Creamy Vegan Lentil Sauce for Pasta

Beans and vegetables are all very well, but sometimes you have a craving for creamy smooth sauces that melt in the mouth. Unfortunately, many creamy pasta sauce recipes use non-vegan ingredients like milk or cream. This is where a hand blender and some slow-cooked red lentils can come in handy for a vegan cook. Smother your pasta with this thick and creamy lentil pasta sauce, which is delicious hot or cold.

Smooth lentil sauce with fusili pasta

Pasta Sauce Ingredients

1 cup dried red lentils

1 cup tomato juice (gives a smoother sauce than canned or fresh tomatoes)

1 clove crushed garlic

dried or fresh basil

Vegan Pasta with Creamy Sauce Recipe

1. Boil red lentils for about 30 minutes until they are soft and mushy.

2. When most of the water has boiled away, add tomato juice and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

3. Flavor with basil, garlic and salt (for an even tastier sauce, replace the salt with vegan miso*).

4. Blend sauce using a hand blender until it is smooth.

5. Serve with pasta, sauteed mushrooms, and green beans.

*Miso powder/paste makes almost any dish richer, but be careful: miso that you buy from your local Asian store will likely contain fish extracts. Mishima Vegetarian Miso makes a great base for soups and sauces.

Vegan Dahl Recipe

Red lentil dahl with brown rice and fresh coriander.

Vegan lentil dahl is warm, stodgy comfort food... perfect Friday night food for the end of a long week. This vegan dahl recipe includes grated carrot, chopped mushroom and red pepper to add extra texture and flavor.


Traditional Indian food is cooked in ghee (butter). However, it is easy to make vegan Indian food by substituting ghee for oil. Any type of oil will do, providing it does not have a strong flavor. I used sunflower oil.


Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

• 500g grated carrot
• 2 mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into ~1cm pieces

• 1 liter vegetable stock

• 1/2 cup dried split red lentils

• 1 tablespoon curry powder

• salt and pepper

• 1/2 cup fresh coriander

How to Make Lentil Dahl


Step 1 Heat a little oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add cumin and mustard seeds and fry until the mustard seeds begin to pop.
Step 2 Add the grated carrot, mushroom and pepper, and fry while stirring for 10 minutes.
Step 3 Add the vegetable stock and the lentils.
Step 4 Add curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
Step 5 Simmer until the lentils cook together into a thick mush. Add the coriander just before serving, but save a little for garnishing.


What to Serve with Dahl: Serve vegan dahl with rice and saag aloo.