A dreamy pan of lentils in the viral creamy sundried tomato “marry me” sauce! This is amazing scooped up with bread, with rice or as a sweet potato topping. I love to use luxurious black lentils but it will also work with puy lentils or plain brown or green lentils.
Woweeee, this is some seriously decadent vegetarian fare right here. And I am here for it.
I have put together a few vegetarian recipes with the viral “marry me” sauce so far, including chickpeas and butter beans, and I have been won over by the pairing of this rich and luxurious sauce with humble beans. It’s a way to elevate these simple, nutritious and cheap protein sources that a lot of us want to eat more of. So today we take on lentils!
I have made this dish with green lentils and with black lentils (aka beluga lentils or caviar lentils) and it will work with either, but if you can get them, black lentils are my top pick. They they have that extra firmness and creaminess to them, almost like tiny beans, that give a more robust texture. And anyone who has tried black dal makhani will already know how well they fit into rich creamy sauces.
And visually, you just can’t beat that contrast of the pinky orange sauce and the striking black lentils!
What to Know About the Ingredients
- Lentils: You already know black lentils are my top pick for how they hold their texture in the sauce. Puy lentils (aka french lentils, dark green lentils) are the next best thing. Green and brown lentils will break apart a little more in the sauce, making it slightly more homogenous in texture and less visually striking, but still tasty and worth making! I wouldn’t try this with red lentils, because they will turn to mush.
- I cook my lentils from dried in the instant pot, but if you use canned or otherwise precooked lentils this can be a one pot recipe!
- You ideally want the jarred sundried tomatoes stored in herby oil – that oil adds a ton of flavor, and we’ll use it to saute the onions, garlic and spices in.
- Speaking of spices, we use a pretty strong trio here: an Italian seasoning mix, smoked paprika and fennel seeds! The last two add a certain umami quality to the dish which always feels right in American Italian cuisine. Since lentils don’t really bring any flavor of their own, we need the sauce to be extra punchy.
- The lemon is optional – it is nice to serve this with some lemon wedges for squeezing but you don’t have to.
Serving Suggestions
So I think we can agree this is all good and delicious but, like, what do we even do with this big pan of creamy saucy lentils? Here are a few of my ideas:
- Scooping it up with fresh bread is always my favorite way to eat this, so add some vegetables or a hearty salad to the table and just embrace a casual dinner scenario. Air fryer broccoli is a great easy side dish (I’d skip the parm if pairing it with this sauce!) And this is one scenario where I’d be keeping the salad light, leafy and crispy, with no cheese or beans. Katya’s house salad is about right.
- Serve with rice. Easy peasy, and a great way to turn leftovers into lots of lunch portions.
- Scoop over baked potatoes or sweet potatoes.
- Toss with pasta. If you do this, make sure to keep the sauce ratio really high and use a short pasta shape like shells or penne.
- Whatever you do, feel free to mix some chopped kale or spinach into this dish at the end (add it alongside the cream and cheese – keep on the heat until it’s just wilting) for some extra nutrition.
More Tasty & Unique Lentil Recipes
Creamy “Marry Me” Lentils
A dreamy pan of lentils in the viral creamy sundried tomato "marry me" sauce! This is amazing scooped up with bread, with rice or as a sweet potato topping. I love to use luxurious black lentils but it will also work with puy lentils or plain brown or green lentils.
Ingredients
- oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes, for cooking
- 1 cup dry black, brown or green lentils, 2.5 cups cooked, or 2 cans drained and rinsed
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cups (480 ml) vegetable stock
- ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy (double) cream
- 1 cup (100 g) parmesan, pecorino or Italian hard cheese
- 1 bunch basil, chopped
- lemon wedges, for squeezing
Instructions
- If you're cooking your lentils from dry, start this process before you even start prepping the other ingredients. They can cook while you gather, prep and start the sauce. For black lentils:Instant Pot: 1 cup of lentils + 1.75 cups of salted water, cook on HIGH for 9 minutes, followed by a natural release for 10 minutes. Stovetop: 1 cup of lentils + 3.5 cups of salted water. Simmer for around 20 minutes until soft, but a little al dente.1 cup dry black, brown or green lentils
- In a large, deep sided saute pan, heat a few tablespoons of the oil from your sundried tomato jar. Keeping the heat low-medium, saute the onions until soft and then add the garlic. Saute for another 30 seconds or so, until fragrant.oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes, 1 small red onion, 6 cloves garlic
- Add the fennel seeds and saute until the fragrance is released, then quickly add a little extra oil and the smoked paprika and Italian seasoning. Saute for a few more moments (keeping the heat low) until the fragrance is released and the spices are well distributed through the oil. Move on quickly – we don't want the spices to burn!2 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- Add the tomato paste and sundried tomatoes and saute until they are well mixed in with the onions, garlic, spices and oil.Turn off the heat and set aside while you get your lentils ready.3 tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
- Drain your lentils in a sieve once they're cooked, or if you're using canned. The kind of sieve you use for icing sugar is ideal, as the holes in pasta colanders can be too large for lentils.Rinse them until the water is running clear – this is an important step keep the sauce from being muddied by the color of the dark cooking water.
- Add the lentils to the pan and turn the heat back up. Mix through.
- Add the vegetable stock and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Start off with the pan covered, but uncover it for the last couple of minutes. The sauce should thicken up as the lentils drink up some of the water.2 cups vegetable stock
- Finally, stir in the cream, cheese and basil over a very low heat until the cheese has melted through and the basil has wilted into the sauce.3/4 cup heavy (double) cream, 1 cup parmesan, pecorino or Italian hard cheese, 1 bunch basil
- Allow to sit (covered) for 5 minutes to thicken up, then give it another stir and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.lemon wedges
Calories: 378kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 45mg, Sodium: 605mg, Potassium: 465mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1107IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 283mg, Iron: 4mg