Vegetable Ragu is a hearty and flavorful pasta dish that is perfect for your dinner table. This vegetable ragu recipe is just right for busy week nights or lazy weekends.
To say this recipe is a comfort food would be 100% accurate, well at least in my recipe book. Everything about this recipe is comforting to my foodie soul. The heartiness of the lentils, the fresh ingredients, and the delicious pasta!
What Makes A Sauce A Ragu?
Ragu is usually a meat based sauce, but we kept it vegetarian. To bulk it up without adding meat, we added lentils.
Lentils 101
Lentils are part of the legume family and are grouped with beans. We used green lentils in this recipe, but other colored lentils would also work. They are high in protein and low in fat.
You want to be sure to rinse these first to remove any dirt and debris and sort through them looking for any stones.
Ingredients For This Vegetable Ragu
- Vegetables- The vegetables I used for this ragu recipe were baby bella mushrooms, carrots, green bell pepper, leek, onion, and a can of fire roasted tomatoes
- Oil – For sauteing the vegetables in
- Water – To cok the ragu mixture down
- Lentils – Make sure to rinse these first and remove any stones
- Herbs- I added in fresh basil and then finished it off with fresh parsley
Can I Use Frozen Vegetables?
Sometimes, it is just the simple, fresh ingredients that you pair together that make a world of difference in the flavor department. Using a fresh bell pepper, instead of frozen. However, don’t get me wrong… there are busy, busy meal times where I do use frozen items. Let’s be real, here. Life can get CRAZY! But when your schedule allows and you have some extra time to prepare fresh ingredients; it is worth it.
Fresh Herbs Are Key!
We used fresh basil and fresh parsley in this Vegetable Ragu. I am in LOVE with fresh herbs. They make a HUGE difference in taste. So if you were going to have to pick and choose which ingredients you used as fresh, go for the herbs! This is a delicious recipe that is great anytime of year. Be sure to hang on to this Vegetable Ragu recipe for garden season! Oh, just think of all that flavor with garden fresh vegetables!
How To Make This Vegetable Ragu Recipe
-
In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, warm the oil. Begin to saute the mushrooms, carrots, bell pepper, leek and onion. This will take about 15 minutes for all the vegetables to soften.
-
Once veggies are soft, stir in tomatoes, water and lentils. Bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until lentils are soft.
-
Cool spaghetti per the directions on the box and plate up.
-
Gently, mix the fresh basil into the ragu mixture. Then spoon the ragu on top of the spaghetti.
What Do I Serve This Vegetable Ragu With?
For the pasta, I used Organic Soybean Spaghetti from Explore Cuisine. As you know, I talk about this company quite a bit. My family truly loves and enjoys all the varieties of their pasta. The best part is that it is certified gluten-free and made in a dedicated gluten-free facility! It also carries the Vegan Society seal of approval. The Organic Soybean Spaghetti has 25 grams of plant protein per serving as well as 11 grams of dietary fiber!
Not only is this pasta full of good things but it tastes great too. Really it is a win, win situation all around!
This Vegetable Ragu smells amazing as it is simmering on the stove top! Your tastebuds will be watering with excitement as dinner time nears!
Ready to learn how to make this easy, but delicious recipe? Let’s get to it!
More Vegetarian Pasta Dishes
- Grilled Vegetable Alfredo with Pasta
- Mandarin Spinach Pasta Salad
- Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
- Taco Pasta – A fun meal the entire family will enjoy!
- Creamy Taco Pasta Salad
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta
Vegetable Ragu - a perfect dish for your dinner table
Ingredients
- 1 T oil
- 12 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms diced
- 2 Large Carrots peeled and diced
- 1 c green bell pepper diced
- 1 large leek white part only, diced
- 1 c onion diced
- 1 28 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
- 3 cups water
- 1 c green lentils rinsed and sorted (look for stones)
- 1 c fresh basil torn into smaller pieces
- 1 box of Organic Soybean Spaghetti from Explore Cuisine
- 1/2 c fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, warm the oil. Begin to saute the mushrooms, carrots, bell pepper, leek and onion. This will take about 15 minutes for all the vegetables to soften.
- Once veggies are soft, stir in tomatoes, water and lentils. Bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until lentils are soft.
- Cool spaghetti per the directions on the box and plate up.
- Gently, mix the fresh basil into the ragu mixture. Then spoon the ragu on top of the spaghetti.
- Top with parsley and ENJOY!
Notes
- Lentils- We used green but another colored lentil would work as well.
- Vegetables - fresh is best, but you can substitute frozen if need be (such as bell peppers)
Nutrition
All though this website attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, the information should only be considered an estimate. Varying factors such as different product types, different brands, etc. can change nutritional information. It is your responsibility as a consumer to read all labels to make sure the ingredients fit your dietary needs as well as calculate your own nutritional information as a double check.
As a special thank you to our readers, Explore Cuisine as graciously agreed to giveaway some goodies from their product line! Thank you to Explore Cuisine for sponsoring this recipe and this giveaway!Hungry for more gluten-free main dish recipes? Be sure to check out our recipe index. You can also visit our Amazon store to see our favorite gluten-free products and kitchen equipment! This post contains an amazon affiliate link.
Let’s talk! Leave me a comment telling me if you’ve ever tried a pasta from Explore Cuisine? If you have which one did you try? Have you made Vegetable Ragu before? What is your favorite ingredient in this dish?
pin for later:
