One Pot Lentil Pasta
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What’s better than a dinner than can be made with 9 simple ingredients, in ONE pot, and with LESS than 20 minutes!? A healthy one ? This One Pot Lentil Pasta is so ridiculously easy to make and is an amazing gluten free pasta alternative.
I’ve had several bags of lentil pasta (plus some black bean pasta which I’m not as much a fan of) sitting in my pantry for about 6 months now. I’ve also had this recipe in my head since last summer. I tested it a few times but then never got around to actually making it and photographing it for the blog. Figured now was as good a time as any! :) It reminds me of all things summer which makes me very happy!
I’ve found several great lentil pastas (and other gluten free pastas) at Trader Joe’s but this red lentil pasta is definitely my favorite. It doesn’t get really mushy (unless you highly over cook it) and has a really nice bite to it that’s as similar to regular pasta as I’ve ever come across. It’s also great for one pot pasta dishes since lentil noodles are perfect for really absorbing the extra liquid in the pan.
The biggest trick is simply to not let the noodles overcook. Once you master that, the dish is basically done (yay one pot dishes!!).
I’ve never tried this particular dish with other kinds of noodles so I can’t say for sure how well it would work. If you try something similar (or have similar recipes to share) PLEASE let me know. I’m ALL about recipes where everything gets sloppily dumped into one pot :)
Coming soon on the blog, SEVERAL ways to make homemade pasta :) I got a pasta roller for xmas and a pasta rack for my bday and I’m slowly becoming a pasta making MACHINE. I want to perfect my recipes before I share them with you. But, be keeping an eye out for those :)
I hope that there is LOTS of one pot pasta on your weekly menu :) As always, if you end up making this recipe, PLEASE snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @foodwithfeeling!
See How to Make the One Pot Lentil Pasta:
PrintOne Pot Lentil Pasta
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This one pot lentil pasta is super simple to make and comes together in just about 20 quick minutes!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces of lentil pasta
- 3 1/2 cups of veggies broth (can also use water but the broth provides extra flavor that I recommend!)
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced or roughly chopped depending on preference
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1/2 of a medium sized onion, I used sweet onion but really any kind will do
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- handful of fresh basil (could also use fresh parsley or both), chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine all ingredients MINUS this basil. Stir to thoroughly combine.
- Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 13-15 minutes. Dish is done when the pasta is tender to the bite. Watch the pasta carefully because you don’t want to over cook it! Once done, take off of heat and let sit for a couple minutes to let the pasta absorb any remaining liquid.
- Stir in the chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper if needed. ENJOY!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: vegan dinner
- Method: stovetop
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 325
- Sugar: 3.1 g
- Sodium: 1476.4 mg
- Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 54.7 g
- Protein: 22.1 g
- Cholesterol: 4.4 mg
Keywords: one pot pasta, lentil pasta, vegan pasta
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
39 Comments on “One Pot Lentil Pasta”
This looks and sounds incredible, yum!
I’ve seen this lentil pasta at Trader Joe’s and kept skipping it because of the abundance of other pastas I had in the pantry already. We just did some pantry clean-out fun, so I guess I have to buy this now! Looking forward to trying this when I do. I hope all is well, lady! <3
P.S. I'm jealous of your pasta roller.
P.P.S. "Screaming, pooping mini human" is my new favorite phrase. A+.
I love lentil pasta! It has actually become my favorite kind lately. And I totally agree – black bean is not my favorite either!
Mm this look so simple and delicious! Did you sprinkle nooch on top?
★★★★★
I sprinkled this parmesan on it )which has nooch in it)! : http://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-vegan-parmesan-cheese/
Oooh yum! It makes it from simple to fancy ;)
I have decided this week to try the Wheat Belly diet to try to be healthier decrease my joint pain hives restless nights headaches lethargy etc AKA the Red headed Irish curse! I saw your recipe and ODDLY already had a box of this kind of pasta unbeknownst to me! (god send?) Thank you :) PS wish me luck on loosing my pooh bear belly too!
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Yay! Glad to help :) I’ve had a lot of fun experimenting with different kinds of gluten free pastas!
I’m going to make this tonight for a gluten free friend. What size diced tomato and should they be drained?
Good questions! I’ll update the recipe. I used a 15oz can and did not drain it
How do you make this the night before?
Can’t wait to make this dish! For the black bean pasta, try making a green chile pesto (I used hot New Mexico chiles)–delish.
oh!! thanks for the recommendation! I still have a bag of the black bean pasta in my pantry that I’ll try that with soon!
Made this tonight. So much yum! And so easy too!
how many does this feed?
