Mushroom Lentil Ragu Pasta (Vegan)
This hearty, wholesome and delicious Mushroom Lentil Ragu Pasta is ready in 30 minutes with lots of vegetables, fibre and protein. It’s a great alternative to the classic dish and is ideal for meal prep and freezer meals.
I love a good pasta dish and this ragu dish was such a joy to develop. I worked with Pack’d who produced top quality organic frozen fruits and vegetables to make this recipe, highlighting their frozen garlic and soffritto mix. A soffritto or sofrito is the holy trinity of Italian cooking and is a blend of finely diced carrot, onion and celery (it adds such a good flavour and base to sauces) but can be a pain to slice up into small pieces. That said, feel free to buy the veggies fresh and chop them yourself. Now, onto the ragu. It’s packed with tomatoey herby rich flavours and the blend of mushroom, lentils and walnuts adds that classic “meaty” texture while using wholefood ingredients. It’s a great swap if you’re trying to eat less meat, trying our Veganuary or want to add some variety into your diet.
Why will I love this?
This pasta is delicious:
- Hearty, wholesome and nostalgic
- Filling and nutritious
- “meaty” texture without ant fake meat products
- Made with lentils, walnuts and mushrooms
- Packed with so many different plants points
- At least 12 different plants!
- Naturally high in protein
- High in fibre from nuts, lentils and veggies
- Naturally plant-based, egg-free and dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Delicious with pasta of any shape
- Also great in a baked jacket potato
- Enjoy with a slice of toasted sourdough or homemade grain-free bread
- A source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
- The whole family will love it
- Freezes well
- Great for meal prep
- Takes 30 minutes to make
- Minimal prep and washing up
- Comes together in one pot
- Great for feeding a crowd
- Meat-eaters will love it
If you already love the sound of this ragu, then skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.
What ingredients do I need?
You can see the ingredients with weights in the recipe card below and see my favourite and recommended products in the “shop the recipe” section.
For the ragu:
- Olive oil: or your preferred oil for cooking.
- Soffritto mix: this is from Pack’d and is a pre-chopped mix of carrot, celery and white onion aka the holy trinity of Italian cooking. You can also chop your own.
- Garlic: for tons of flavour.
- Mushrooms: chop these really small (or pulse in a food processor if you prefer) and sweat them off until they release all of their juices.
- Spices and herbs: this recipe uses sweet smoked paprika, dried thyme and dried rosemary for a delicious blend of flavours.
- Walnuts: for a great nutty meaty texture.
- Green lentils: these are pre-cooked lentils, usually from a tin. You can also use puy lentils (pre-cooked) which will be slightly firmer in texture, or brown lentils are very similar to green ones. They are a great source of protein and fibre.
- Tomato puree: for richness.
- Tamari soy sauce: this adds a rich umami savoury flavour.
- Chopped tomatoes (tin): to make it tomatoey. Make sure it’s 100% tomatoes.
- Vegetable stock cube: to add flavour.
- Salt and pepper: to season.
To serve:
- Your favourite pasta: I used this lovely casarecce shaped pasta which has little grooves for all of the flavour but you can use penne, rigatoni or use spaghetti/linguini too. Make sure it’s GF where needed and you can also use pulse-based pasta shapes.
- Crushed walnuts or pine nuts: for some crunch on top.
- Basil: to add some freshness and lovely Mediterranean flavour.
Is this gluten-free and nut-free?
This is naturally gluten-free as long as you use GF pasta, also make sure that you use tamari soy sauce which is wheat-free unlike regular soy sauce. I have not tried this nut-free but I can imagine you can use sunflower seeds, chopped up instead of walnuts.
How do I make this?
This is ready to go in a few steps:
- Fry off the soffritto and garlic in olive oil in a hot pan: until softened.
- Add in the mushrooms: and fry for 5-10 minutes until they soften.
- Now add in the spices and herbs: and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the walnuts and lentils: and stir.
- Go in with the rest of the ragu ingredients: and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cook until bubbling and thick: and meanwhile cook your pasta.
- Toss together the pasta and ragu: and pile onto plates.
- Top with some more ragu, herbs, nuts and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil: and enjoy.
How long will it last?
This ragu sauce will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge in a sealed container or in the freezer for 1 month. Allow to defrost and reheat to enjoy. You can store with the pasta as well, just warm back up.
What other recipes can I try?
For more dinner ideas:
- Super Green Pesto Minestrone Soup
- Sweet Potato Chickpea and Spinach Peanut Curry
- Green Broccoli Spinach and Pea Soup
- Butternut Squash Pasta Minestrone
- Creamy High Protein Pumpkin Pasta
Mushroom Lentil Ragu Pasta (Vegan)
This hearty, wholesome and delicious Mushroom Lentil Ragu Pasta is ready in 30 minutes with lots of vegetables, fibre and protein. It’s a great alternative to the classic dish and is ideal for meal prep and freezer meals.
Ingredients
For the Ragu:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 160g Pack’d Frozen Organic Soffritto Mix*
- 2 tbsp Pack’d Frozen Organic Chopped Garlic
- 250g mushrooms, chopped very small
- Spices: 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 60g walnuts, chopped small
- 1 tin green lentils, drained and rinsed (240g drained weight)
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tbsp tamari soy sauce
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- Salt and pepper
To Serve:
- 4 portions pasta (approx. 400g)
- 4 tbsp crushed walnut and/or pine nuts
- Fresh basil
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a large non-stick deep pan with olive oil and once hot, add the sofrito mix and garlic and fry off for 5 minutes, until turning translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add in the mushrooms and cook for 5-10 minutes, until reduced in size and they have released all of their liquid.
- Pour in the paprika, thyme and rosemary and fry for 1 minute.
- Pour in the walnuts, lentils, tomato puree, soy sauce and tinned tomatoes. Crumble in the stock cube and then re-fill the tomato tin with hot water and pour into the pan. Stir well.
- Cook with a lid a jar for 15-20 minutes, take the lid off for the final 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Once cooked, save some of the ragu to one side, to add on top of them pasta at the end, if you like.
- Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and then drain (save some of the water).
- Add the pasta into the ragu sauce along with a splash of cooking water and toss well.
- Spoon into bowls and top with the reserved ragu, some walnuts/pine nuts, black pepper, basil and some olive oil.
- Enjoy straight away, or allow the ragu to cool down and keep in the fridge for 2-3 days in a sealed container. Warm back up and serve with freshly cooked pasta.
Notes
*an equal mix of finely chopped carrot, white onion and celery.
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Stay in touch
I look forward to hearing what you think of this Mushroom Lentil Ragu Pasta so please let me know in the comments below and leave a star review above. If you do make these, I’d love to see so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest so please say hello!
With ragu love x
p.s. this recipe was first made with Pack’d and their frozen organic vegetables, which I love. This blog post is not sponsored.
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