Lentil Bolognese Zucchini Pasta

I’ve not really gotten into the whole spiralizing vegetable thing until just recently.

It wasn’t about not having the equipment – I’ve had a spiralizer for almost 1.5 years. It also wasn’t about not liking spiralized vegetables.

It’s this – there’s only so much bandwidth I have for certain things. I’m more than happy to batch cook every Sunday so that I have enough food for the week. I’m happy to plan, shop, cook and clean (and also take pictures for you 🙂 ). However, I don’t have enough bandwidth or patience to clean big pieces of kitchen equipment every Sunday – that’s exhausting! I also simply do not have enough space in my kitchen for all of the latest kitchen gadgets – that counter space comes at a prime!

How did I get around these challenges that I was facing and create this lovely dish? I purchased pre-spiralized zucchini at Metro.

It is OKAY to take shortcuts, because we don’t always have enough time/energy/patience do do anything perfectly. Want to buy pre-chopped or frozen veggies because you hate chopping them yourself? Do it! Not wanting to make your own salad dressings? Buy some store-bought ones with minimal ingredients!

We don’t have to make everything from scratch in order to be healthy. We also don’t have to do everything perfectly – we are human. We need to preserve our valuable resources sometimes!

Lentil Bolognese Zucchini Pasta

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 30mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A fresh, light and healthy twist on a traditional bolognese pasta recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup dried lentil
• Spiralized zucchini

Directions

1. Heat a large rimmed skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add oil, onion and garlic. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly softened and fragrant.
2. Add carrots. Cook for 3-4 minutes more, then add marinara sauce and stir to coat.
3. Add basil, oregano, water, and lentils. Increase heat slightly and bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to low/medium-low and continue cooking until lentils are tender – stirring occasionally – about 17-20 minutes. Add a bit more water if mixture gets too thick.
4. Add mixture over spiralized zucchini noodles.