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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.
A great idea, but way too much liquid. I cooked mine for 6 minutes and the pasta was already getting mushy. I drained it to try to save it, but ended up with a lump of mushy pasta. It probably depends on the brand of pasta. I’ll try again with less liquid and less cooking time.
oh no! Sorry to hear that, Roberta! It most certainly could be the different kinds of pasta. I make this fairly often and almost always use the trader joes brand of red lentil pasta. I’ve also discovered that the stove temperature can affect it a bit. If the liquid is not at a nice simmer, not as much of the liquid will be cooked off and absorbed like it should be.
Yikes. Tell us what you really think!
Ive made this dish and similar ones in the past and they always turn out wonderful. I think you maybe misread an instruction oorrrrr youre a troll.
Give me a break. There’s something amiss here. Sounds like you have a personal issue.
My husband and I tried this last night and we just LOVED it! He added a small amount of lemon juice to his dish and I will do that to the whole dish the next time. It gave it a different twist. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
What size is your can of tomatoes? I live overseas and our package sizes are different than the USA.
Delicious and easy recipe! I’ve made this twice now, the first time pretty much exactly like the recipe with the red lentil penne. The second time I used the Trader Joe’s yellow lentil and brown rice spaghetti and I also added some ground italian sausage to it. Delicious! Both times I used homemade chicken stock instead of veggie broth. Flavor and texture were great. I’ve never loved the lentil pastas but this is a great way to get a delicious flavor. Thanks for sharing!