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One Pot Lentil Pasta is a dinner than can be made with 9 simple ingredients, in ONE pot, and in LESS than 20 minutes! This is so ridiculously easy to make and is completely vegan and an amazing gluten free pasta alternative.
Looking for an effortless dinner that tastes amazing? One pot lentil pasta is the recipe for you! It’s a vibrant, light, yet satisfying vegetarian main or side tossed with diced tomatoes and herbs. It can be ready to serve super quick and tastes so delicious! The whole family will be loving it!
Reasons you will love this recipe
- Quick & easy: This lentil pasta recipe is hassle-free and will be ready-to-serve in no time!
- Versatile: Customize this dish with any favorite mix-ins. It’s great on its own as either the main course or a side dish, but it’s flexible enough to add in other veggies, chicken or shrimp.
- Family-friendly: This simple and delicious pasta recipe is packed with all the right flavors and is one of those recipes that everyone loves.
Ingredients you’ll need
Only simple ingredients that are mostly pantry staples are required for this lentil pasta recipe. Here’s a list of what you’ll need:
- Lentil pasta: This gluten-free pasta is one of my favs! It holds its shape and texture well and has the same al dente bite that regular pasta does.
- Vegetable broth: Cook the pasta in veggie broth instead of water for extra flavor.
- Garlic: Fresh is very important in this recipe.
- Diced tomatoes: Adds lots of texture and subtle sweet flavor.
- Onion: I used sweet onion but really any kind will do.
- Herbs: A mix of dried thyme, dried oregano and a handful of fresh basil will bring delicious herby flavor to this pasta recipe.
- Salt and pepper: To enhance and bring out all of the flavors.
Variations and substitutions
- Pasta: Feel free to use a different type or shape of noodle. You may need to adjust the cooking time, depending on the type of noodle.
- Protein: If you’re not concerned with keeping this meal vegan, you can add in cooked ground beef, Italian seasoned ground turkey, or Italian sausage.
- Vegetables: Sneak in some extra veggies, if you’d like. Try adding sautéed mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, or bell pepper. Wilted spinach or kale would also be nice!
- Fresh herbs: I typically use fresh basil to garnish this recipe but fresh parsley is also a great choice.
- Cheese: I really love adding parmesan cheese to this dish! If you’re wanting to keep it vegan, Violife makes a DELICIOUS vegan parmesan.
How to make this recipe
- Combine the ingredients: In a large pot over medium heat, combine all ingredients MINUS the basil. Stir to thoroughly combine.
- Simmer: 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.
- Garnish, season and serve: Stir in the chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper if needed. ENJOY!
Helpful tips
- Using lentil pasta: 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 overcook 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.
- Do not overcook the noodles: The biggest tip when it comes to cooking with lentil pasta is to simply not let the noodles cook too long. Once you master that, the dish is basically done (yay for one pot dishes!!).
- Serving: This is a complete meal on its own, but we love to serve it with a fresh green salad and some crusty bread on the side!
Frequently asked questions
Both red lentil and chickpea pasta are considered healthier alternatives to regular pasta, red lentil pasta contains the most fiber of all three and is lower in calories. It also contains almost half the fat that chickpea pasta does, and contains less sodium.
The carbohydrate content of lentil pasta is not that different than traditional pasta. Lentil pasta has 37 grams of carbohydrates and wheat pasta has 44 grams, just slightly less.
When boiled too long, lentil pasta has a tendency to become softer and stickier than regular pasta. To avoid this, watch it closely as it cooks and only simmer for 13-15 minutes.
Storage recommendations
Leftover lentil pasta can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat gently in the microwave, splashed with a bit of water or broth to keep it from drying out as you rewarm it.
More easy pasta recipes
- Pasta Chips
- Creamy Vegan Pasta
- One Pot Lentil Pasta
- Orzo Pasta Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
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!
One Pot Lentil Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces lentil pasta
- 3 ½ cups veggie broth, can also use water but the broth provides extra flavor that I recommend!
- 5 cloves garlic, minced or roughly chopped depending on preference
- 1 can diced tomatoes, can of
- ½ of a medium sized onion, I used sweet onion but really any kind will do
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon 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 the 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!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Fabulous. Will be putiing this on the table regularly – a complete success.
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.
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
That’s a joy to read your post and eventually clarify myself.
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?
Has anyone converted this recipe to instant pot? Any directions for this?
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 !!!
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
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. ???
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 :)