Red Lentil Lasagne is a delicious vegetarian lasagne that the whole family are sure to enjoy.
When Finn was younger one of his favourite sources of protein was red split lentils and Rory seems to be the same.I’m presuming that it is down to the soft texture, making it easy to eat. Since Rory has started solids I have been cooking with lentils a lot again. He loves them cooked in many ways like in these sweet potato, lentil and carrot croquettes or this lentil pie. I’ve made this red lentil lasagne a few times now and it seems to be a winner! I sometimes double the lentil part of the recipe, freeze the extra and use it as a ragu.
The lentil part of the lasagne is packed with vegetables which make the lentils sweet and perfect for kids. I start by sautéing the vegetables before adding the lentils, tomato puree (paste), stock (broth) and passata. I think passata is great to use when cooking for kids. It is beautifully smooth producing less “bits” that kids often complain about.
I get a lot of messages asking me what passata is and where people can find it. Passata is pureed strained tomatoes. I have never had a problem finding it in Australia or the UK, where you can find it in all the major supermarkets. I can’t recall seeing it when I lived in the USA and Canada so it perhaps it isn’t as popular in some countries. If you can’t find it you can just replace it with canned chopped or crushed tomatoes.
The below picture shows how to assemble the lasagne. Start with half the cooked lentil mixture, add lasagne sheets then the remaining lentil mixture. The top layer of this lasagne is made by blending cottage cheese until smooth and this is then topped with grated cheddar cheese.
If your kids are funny about bits in their food then you could try blending the lentil mixture before assembling the lasagne. Alternately, you could blend the vegetables before adding the lentils, passata and stock.
I just added this photo because he is cute and he loves this lasagne! …
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Red Lentil Lasagne
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 celery stalk (finely chopped)
- 1 onion (brown, white or red) (finely chopped)
- 2 carrots (finely chopped)
- 1 red capsicum (bell) pepper (finely chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 bay leaf
- 180g (1 cup) red split lentils
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree (paste)
- 500g (2 cups) Passata *SEE NOTE 1
- 375ml (1 1/2 cups) vegetable / chicken stock (broth) *SEE NOTE 2
- 6 lasagne sheets (approx)
- 300g (1 1/3 cups) cottage cheese (pureed)
- 60g (1 cup) grated cheddar
Instructions
- Heat oil in large saucepan and sauté onions, celery, carrots and garlic on a low heat for 5 mins.
- Add the capsicum (bell) pepper and continue to sauté for a further 5 mins.
- Stir in lentils, tomato puree, passata, bay leaf and one cup of stock.
- Reduce heat and simmer for approx. 30 mins (adding more stock when and if needed)
- Pre heat oven to 180c / 350F / Gas 4
- Spread half the lentil mixture to the bottom of a baking dish (approx. 9" x 7")
- Cover with a single layer of lasagne, snapping the sheets to fit.
- Spread the remaining lentil mixture on top and add another single layer of lasagne
- Spread the pureed cottage cheese on top and then sprinkle the cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 30-40 mins (until fully heated and crispy on top)
Recipe Notes
- If you don't have passata then you can substitute it with canned chopped/crushed tomatoes.
- Use homemade/low sodium stock if serving to baby / young children to reduce sodium levels.
Liga says
I have made this lots of times we love it so much. Thank you
Amy says
I’m so glad you love this, thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Elaine says
Could you replace lentils with quinoa??
Amy says
Hi Elaine, without trying I can’t say, sorry. I’m not convinced that quinoa would work well though.