This Pasta with Easy Lentil Sauce is such a great way to incorporate lentils and vegetables into a yummy pasta dish! It is super quick to whip together and provides a great amount of protein and fibre for your little one.
Lentils are a great plant-based source of protein and iron. Although they don’t contain as much iron as meat, they are still an excellent option to include to help boost the iron intake for your little one. This pasta dish also combines a tomato based sauce, providing additional Vitamin C, which helps with the absorption of plant-based iron foods (the lentils!). For more information on iron-rich foods or tips to help increase the absorption of iron, check out my blog post on iron here!
Ingredients
- rotini pasta noodles
- olive oil
- marinara pasta sauce
- carrot
- onion
- mushrooms
- canned lentils
- parmesan cheese (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta noodles.
In a separate pan, heat on medium and add olive oil. Finely dice or grate carrots, dice mushrooms and onion. Add carrots, mushrooms and onion to pan.
Add marinara sauce and lentils to vegetables. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 8-10 minutes.
Add sauce to pasta noodles and stir to combine.
Time Saver:
You can use canned lentils to save on time. Or if you prefer, you can cook lentils from scratch ahead of time. This recipe also uses bottled marinara sauce to help save time, but you can always make your own from scratch if you prefer!
Substitutions
- Vegetables – you can mix in whatever vegetables you have on hand! Broccoli also works great, as does diced spinach, or red peppers.
- Fibre boost – Look for a pasta brand that has 4g of fibre or more per serving.
Variations
- Seasoning – feel free to add in any other seasonings you enjoy such as a little bit of oregano or garlic powder.
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Large frying pan
Storage
This pasta can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for 3 days. You can also freeze the pasta sauce in air-tight freezer bags or containers for up to 3 months.
Recipe
Pasta with Easy Lentil Sauce
Equipment
- 1 saucepan large
- 1 frying pan large
Ingredients
- 2 cups rotini pasta noodles (or other pasta noodles of choice)
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 carrot grated or finely diced
- ½ cup mushrooms diced
- ¼ cup onion diced
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- ½ cup lentils canned or ½ cup cooked lentils
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta noodles according to package instructions.
- Grate or dice carrot. Dice mushrooms and onion.
- In large frying pan, heat to medium and add olive oil.
- Add the cut-up vegetables to the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring consistently.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the marinara sauce and lentils. Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring consistently.
- Add sauce to finished and drained pasta noodles. Stir to combine
- Optional: Add grated parmesan cheese on top.
Notes
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