A delicious tomato and lentil pasta sauce made with red lentils and packed with protein and fibre. A great way to get some extra nutrition into a simple kids pasta dish!
If there’s one meal I know my kids will consistently eat, it’s pasta! And the more simple the better! They love nothing more than a big bowl of pasta with tomato sauce, topped with some grated cheese and so I’m always looking for ways to sneak in some nutrition to their favourite dish.
For years now I’ve been making my Hidden Veggie Tomato Sauce and earlier this year I started making another version, this time with hidden lentils.
Lentils are an incredibly nutritious food to feed to kids. They are packed with fibre and help to stabilise blood sugar levels after a meal. They are also a great source of plant-based protein and B Vitamins too.
So onto the recipe… I keep my Lentil Pasta Sauce recipe really simple, using just 4 ingredients:
- Red Lentils
- Passata
- Vegetable Stock
- Dried Oregano
STEP 1:
All these ingredients go into a large saucepan. The mixture is brought to the boil and then simmered for 15 minutes until the lentils are soft and cooked through.
STEP 2:
You can then use either a stick blender or a stand blender to blitz the sauce, making it completely smooth.
STEP 3:
Then simply mix the sauce in with some cooked pasta, topped with a little grated cheese if you like and serve!
Freezing Instructions
My recipe makes a big batch of the sauce so whatever is left over can be stored in a covered jar or container in the fridge for up to 3 days or transferred into freezer bags or containers and frozen for up to 3 months.
To defrost leave in the fridge overnight or put the frozen sauce into a saucepan and gently heat until completely defrosted and warmed through.
Additions & Substitutions
1. Feel free to experiment with lots of other herbs and spices. Sometimes I had a dash of smoked paprika. If your kids like spice a little bit of chilli tastes great too, aswell as herbs like rosemary, thyme, etc.
2. If you want to add some vegetables to this sauce then veggies like carrots, courgette, peppers will work really well. Add a little more stock to the recipe and cook and blend as normal.
3. To make a creamier version of this recipe then add some cream cheese and grated parmesan cheese when blender. So delicious!
If you try my Lentil Pasta Sauce recipe please do leave me a comment and a star rating below. You can also share your pictures with me on Instagram. I always love to see your creations!
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Lentil Pasta Sauce
Prep Time: 2 mins- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 17 minutes
Yield: 10 1x
Category: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
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Pin RecipeDescription
A delicious tomato pasta sauce made with red lentils and packed with protein and fibre. A great way to get some extra nutrition into a simple kids pasta dish!
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 35oz passata
- 150g / 5oz dried red lentils
- 600ml / 2.5 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tsp oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the passata, lentils, vegetable stock and oregano to a large saucepan.
- Bring to the boil, cover loosely with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes until the lentils are soft.
- Use either a stick blender or stand blender to blitz the sauce until smooth.
- If the sauce seems a little too thick add some water until it reaches the right consistency.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper (skip this if serving to babies).
- Mix the sauce with cooked pasta and serve immediately.
Notes
- My recipe makes a big batch of the sauce so whatever is left over can be stored in a covered jar or container in the fridge for up to 3 days or transferred into freezer bags or containers and frozen for up to 3 months.
- To defrost leave in the fridge overnight or put the frozen sauce into a saucepan and gently heat until completely defrosted and warmed through.
If you liked this recipe you may also enjoy:
Tomato & Mascarpone Pasta Sauce
Mel says
My 2 & 6 year old love this recipe & for my fussy 6 year old that’s really saying something, I don’t change anything in the recipe, I just add a little grated cheddar cheese to the sauce when heated & the kids love it. I batch cook & freeze for a fast pasta sauce all the time!. This week I’m adding extra veg for the first time! X
Vicky says
Ahhh this is brilliant Mel! Thanks so much for coming back to us to let us your kids love this recipe. Is there anything else from our recipes they would happily choose to eat or maybe try ?
Anonymous says
Excellent recipe. May I know the type of pasta that you used (the one in the picture)? Thank you
Bianca Carey Spencer says
Hi! I think it was radiatore pasta we used for that one, but any pasta shape would be fine!
Anonymous says
Thank you for the reply. At times I feel the shape and the color of the pasta matters for my kids 🙂
Abi says
Looking forward to trying this recipe – it looks fabulous!
To make the creamy version, how much cream/cheese would you recommend to add?
Thank you!
★★★★★
Bianca Carey Spencer says
Hi Abi! I’d probably start with a couple of tablespoons and see. You can always add more if required. Hope you enjoy it!
Abi says
Thank you for your reply – I’ve made this for dinner this evening, following your recommendation for adding the cream and it has turned out fabulously!
★★★★★
Marie says
Amazing!!!! My toddler and husband loved it too!
★★★★★
Michael G says
easy, simple, protein-packed… delicious!
★★★★★
caleigh says
I’m not a fan of tomatoes, so finding nutritious and yummy pasta sauces isn’t always easy. Love love love this recipe!! I added a sprinkle of nutritional yeast instead of cheese and it was still delish!
★★★★★
Caroline says
I made this sauce today with added carrots, courgette and some cream cheese. My little girl loved it. A great use of lentils and lots in the freezer. Thank you 😊.
★★★★★
Rachel says
That is for the inspo…. hopefully found a way to feed my kids lentils! Miracle they est chickpeas now! I added garlic and used dried parsley and basil and canned ready lentils and mixed a bin of tinned chopped tomatoes and pasta. But tastes great! Thanks heaps
Anonymous says
My little fussy eater demolished this dish! Thank you! So simple and didnt take ages to prep.
★★★★★
Charlotte says
Delicious and so easy. Will definitely repeat this meal and experiment with additional veggies.
★★★★★
Nadee says
I’ve tried this many times. It’s one of our favourites. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
Cam says
Love this! My family and I loved it!
★★★★★
Lara says
Brilliant way to get lentils into my little one without any arguments. Always have a batch of this in the freezer now.
★★★★★
Tyla says
If you add cream cheese does it freeze and defrost the same? Really looking forward to trying this recipe and the other lentil based recipes, never cooked with them before.
Nadee says
I have made this many times now. It’s delicious and healthy. Win win. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
Thanks so much Nadee!