Red Lentil Lasagne is what you make when you want to please the whole family. Packed with vegetables, lentils and a creamy cheese topping, this comforting and filling meal is so more-ish!
Why You'll Love This Lentil Lasagne
- KID-FRIENDLY: Lasagne is often found on kids' menus (along with the other crowd-pleasers such as chicken nuggets, fish fingers, pizza etc). Although this is not a traditional meat lasagne I'm sure it will be just as loved.
- BABY / TODDLER FRIENDLY: Babies and young children love the soft texture of this lasagne and find it easy to eat. Use homemade stock if making for under 1s, to reduce sodium levels.
- MAKE AHEAD: Assemble and then store for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Alternatively, freeze and bake when needed. Perfect for busy weekday dinners.
Ingredient Information and Alternative Suggestions.
- FLAVOUR BASE: Onion, celery, carrot, garlic, bell pepper and bay leaf.
- RED SPLIT LENTILS: I haven't tested this recipe with a different lentil variety. Other varieties should work but the cooking time may be longer.
- TOMATO PASTE: Or tomato puree as it is known in the UK.
- 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 receive 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.
- STOCK: Chicken or vegetable stock works great. If making for under 1s then you are best to use homemade or very low sodium stock to keep the sodium levels down
- LASAGNE SHEETS: I used lasagne sheets that require no pre-cooking.
- COTTAGE CHEESE: If you prefer you can replace with ricotta or bechamel sauce.
- GRATED CHEDDAR: Any good melting cheese will work. I like to use a mature cheddar as I feel you need less.
Making the Lentil Filling
- SAUTE onion, carrot, celery and garlic in olive oil. Cook until golden brown to releases all the flavours from the vegetables, resulting in a rich flavour base.
- ADD BELL PEPPER and continue to saute, the bell pepper adds further flavour and sweetness.
- ADD LENTILS, PASSATA, TOMATO PASTE, BAY LEAF and STOCK and stir to combine.
- SIMMER until soft and reduced. Keep an eye on the mixture and frequently stir, adding more stock as needed.
FUSSY EATING TIP: 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.
MEAL PREP TIP: Double the lentil part of the recipe, freeze the extra and use it to top pasta or in a lentil pie .
Making the Cheese Topping
Simply blend cottage cheese until smooth. I used a food processor to do this but you could alternatively use a blender or stick (immersion) blender.
Assembling the Lasagne
- 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.
- Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.
Watch How To Make Lentil Lasagne
Serving Suggeestions
This vegetarian lasagna is delicious on its own, but it also pairs well with all sorts of healthy side dishes. Try serving it with a side salad or some roasted or sauteed vegetables, like this sautéed broccolini.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
This keeps well in both the refrigerator and freezer. Assemble but do not bake, allow to cool before covering, then refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Either defrost in the refrigerator overnight or cook from frozen (increase cooking time to around 1 hour, cover with foil and remove in the last 15 mins)
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Red Lentil Lasagne
Equipment
- Food Processor / Blender
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Celery Stalk (finely chopped)
- 1 Onion (brown, white or red) (finely chopped)
- 2 Carrots (finely chopped)
- 1 Red Bell Pepper (Capsicum) (finely chopped)
- 2 Garlic Cloves (minced)
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 180g (1 cup) Red Split Lentils
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste (Puree)
- 500ml (2 cups) Passata *SEE NOTE 1
- 375ml (1½ cups) Vegetable or Chicken Stock (broth) *SEE NOTE 2
- 6 Lasagne Sheets (approx)
- 300g (1 â…“ Cups) Cottage Cheese (pureed)
- 60g (1 cup) Cheddar, grated
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.
- This keeps well in both the refrigerator and freezer. Assemble but do not bake, allow to cool before covering, then refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.Â
Nutritional facts
*First published 2015. Updated with process shots, ingredient information and a video.