It serves 2 full meals for 2 hungry people. Otherwise it’s good for 4 side dishes
What are the nutrition facts on this? I’m trying to eat cleaner :)
★★★★★
This was sooooo yummy! And soooo easy! I love one-pot meals, and this one is definitely a winner. I had bought a bag of TJ’s Sedanini pasta, and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Lucky me! The only tweak that I made to this recipe was to first saute the onion and garlic in olive oil, THEN add the veggie broth and tomatoes (I used Muir Glen organic fire roasted crushed tomatoes, the 28-oz size, which I think was the perfect amount of liquid for this recipe). I brought this all to a boil first before adding the spices and pasta. To finish it off I added some browned, crumbled bits of Field Roast vegan Italian sausage that I had lurking in the Fridge. Mangia!!!!!
★★★★★
YUM! I love the changes you made and now I want to make this pasta dish again. I have A LOT of good pastas waiting to be eaten in my pantry :)
Yuck! I tried it, it turned into a sludgy orange mush! That tasted awful! I had to throw it all out!
I think if I decided to try it again, I’d boil the broth first then add the pasta, then add the other ingredients after the pasta was cooked to al dente
No stars. Gross sludgy mess. I couldn’t believe pasta could cook in liquid that didn’t even cover it so I doubled the broth and then I forgot to time it, so had to throw it out. Did the recipe mean to cook the pasta before step 1? 12 Oz of pasta and 3.5 cups of broth and a can of tomatoes just doesn’t compute. Maybe I should have trusted you more and just followed but the back of the pasta box said it needed 3 liters of liquid. ???
OMG… this was delicious and filling. I added kale, spinach, fresh dill, cayenne, and omitted the cheese and salt. I also used no-salt petite chopped tomatoes. Thank you!!!
Thank you for coming back to let me know, Andrea! it’s been far too long since I have made this myself! So glad you liked it
★★★★★
Sooo good! Turned out perfect. My boyfriend loved it. I’ve made this pasta a couple times before, but the vegetable broth gives it way more flavor! The garlic gives it such a good flavor as well. Thank you for the delicious recipe. We topped it with garlic chicken and freshly grated Parmesan! Delicious !!!
★★★★★
Has anyone converted this recipe to instant pot? Any directions for this?
Has anyone done this in Instant pot? If so what directions did you follow?
I have never tried this in the instant pot but now I’m super curious! I worry that the noodles would get too mushy but maybe if it was just cooked for a few minutes on manual high? I’m really not sure if that would work though
I dont know about lentil pasta but I know that with brown rice pasta in the instant pot only take 0-2mins at high pressure with a quick release. Could be similar?
That’s a joy to read your post and eventually clarify myself.
★★★★★
Really yummy! Saved in my favorites. I added frozen peas :) Way too much oregano though- next time I’ll use only 1/4 tsp instead of a whole tsp
★★★★
For those allergic to nightshades, what could sub for tomatoes? TIA
Hi Jay! I’ll have to think on it. I’ve only ever made this dish with tomatoes. I think you could try leaving them our all together and just adding in more liquid. You could probably also add in other veggies if you’d like depending on your preferences.
Fabulous. Will be putiing this on the table regularly – a complete success.
★★★★★
Delicious and easy recipe! I’ve made this twice now, the first time pretty much exactly like the recipe with the red lentil penne. The second time I used the Trader Joe’s yellow lentil and brown rice spaghetti and I also added some ground italian sausage to it. Delicious! Both times I used homemade chicken stock instead of veggie broth. Flavor and texture were great. I’ve never loved the lentil pastas but this is a great way to get a delicious flavor. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
What size is your can of tomatoes? I live overseas and our package sizes are different than the USA.
My husband and I tried this last night and we just LOVED it! He added a small amount of lemon juice to his dish and I will do that to the whole dish the next time. It gave it a different twist. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Give me a break. There’s something amiss here. Sounds like you have a personal issue.
Yikes. Tell us what you really think!
Ive made this dish and similar ones in the past and they always turn out wonderful. I think you maybe misread an instruction oorrrrr youre a troll.
A great idea, but way too much liquid. I cooked mine for 6 minutes and the pasta was already getting mushy. I drained it to try to save it, but ended up with a lump of mushy pasta. It probably depends on the brand of pasta. I’ll try again with less liquid and less cooking time.
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oh no! Sorry to hear that, Roberta! It most certainly could be the different kinds of pasta. I make this fairly often and almost always use the trader joes brand of red lentil pasta. I’ve also discovered that the stove temperature can affect it a bit. If the liquid is not at a nice simmer, not as much of the liquid will be cooked off and absorbed like it should be.