Dinner Budget Freezer Vegetarian

Lentil bolognese

Name: Lentil bolognese
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Meal prep
Ingredients: 1½ cups brown lentils, dry; 16 oz pasta; 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz); 1 large onion, finely diced; 2 carrots, finely diced; 2 celery stalks, finely diced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 3 cups vegetable broth; 2 tsp dried oregano; 1 tbsp olive oil; salt and pepper

Brown lentils simmered in tomato sauce until thick. A meatless pasta sauce that freezes for months.

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Ingredients

6 servings

About $8.94 for 6 servings.

Contains: wheat. Packaged foods vary, so check the labels of what you buy.

How the cost and nutrition are worked out

Ingredient	Weight	Cost	kcal	Protein
brown lentils, dry	288 g	$1.14	1,014	70.8 g
pasta	454 g	$1.49	1,683	59.0 g
crushed tomatoes (28 oz)	794 g	$2.19	254	12.7 g
large onion, finely diced	150 g	$0.80	60	1.7 g
carrots, finely diced	122 g	$0.24	50	1.1 g
celery stalks, finely diced	80 g	$0.44	11	0.6 g
garlic, minced	12 g	$0.24	18	0.8 g
tomato paste	32 g	$0.21	26	1.4 g
vegetable broth	720 g	$1.82	36	1.4 g
dried oregano	5 g	$0.16	14	0.6 g
olive oil	14 g	$0.23	119	0.0 g

Totals divided by 6 servings. Salt, pepper, water and a film of oil for the pan are not counted. Prices are estimated US supermarket prices (October 2026), charged for the amount used rather than the whole pack; nutrition is from USDA FoodData Central. Our method.

Method

Heat the oil in a large pot. Cook the onion, carrots and celery for 7 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomato paste and oregano for 1 minute.
Add the lentils, tomatoes and broth. Simmer 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the sauce is thick.
Cook the pasta following the packet while the sauce simmers.
Season the sauce. Portion pasta and sauce into 6 containers.

Storing

Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, in shallow sealed containers. Keeps 4 days in the fridge by US guidance; UK guidance is stricter and says eat cooked leftovers within 2 days. Freezes for up to 3 months for best quality; thaw in the fridge.

Reheating

Microwave 2 to 3 minutes with a splash of water. Heat until steaming hot all the way through (165°F), and reheat only the portion you are eating.

Worth knowing

Freeze the sauce on its own. Fresh pasta takes ten minutes and tastes better.

Food safety figures follow USDA leftovers guidance, the FoodSafety.gov storage chart and safe cooking temperatures, UK chilling and freezing guidance.

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