If you are looking for a great meatless pasta sauce, this Beluga Lentil Pasta Sauce is ideal.
Rich and hearty black lentils make this sauce thick, and nutritious. Dried mushrooms (soaked in red wine) add delicious savoury and earthy tones.
This plant-based beluga lentil pasta sauce is hearty, wholesome and easy to make. Packed with fibre, protein and bold flavours. A twist on traditional bolognese.
My family would eat pasta every night of the week if I let them. Healthy sauces are just what we need. Tomato puttanesca is another favourite of ours.
Lentils are actually pulses, the edible seed of legumes. They come in a variety of colours like red, brown, green and black. They can be used in a lots of creative ways from soups to stews, dips, salads and more. Great for gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan recipes. They are a budget-friendly source of protein, hearty healthy and low in fat.
Black lentils are also known as beluga lentils because they resemble beluga caviar. This vegetarian lentil bolognese is a great way to turn them into a gourmet meatless sauce. They are great in Poached Eggs & Lentil Hash for brunch or dinner.
Here are a few ways we enjoy cooking lentils in our house:
- Puy Lentils – another great pasta with lentils recipe.
- Marinated Lentils – perfect to add to soups, stews, sandwiches, and more.
- Meatless Tourtiere – a healthy version of the classic French Canadian holiday dish.
- Cream Cheese Balls – a fun appetizer for your next party.
- Vegan Mushroom Pate – excellent as a topper, sandwich spread, or dip.
Lentil Pasta Sauce Ingredients
Although this wholesome plant-based sauce has some gourmet ingredients, they are not hard to find. Be sure to check out the suggestions and recipe tips below.
- Dried mushrooms
- Red wine
- Black lentils
- Onion
- Garlic
- Bell peppers
- Canned tomatoes
- Red chili flakes and additional seasonings
- Tomato sauce
- Olive oil
- Garnish
Easy Beluga Lentil Pasta Sauce
This easy lentil bolognese is cooked in one pan. Full instructions are in the recipe card below.
Here is a quick overview:
- Soak the mushrooms in the wine. Drain and chop. Reserve the wine.
- Rinse lentils and set them aside.
- Chop all your veggies (onion, garlic, and peppers).
- Heat the oil in a skillet.
- Cook onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
- Add reserved wine and additional seasonings.
- Toss in lentils, mushrooms, and peppers.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water.
- The sauce is done when it has a nice thick consistency.
This flavourful black lentil pasta sauce is a great alternative to a traditional meat sauce. It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. During that time cook, your pasta.
Serve this lentil mushroom sauce over any pasta for a satisfying plant-based meal. Garnish with fresh grated and chopped basil.
Suggestions/Recipe Tips
Dried Mushrooms – There is a huge variety of dried wild mushrooms to choose from. Morels, Chanterelles, Lobster, Black Trumpet, Porcini and more. All have unique flavours and any variety will work wonderfully in this lentil mushroom sauce. They can be found in grocery stores and online too. They always need to be reconstituted. You can use any liquid you like. You can replace the dried mushrooms with regular mushrooms but you made need to increase the amount.
Red Wine – Dry red wine is best for this recipe. You can use white if you prefer. Don’t want to use wine? No problem, leave it out. Water can be used for the dried mushrooms instead.
Seasonings – Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning. You can play around with any combination you like.
Garnish – Grated cheese and fresh herbs are always great choices.
Pasta – You can choose any kind and shape of pasta you wish. You can even use gluten-free pasta. Did you know there is lentil pasta? So delicious. This sauce would also be perfect over homemade herbed potato gnocchi.
Storage – Always store in a sealed container in the fridge. This sauce will last 4-5 days. It also freezes well and will last 4-5 months in the freezer.
Reheating – I like to reheat in a pot on the stove. Another option is in a covered dish in a moderate oven. You can use the microwave too, but be sure to mix often, and do it on a lower setting to get even heating.
Need a little more meatless inspiration? Give these lentil recipes a try:
Beluga Lentil Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry mushrooms
- 1 cup dry red wine (your choice)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup Beluga lentils (rinsed)
- 5 ounces onion (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 10 ounces bell peppers (diced) (I used yellow and orange)
- 19 ounces canned petit cut tomatoes (1 can)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 14 ounces tomato sauce (1 can)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (for garnish)
- Fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano (for garnish)
Instructions
- Soak mushrooms in the red wine for approximately 30 minutes.Drain and squeeze the mushrooms. Reserve the wine. Chop the mushrooms.
