Zucchini Spaghetti with Lentil Marinara

Recipe By Cindy Anschutz Barbieri
Rating
Published Jun 8th
Prep 30m Cook 1h Additional - Ready In 1h 30m
Servings 6 servings Calories 144.5

I just love lentils and marinara so it was a quick decision to marry the two of them in this zucchini dish! I love to drizzle my dish with a little extra virgin olive oil then sprinkle some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Recipe Ingredients

  • 2 zucchini, spiralized, or more to taste
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup dry lentils
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • ¼ cup onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
  • 1 carrot, chopped, or more to taste
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried parsley
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Directions

  1. 1 Place zucchini in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
  2. 2 Bring lentils to a boil in a pot of 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and reduce heat; simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
  3. 3 Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 clove garlic and carrots. Cook for 1 minute. Pour in crushed tomatoes and bring marinara sauce to a rapid simmer, about 2 minutes. Press tomato paste against the sides of the pan using the back of a spoon.
  4. 4 Stir 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 clove garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, and red pepper flakes into the marinara. Reduce to a simmer; cover and cook until flavors meld, about 20 minutes. Pour in lentils; simmer until lentils have absorbed the marinara, about 10 minutes.
  5. 5 Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the zucchini noodles and the remaining 1 clove garlic. Seasoning with salt and pepper, cook until noodles are coated, 5 to 7 minutes.
  6. 6 Serve noodles on plates with a ladleful of lentil marinara and a topping of Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Facts

  • Calories 144.5
  • Carbohydrate 11.7 g
  • Cholesterol 2.9 mg
  • Fat 10.3 g
  • Fiber 2.9 g
  • Protein 3.8 g
  • Saturated Fat 1.9 g
  • Sodium 699.1 mg
  • Sugar 6.3 g

Chef's Notes

Before using the lentils pour into a colander and rinse then go through them with your hands to pick out any bad lentils; Cut zucchini into noodles/ribbons/spirals using a spiralizer (fitted with the large shredding blade).

Reviews

  1. Buckwheat Queen Oct 27, 2017 08:06 PM
    This was quite good. I may reduce the tomato paste next time or add a bit of red wine as it was a bit thick. I served it over spaghetti squash instead of zucchini. Thank you for the recipe.
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