Carrot and Red Lentil Pasta Sauce
I love using carrots in place of tomatoes in pasta sauce! This sauce is savory, smoky, and slightly sweet. Creamy from pureed carrots, hearty from red lentils, and uniquely flavorful from dried herbs and BBQ seasoning. This pasta sauce is quick, easy, and a good way to get some veggies in!
Ingredients
- 9 oz carrots
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons BBQ seasoning spice blend or sub BBQ sauce instead
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper plus more for serving
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup dried red lentils
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves plus more for topping
- ½ teaspoon dried tarragon
- ⅛ teaspoon celery seeds
- 2 tablespoons vegan mayo
Instructions
- Roughly chop the carrots and boil them for 15 minutes.
- Heat a medium sized pot over medium heat. Saute the onion in the olive oil for five minutes. While the onion cooks, blend boiled carrots, water, BBQ seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a blender until smooth. Add the blender contents, red lentils, white wine, herbs, and celery seeds to the pot with the onion. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, then stir in the mayo.
- Serve over pasta. Top each serving with a good dash of black pepper, fresh thyme, and red pepper flakes.