This vegan red lentil pasta bake with crunchy topping is a tasty and filling meal which has added protein from the lentils and a tasty crunch from the garlicky topping. Prepare this vegan pasta bake in the morning and pop it in the oven in the evening for a low effort midweek meal that the whole family will enjoy.
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A pasta bake is the perfect midweek recipe for our family, especially if we have a busy evening. I will make this while the baby naps in the afternoon and pop the baking dish in the oven when we are back from our after school activities. Pasta dishes are some of my children's favourites and usually go down well, even amongst the fussy eaters.
You can even make the sauce for this ahead of time, maybe the evening before, so that all you have to do is the final steps at dinner time, saving you some valuable time. The sauce also freezes well so if this method works for you, you can make a double batch to freeze some for next time.
We love garlic in our house so I serve this with garlic bread on the side, because why not heap some carbs on your carbs!
Ingredients
For the pasta
- wholewheat fusilli pasta
- dried red lentils
- red bell pepper
- olive oil
- onion
- garlic
- tomato purée (tomato paste)
- tinned chopped tomatoes
- chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
- Italian seasoning
- nutritional yeast
- balsamic vinegar
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
For the topping
- bread
- garlic
- nutritional yeast
- olive oil
For exact quantities see the recipe card below.
Instructions
- Put the lentils into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes on a medium heat. Drain and keep to one side.
- Chop the onion and pepper and mince the garlic.
- Add the olive oil to a large saucepan and cook the onion for 2-3 minutes until it starts to turn brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute before adding the bell peppers and cooking for another minute.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and the rest of the pasta ingredients and stir to combine. Bring up to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In the meantime cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water, according to the package directions. It is better to stop cooking it a minute or two early so it is still a little al dente. Drain and set the al dente pasta to one side.
- Toast the bread slightly so that it is crispy, or use a stale loaf. Break it into pieces and put it into the food processor with the garlic cloves, olive oil and nutritional yeast. Blitz until it is breadcrumbs.
- Once the pasta sauce is cooked, mix it into a large oven proof casserole dish with the drained lentils and cooked pasta. Reserve a spoon or two of the pasta water and stir into the rich tomato sauce. Stir to completely combine and then add the breadcrumb topping.
- Cook in the oven at 200°C for 20 -25 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden brown. If you find that the topping is going brown too quickly take it out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil for the rest of the cooking time.
This is a great recipe for fussy children too. You can probably hide a multitude of vegetables in this sauce too so don't be afraid to experiment. I would be tempted to add a grated carrot or chopped courgette. You can always blitz the sauce smooth for really fussy children so they don't know what they are eating! I like the added heat that the chilli flakes gives this, but if you prefer more or less spice just adjust the amount accordingly.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Red Lentil Pasta Bake With Crunchy Topping
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan lentil and tomato pasta bake with crunchy topping is a tasty and filling meal which has added protein from the lentils and a tasty crunch from the garlicky topping. Prepare this vegan pasta bake in the morning and pop it in the oven in the evening for a low effort midweek meal.
Ingredients
For the pasta
- 500 g wholewheat fusilli pasta
- 100 g dried red lentils
- 1 red pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
For the topping
- 3 slices bread
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Put the lentils into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and keep to one side.
- Chop the onion and pepper and mince the garlic.
- Add the olive oil to a large saucepan and cook the onion for 2-3 minutes until it starts to turn brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute before adding the peppers and cooking for another minute.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and the rest of the pasta ingredients and stir to combine. Bring up to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In the meantime cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. It is better to stop cooking it a minute or two early so it is still a little al dente. Drain and set to one side.
- Toast the bread slightly so that it is crispy, or use a stale loaf. Break it into pieces and put it into the food processor with the garlic cloves, olive oil and nutritional yeast. Blitz until it is breadcrumbs.
- Once the pasta sauce is cooked, mix it into a large oven proof casserole dish with the drained lentils and pasta. Stir to completely combine and then add the breadcrumb topping.
- Cook in the oven at 200°C for 20 -25 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden brown.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Calories: 229
Variations
- You can add chopped vegetables to the pasta bake - such as aubergine, courgette, carrots.
- You can add some extra chilli flakes to take the heat to the next level.
- You can leave off the topping if you don't want the extra calories.
- Use your favorite gluten-free pasta and leave off the topping to make this gluten free.
- If you prefer a cheesy topping you can add some grated dairy-free cheese such as vegan mozzarella vegan parmesan cheese, with few leaves of fresh basil.
- You could add some chopped up, cooked vegan sausage for some extra texture and protein.
- If you fancy a creamy vegan pasta bake try stirring through some vegan cream which will give you a creamy sauce.
FAQs
How to store lentil pasta bake
Leftover pasta bake will keep in and airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days and you can microwave it to reheat. The sauce itself is suitable for freezing so make a double batch to cut down on your cooking time next time.
Can I make this vegetable pasta bake ahead of time?
Absolutely - that is the beauty of this dish! Assemble it ahead of the time and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours until you want to cook it. You might need to increase the cooking time.
What to serve with vegan pasta bake?
My favourite way to serve this pasta bake is with a large, fresh side salad. You can also serve it with garlic bread, if it isn't carb heavy enough for you!
I really hope that you enjoy this delicious vegan lentil and tomato pasta bake with crunchy topping recipe. Please share this vegetarian pasta bake recipe with your friends or Pin the recipe for later and don't forget to leave a comment and a star rating!
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Cassandra D. says
I love this dish! My whole family did as well. The only thing I did differently was I used a 900ml can of crushed tomatoes instead of the 2 cans of chopped tomatoes and it still turned out delicious! I noticed you didn't have the temperature for the oven in the post, so I set mine to 350F. I think that was a safe choice. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I'll definitely be making this again!
Alina Davies says
Ah thanks so much for your comment, I'm glad you liked it. So sorry for not including an oven temp, I will amend that now.