Christina Bird says
We make this recipe regularly and love it! I love how forgiving it is - I even forgot the pasta once, and it was still delicious!
My toddler won't touch soups or purées so we just chop the veg chunky and he's delighted
Amy says
Thanks Christina! So happy you enjoy it 🙂
Steve M says
Excellent recipe they taste was beautiful,
I suspect anyone who made it would love it and you could easily feed it to non-vegetarians fairly confidently thinking they will love it as well. I should add I used green lentils instead of red and it was very tasty that way.
Thanks, Steve
Amy says
Thanks Steve, glad you enjoyed it. I'll give green lentils a try next time 🙂
Chris Challinor says
Simply amazing! So tasty We ate half & froze half and enjoyed on Valentine's Day!
Amy says
Fantastic! So happy you enjoyed it, Chris 🙂
Sarah says
Hi Amy, I love the idea of this recipe but how do you serve to a toddler please? (I have 20month (18month adjusted) triplets!). They can use a spoon but I feel we’ve regressed a little back to chunkier mush, mash, curry’s etc that stick to a spoon, I can’t imagine how they would eat this & struggling how I can move on their eating...maybe I just need a little more patience? (& sleep )
Thank you, Sarah
Amy says
Hi Sarah, the lentil filling is perfect for spoon-feeding. You can chop the pasta sheet up into smaller bites too. I can't imagine how difficult having triplets must be, you are doing a great job! Hopefully, you get more sleep soon 🙂
Leanne says
I loved the idea of this recipe and was really excited to try it however my lentils didnt cook! They are still crunchy. I only used about 1 1/4 cups of stock. Are they meant to fully cook in the fry pan or do they finish off in the oven?
Amy says
Hi Leanne, sorry you didn't have success with the recipe. Did you use red split lentils? Other varieties take longer to cook. Did you cook for 30 mins? If they were still hard then I'd add more stock and cook for longer. You want them to be cooked through before assembling the lasagne.
Leanne says
Hi! Thanks for your reply I only just saw it now. Yes I used red split lentils. I cooked it today for the second time and I used 2 cups of stock and extra water and cooked it for over an hour and even tried with the lid on but the lentils still had a bite to them, definitely not mushy. The veges were just cooked even though I cut them really tiny. I'm so disappointed as I love this recipe and cant figure out why it wont work for me. Any ideas?
Amy says
Hi Leanne, I don't understand why after an hour of cooking why your lentils and veggies wouldn't be soft. You could try blending the lentil sauce, after cooking, to achieve a smoother consistency.
Monica says
I’ve been making this recipe for almost a year now and it’s such an easy way to get veggies into my toddler. I like to sneak in some shredded zucchini just for more veggies! Thank you for such a great recipe!
Amy says
Thanks, Monica! I'm so happy you like it. Extra veg is always good 🙂
Sue says
I'm interested in whether anyone has tried this with green lentils. I'm sure I would have to increase the simmer time to fully cook the lentils and the texture wouldn't be as soft. Any tips other than that?
Amy says
Hi Sue, yes I'd just increase the simmering time to fully cook the lentils. I'm sure it will be delicious 🙂
Jennifer says
Hi, made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. Can I store the leftovers in the refrigerator even though it has already been baked?
Thanks
Amy says
Hi jennifer, yes you can 🙂
Jennifer says
Thank you x
Laurie Forsman says
I have not made this recipe -- yet. I will be making a Christmas lasagne today, adapted of course, since I'm on a special diet. In the U.S we do have what you call "passata", but we call it tomato purée. What you call purée seems to be our tomato paste, which has had most of the water removed. Interesting. I had to look up passata.
Amy says
Hi Laurie, I hope you enjoyed the Lasagne. All the different names for ingredients can get confusing!
Stephanie says
This looks great! I have a batch of your veggie pasta sauce in the freezer. To save time, could I cook the lentils in that with some extra stock?
Amy says
Great idea Stepanie, I think that would work well 🙂