Good Old Fashioned Tomato Sauce but with Lentils. With Brown Lentils in place of meat, this pasta sauce is what dreams are made of! A touch of basil flavor is the cherry on top.
We call this old-fashioned pasta sauce, but it’s old-fashioned with a meatless twist! That twist is adding brown lentils. The brown lentils give this homemade pasta sauce a hearty texture and will keep you full for hours. Enjoy this delicious sauce served over spaghetti or on your favourite pasta of choice!
Canned or Dried Brown Lentils
The dried lentils can be changed out for canned lentils instead. Since the dried lentils will soak in the liquid, they will also take on a lot of the flavor from the rest of the sauce. Canned lentils come pre-cooked, so they will not take on as much of the flavor from the sauce. Additionally, this sauce needs to simmer for 40 minutes to allow the flavors to meld, so the dried lentils easily cook within that amount of time. All that to say, using canned lentils will not cut down the cook time.
How to make Old Fashioned Tomato Sauce with Lentils
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute them until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
Next, stir in the brown lentils and let the sauce simmer, covered, over medium-low heat. Let the sauce summer for 40-45 minutes to let the lentils cook and to let the flavors blend. Be sure to stir the sauce occasionally to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste to the saucepan. Add the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta of choice according to the package instructions.
Add the finely chopped basil, stir and cook for a few more minutes to fully incorporate the basil.
Serve the sauce over your favourite pasta and top with additional fresh basil, if desired.
Ingredients used in our Traditional Tomato Sauce
The ingredients used in this Tomato Sauce Recipe are pantry staples making this a great weeknight recipe when your fridge supplies might be running low. Dip into your stock of homemade Italian seasoning or use your favourite store bought kind.
Olive oil – Pasta sauce needs the fat from olive oil to give it that lovely texture that we are looking for. You can use butter as a substitute if desired.
Yellow onion – Yellow onion is an ideal base for tomato sauce, but a white onion can be substituted!
Garlic cloves – garlic releases flavor within seconds, so be sure to add the tomato sauce to the pan as soon as you smell that wonderful garlic scent.
Salt and Pepper – Salt and pepper will bring out the sweetness from the tomatoes.
Italian seasoning – Stay tuned for the release of our favorite homemade Italian seasoning blend! It’s coming soon.
Dry brown lentils – we recommend using dry lentils over canned lentils, but in a pinch, use what you have!
Canned diced tomatoes – Canned tomatoes have more iron and calcium than fresh tomatoes – that said, swap the canned tomatoes for fresh if you have them on hand!
Canned Tomato paste – Use the whole can! There are so many recipes out there that only call for a small amount of tomato paste, leaving the rest of the can to sit in the fridge waiting to be used. It eventually starts morphing into something else entirely before I’m ready to use the rest of the can up. Tomato Paste is a great additive to help the sauce thicken. It also adds a depth of savoury umami flavour as well as acidity and sweetness. This is a key ingredient for sure!
Fresh Basil – Enhance the flavour or your Old Fashioned Tomato Sauce with fresh basil!
Looking for more lentil and tomato recipes? Look no further! Check out our TOMATO RED LENTIL SOUP
We give this recipe two thumbs up because it is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. This pasta sauce can be made ahead and frozen to enjoy later! Swap out the fresh basil for dried basil if it isn’t in season.
Good Old Fashioned Tomato Sauce but with Lentils
Equipment
- saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 small yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup dried brown lentils
- 1 can diced tomatoes (796 ml/ 28 oz)
- 1 can tomato paste (156 ml/ 5.5 oz)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat
- Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, then add the garlic and sauté until it is fragrant.
- Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Stir in lentils and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until lentils are soft, about 40-45 minutes. Stir occasionally to reduce sticking.
- While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta of choice according to package instructions.
- Add the finely chopped basil, stir and cook for a few more minutes.
- Serve the sauce over the cooked pasta and top with additional fresh basil, if desired.
