recipe looked so good and simple but, like others I got the burn notice twice before giving up and going with j stove top. While it could have been the tomato sauce, it was my Lentils that were horribly burned and stuck to the bottom. I wonder if putting water, then sauce and then Lentils without stirring would work?
What is considered 1 serving? This sauce is soooooo delicious I can’t believe it! That’s why I’m curious what one serving is because I’m eating about 1.5 cups at one portion.
Tried this for the first time tonight but got the dreaded burn notice. Rescued the sauce that wasn’t burnt to the bottom of the pot and I will finish cooking on the stovetop. I wonder if my sauce was too thick and needed more than 1/2 cup water.
I tried it twice following the recipe to the T and got the burn signal each time!
Mine did the exact same. Really burned on bottom, saved some via stovetop,
Thanks for the recipe 🙂 I cooked it as directed, and added shredded carrot, onion, celery, and zucchini. However, the lentils didn’t seem cooked. I added more water and cooked on high for 5 minutes, but they still weren’t cooked… they’re in for another 8 minutes. Any idea about why it would be taking so long? I am using red lentils, and regular marinara sauce.
If adding vegetables, can they be added directly with the lentils in the instant pot while cooking?
Is it OK to use French lentils which are green in place of the red lentils? For this dish as well as the vegan enchilada caserole?
Really disappointed I followed this recipe to a T and got burn notice in my instant Pot and now I’m trying to scrub burnt lentils off the bottom 🙁
Same thing happened with my instant pot 🙁
SAME!
Can this recipe be made on the stove top? Unsure how long to cook and how much water to do if so!