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Protein packed one pot red lentil marinara sauce!
Who else feels entirely guilty after finishing off a big bowl of pasta with marinara sauce?
Why is this? Not only do you usually always feel overly stuffed, there‘s not much nutritional value to plain white pasta and jarred marinara sauce.
Well, delicious comforting pasta dish, I’m not giving up on you. Not now, not ever. I’ll just modify you to my likin .
This is where my Red Lentil Marinara Sauce has its debut moment. Let’s talk red lentils:
First, the wonderful amount of plant-based protein! 9 grams in 1/4 cup. Red lentils are also an amazing source of iron, 15% of the daily recommended value in 1/4 cup.
They are also a great source of folate, fiber and can help lower blood pressure! All around a wholesome food and a great addition to marina sauce!
I like adding red lentils to marinara sauce because when you cook red lentils, they get soft and even mushy which makes them ideal for sauces and soups. It adds wonderful texture.
Making this marinara sauce is SO simple and takes about 30 minutes. It’s made in one pot with minimal ingredients.
Start by chopping your onion then sautéing onion, garlic and olive oil in a large pot. Once the onion is cooked, add your lentils and broth. Stir well. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, stir and simmer.
You‘ll cook the lentils for about 10-15 minutes or so. They will get soft and mushy when cooked. Make sure the heat stays on low so that you can retain the liquid in the pot (some will cook out and that’s ok) and not overcook the lentils. See photo below for reference.
Once the lentils are cooked, add all of the remaining ingredients into the pot. For the tomatoes, you will need to squeeze these by hand as you add them to the pot. This is actually quite fun and a little bit of a stress reliever. You always have the option to pulse them quickly in a food processor but I like to keep things simple, so I choose to squeeze them gently by hand.
I like to leave texture in my marinara sauce because I love the chunks of tomatoes. You’ll notice the tomatoes are very delicate and break apart easily so you can really control how “chunky” your sauce comes out.
Now simply let everything cook and warm up. Stir to incorporate all of the seasonings and adjust to your liking. Make sure your heat is on low and you don’t leave the top on as you don’t want to cook the liquid out.
If you feel that the sauce isn’t liquid enough, just add more broth!
Enjoy your nutritionally packed marinara sauce and just eat that last bite of pasta.
One Pot Red Lentil Marinara Sauce
Vegan•Gluten-Free•One PotMakes about 4 cups
1/3 cup dry red lentils 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion 3 cloves minced garlic 2 tbsp olive oil2 cups broth + more for desired consistency1 28oz can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes (don’t sub… these are the best!)1/4 tsp dry mustard 1/2 tsp garlic powder1/4 cup fresh basil + more for garnish 1/2 tbsp dried oregano 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Chop onion. Sauté onion, garlic and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add red lentils and broth. Stir well and turn heat to high. Bring to a boil them immediately reduce heat to low. Stir again, and cover with the lid titled up a bit.
- Once lentils are mushy and cooked, about 10-15 minutes, add all remaining ingredients.*
- Keep heat on low and stir well to combine. At this point, if you want your sauce more liquidy, add another cup or so of broth and cook an additional 5-7 minutes or until heated throughout.
Notes:
- *You will need to hand squeeze the tomatoes. They break up easily. Add the tomato juice in the can as well.
- This recipe makes semi chunky marinara sauce. Add extra broth if needed.
- Make sure to keep your heat low and don’t overcook the lentils or cook too much liquid out or the consistency will be off.
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