One Pot Pasta with Cheesy Lentil Sauce
An easy one pot vegetarian pasta dinner that the whole family will love! The protein packed cheesy tomato lentil sauce is thick, creamy and comforting. There is minimal chopping, everything cooks in one pan, and it's on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp mixed Italian herbs
- 1 can green or brown lentils, drained
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cans chopped or whole tomatoes, (14oz / 400g size cans)
- ½ tsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp brown sugar
- 300 g (11 oz) dried pasta
- 170 g (6 oz) grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large pan, saute your garlic until fragrant. Add the mixed herbs and lentils and mix together for another minute.
- Add your tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and sugar to form your tomato sauce.
- Add the dried pasta and then fill the tomato can one and a half times with water and add to the pan.
- Bring to a simmer, and let the pasta cook for 10 to 12 minutes (stirring regularly) until it is al dente.
- Keep an eye on the pasta. If the sauce in the pan thickens up before the pasta is cooked, add some extra water. Thicker pastas will require more water than thinner, quicker cooking ones. I've erred on the side of less water in these instructions, because my pasta was a quick cooking variety. But if, once the pasta is cooked, the sauce is too thin: just keep it on the heat for a few more minutes uncovered until some liquid evaporates. Or you can add some more tomato paste to thicken it up.
- Once the pasta is cooked, add the cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Serve!
Serving: 1g, Calories: 567kcal, Carbohydrates: 81.4g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 725mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 10.7g