Rinse lentils and set aside.1 cup dry mushrooms, 1 cup dry red wine - Heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the onion, garlic, and chili flakes. Sauté for 5 minutes.5 ounces onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- Add the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and the reserved wine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly and simmer for 3 minutes.1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, Salt and pepper
- Add the drained lentils and cook for an additional 5 minutes.1 cup Beluga lentils
- Add the mushrooms and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes.10 ounces bell peppers (diced)
- Add the water, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 25-30 minutes (until desired sauce consistency).1 cup water, 14 ounces tomato sauce, 19 ounces canned petit cut tomatoes
- Remove from heat. Serve over your favourite pasta garnished with chopped fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese.2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, Fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Veena Azmanov
I’ve recently been indulging in more gluten-free meals so I usually opt for meals with beans and lentils. This sounds like it was created for me. Definitely going to try this soon. Saving for later.
Homemade & Yummy
Yes it is a great gluten free meal…and the perfect meatless meal too.
Dominique | Perchance to Cook
I feel like I can just smell this sauce through my screen! Yumm! This looks and sounds so rich and comforting. I’ve never cooked with beluga lentils but I am going to now!
Homemade & Yummy
They are great to work with…perfect as a meat replacement.
Jenni
Ooooh, I love this! What an interesting sauce and a great meatless option! I so want to try this soon!
Homemade & Yummy
This is a great meatless option for sure. Hope you give it a try soon.
Michelle
I love the spicy idea, and my son would be all over the mushrooms part. Great recipe idea!
Homemade & Yummy
We really like this great meatless option.
Megan
I had to click on the recipe link to learn what the beluga was in the recipe name! What a hearty dish!
Homemade & Yummy
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you give this recipe a try.
Britt @ A Lil' Sweet, Spice, & Advice
OMG! I am SO trying this for the next Meatless Monday. I absolutely love mushrooms but had never thought about reconstituting dried mushrooms in red wine! Talk about a game changer! I’ll be looking for beluga lentils this week. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Homemade & Yummy
YES..soaking them in red wine is epic. You really need to give it a try….you will LOVE it.
Tiffany
This looks so good! Lentils are so delicious. I could eat this over pasta or by itself. I think it would be great in lasagna too!
Homemade & Yummy
Yup….I can just eat a bowl of this no problem.
Tamara Andersen
I have beluga lentils in my pantry, and your Spicy Beluga Pasta Sauce looks amazing! I’m pinning it and hope I don’t forget to give it a try… We are carnivores (mostly pescatarian as we live near the Gulf), but I try a lot of vegetarian recipes, and we try to practice #MeatlessMonday for environmental concerns… Great recipe/post Gloria!
Homemade & Yummy
I really like this type of lentil…my favourite by far. Hope you give this recipe a try.
Sarah
I absolutely love beluga lentils! They’re a little hard to find here, and I’m almost completely out- but they’re definitely on my grocery list! This looks so good- what a great idea to use them instead of beef!
Homemade & Yummy
They can be a little more difficult to find. I have an amazon link at the bottom of the post. Last time I got them at the health food store.
Meymi
I love red and green lentils a lot but I have never tried beluga lentils. After your post I will try beluga lentil. Sounds so delicious with wine and mushrooms. Pinned!
Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give them a try….they really are delicious.
Colleen
I use dried mushrooms a lot. I love their intense flavour. And beluga lentils are so great. What a perfect meal!
Homemade & Yummy
I know they are so great to work with. Also love all the different kinds you can get too.
Amanda
What a fantastic idea to use beluga lentils in a pasta sauce. Lentils are SO hearty and satisfying, and while we’re a very meat-centric house ourselves, we always look forward to a great lentil dish. Combined with the mushrooms and red wine, this is sauce looks like such a comforting recipe!
Homemade & Yummy
It really is….and seriously I could just eat this with a spoon…no pasta needed.
michele
I LOVE lentils… and the best part about this recipe when I made it? I cant eat any pasta for a while, but the beluga sauce was a full meal for myself while my family enjoyed the sauce over the pasta! It was delicious and I was sad I hadn’t doubled the recipe to have for lunch the next day. I’ll absolutely be making this in our regular rotation! it was fantastic!
Homemade & Yummy
AWESOME….and seriously I could just eat this with a spoon, not pasta needed. It really is an easy and nutritious dish to make any night of the week. Leftovers are always welcomed.
Veena Azmanov
I’ve made a buluga lentil curry but never tired it in my pasta sauce. Now I absolutely must because this looks so darn delicious.. Love the color and flavors especially with the earthy mushrooms. Yum!
Homemade & Yummy
YES…. the mushrooms really are great in this dish. I love dried mushrooms for their earthy flavour.
Leah
We don’t eat a lot of lentils, but this has convinced me that we should. This sounds so hearty and delicious. The red wine soaked mushrooms have piqued my interest so much, and probably add so much flavor! I can’t wait to try this out!
Homemade & Yummy
HAHAH…wine makes everything better right? These lentils are delicious…and you won’t even miss the meat.