Red Lentil Pasta Primavera
If you’re looking for a fast, healthy, satisfying meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights, my Red Lentil Pasta Primavera is about to become your new go-to.
Made with whole food, plant-based ingredients and packed with vibrant vegetables, this colorful dish comes together in just 15 minutes — no advance prep required.
The red lentil pasta provides a naturally high-protein, gluten-free base, while the sautéed fresh veggies, pine nuts, and microgreens make it feel gourmet enough to serve to guests.
The dish is also oil-free, dairy-free, and completely WFPB, so you can feel great about every bite.
Whether you’re new to plant-based cooking or a seasoned pro, this recipe delivers on taste, nutrition, and simplicity — all in one beautiful bowl.
You'll find the full recipe with step-by-step photos below 👇
😎 Hot Tip 😎
This recipe is also featured in my free ebook, Green Sage Quick Dinners, highlighting my favorite healthy, delicious recipes that come together in 20 minutes or less. Download your free copy here.
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If you missed it, you can watch me make this recipe in my YouTube video.
Click below to watch (the video will open in a new window), and then return here afterward to reference the ingredient quantities and instructions.
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This recipe yields about 4 servings.
Click here to download a printable copy of this recipe.
Ingredients
Note: Feel free to substitute your favorite fresh or frozen vegetables in place of the ones I've listed in the ingredients below. If you're using frozen, just thaw them in the microwave before you begin cooking. You can customize this dish to suit your taste or to use up whatever veggies you happen to have on hand 😀
👉 You'll also find more detailed ingredient explanations below the recipe.
- 2 cups red lentil pasta (measured dry)
- About ½ cup vegetable broth (as needed)
- 1½ cups diced red onion
- 2 cups diced bell pepper
- 2 cups diced broccoli
- 2 cups diced zucchini
- 2 cups diced mushrooms
- Garlic powder to taste
- Dried basil to taste
- Trader Joe's Fermented Black Garlic to taste (optional)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 cups of your favorite jarred tomato sauce
- 4 Tbsp pine nuts (1 Tbsp per serving)
- 4 handfuls of microgreens (1 handful per serving)
Instructions
Set a large saucepan of water on the stove to boil.
While you wait for the water to boil, this would be a great time to chop (and/or thaw) your vegetables.
One the water is boiling, add the red lentil pasta.
Stir the pasta immediately so the pieces won't stick to the pot or to one another.
Set a timer for 8 minutes, just as a reminder to start keeping a close eye on the pasta at that point.
While the pasta cooks, we'll do a vegetable broth sauté of our vegetables.
Begin by putting a thin layer of broth into a large sauté pan. Just enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan.
Turn the heat to medium-high.
Once the vegetable broth begins to simmer lightly, add the red onion.
Stir the onion occasionally until it begins to soften. It will look like this:
Then add the vegetables based on how long they take to cook. Your densest vegetables will go in earlier, followed by the lighter ones.
In this case, the red bell pepper will come next.
Continue stirring occasionally.
As the vegetables cook, you'll notice that the broth starts to evaporate. Occasionally add more broth, just a few Tbsp at a time; just the minimum needed to prevent the vegetables from sticking to the pan.
Next comes the broccoli florets.
Stir these for another minute or two, and then add the lightest veggies, in this case the zucchini and mushrooms.
Continue stirring, cooking, and adding broth as needed, until the vegetables are soft. Turn off the heat when they reach an "al dente" texture, but before the vegetables lose their vibrant color.
Add your seasonings: garlic powder, basil, fermented black garlic (if using), salt and black pepper.
The vegetables are ready to go. You can cover them to keep them warm while you finish up with the pasta.
Taste one piece of the red lentil pasta to see if it's done. You may need to cook it for another few minutes until it reaches your desired consistency.
Then drain away the cooking water through a colander.
Pour about 2 cups of your favorite tomato sauce into the pot you used to cook the pasta. The heat from the pot will help warm the sauce a bit.
Then add the pasta to the sauce as soon as you can. Stir it gently to coat the pasta in the sauce.
Now it's ready to plate and serve.
Spoon the pasta into dinner bowls.
Top each bowl with heaps of sautéed veggies.
Sprinkle pine nuts on top.
And then top each dish with a small handful of microgreens.
That's it! 😀 Now it's ready to serve.
Isn't it pretty?
This may be an easy weeknight meal, but it's also elegant enough to serve to guests!
Enjoy!
Ingredient and Equipment Notes
Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I'll earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my link, at no additional cost to you. Thank you in advance for your support!
Red Lentil Pasta
This has only one ingredient and it's packed with fiber and protein (13 grams per serving).
You can find this in just about any supermarket these days. However, my favorite is Trader Joe's Sedanini, because the thick little pasta tubes hold their texture really nicely while cooking.
Tomato Sauce
If you're looking to keep your oil intake to a minimum, Trader Joe's Organic Low Fat Tomato Basil Marinara is a great choice. Many brands of store-bought tomato sauce contain quite a bit of oil, so it's nice to have this option.
Fermented Black Garlic Granules
Trader Joe's also offers this seasoning in the spice aisle, and if you haven't tried it yet, I consider it an absolute must-have. It's so yummy, adding a soft yet umami-rich subtly roasted garlic flavor to any dish. I love to add it to soups and stews, and to garnish a dish like this.
Microgreens
Microgreens are the young shoots of full-sized vegetable plants, so they contain a staggering amount of nutrition (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) and flavor, but they're concentrated into these pretty little sprouts that work wonders as a garnish. Use them on everything: soups, salads, sandwiches, and of course to top any bowl of food from this pasta dish to your favorite buddha bowl.
Here are some of the tools I used in this video:
- Dinner bowls from East Fork Pottery: I don't earn commission but you save $20 on your first order and it's a very worthy company to support!
- Epicurean cutting boards
- Ceramic non-stick saucepan and sauté pan
- Silicone & stainless steel cooking utensils
- Stainless steel colander
- Mesh strainer
If you see something in my kitchen not listed above and want to know where to get it, please comment below and I'll find you a link if I can!
You can also check out my Amazon Storefront for a pretty complete list of my kitchen equipment recommendations.
