I was all about easy and quick to prepare dinners at our cottage this past week. I had avocado toast with salad the first few nights and then we had this lentil pasta two nights in a row (one night being leftovers). It was really good. When you are in the mood for an easy and hearty pasta, definitely give it a whirl. Lentils give it a more meaty feeling meal, while keeping it meatless. Lentils are also higher in iron, so if you are looking to add more iron to your diet, it’s a helpful source.
I really amped up the lentils here too. I used Trader Joe’s red lentil pasta noodles along with their refrigerated box of prepared lentils. While having access to Trader Joe’s will give you the most similar pasta dish that I ate, you can still use another pasta brand along with a can of lentils. Take the idea and substitute with what you have access to. If you cook and prepare your own lentils like I often do, that’s great too. However, when you are looking for a last minute meal, ready made lentils are the way to go.
Besides the box of pasta and lentils, I used 1/2 small yellow onion, 1 large garlic clove, some dried thyme, paprika, and a jar of pasta sauce. Any jarred pasta sauce of your choice will work. I will say that if you are using the entire box of Trader Joe’s lentils (which is like double or triple a can of lentils), you may want to use 1 1/2 – 2 jars of sauce. It could have been a little more saucy for me personally, but Mark loved it as is.
Simple Lentil Pasta
Ingredients
1 bag of Trader Joe’s organic red lentil pasta noodles, or any pasta of your choice
1 box of prepared refrigerated Trader Joe’s lentils, it’s usually by the lettuce section – or 1-2 cans of lentils of choice, drained
jar of pasta sauce of choice, you may want extra sauce – see my paragraph above
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
optional seasonings, Trader Joe’s lentils come pre-seasoned, but I added a good shake of thyme and paprika as well. If your lentils are not seasoned, I would season with onion powder and garlic powder for sure.
Method
Optional. This step just dries out the lentils some. Even though you’ll be tossing the lentils with sauce, if you are keeping it less saucy like mine pictured, the drier texture makes it feel more similar to a dry ground beef texture. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment baking paper. Spread out the lentils and sprinkle on seasonings. Bake for 15 minutes or so while your pasta is being made.
Boil water and make your pasta noodles according to the package.
In a separate sauce pan over low-medium heat, you can sauté the onion and garlic a bit prior to adding in the pasta sauce OR just add in the onion and garlic with the sauce. I chose to keep the onion and garlic more raw this time so I did the latter, but sautéing it first would be great too. If I was making it for guests, I would sauté it for sure.
Drain your noodles, rinse them if required, and add them back to the large pot. Add your lentils to the pot and then pour in the heated sauce. Mix together well and ENJOY!
You might like this Turkish Inspired Lentil Pasta recipe.
If you want another extra easy one, peak at this doctored up simple pasta.
Tag me on Instagram if you make any! It always makes my day when I see you getting inspired by my recipes. Xx Riane
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