If spaghetti is part of a “diet”, then I’m in! This has a mix of roasted eggplant, zucchini, and baby bella mushrooms mixed with split red lentils in an oil free marinara sauce topping brown rice spaghetti. It was filling and a spin on one of those staple meals that you miss if you don’t have for a while. The roasted vegetables gave this texture and heartiness, and the lentils created a “bolognese” quality to the sauce. I also roasted double the amount of diced veggies I needed because tonight we’re having pizzas, so the veggies are already done! Twofer!

Red Lentil and Roasted Veggie Pasta

1/2 cup split red lentils, dry

1 lb Organic Brown Rice Spaghetti, TJ’s

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/2 eggplant, diced

2 zucchini, quartered and sliced

1/2 carton baby bella mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced

1 jar Organic Spaghetti Sauce with Mushrooms, no oil from TJ’s

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

vegan parm to sprinkle

1. Preheat oven on 400* and cube eggplant. Lay it out on paper towels and sprinkle with salt and let it excrete it’s bitterness, about 20 minutes.
2. Use a paper towel to press out the water that came from the eggplant and then add the eggplant, mushrooms, and zucchini to a parchment lined baking sheet. I did use a really light spray of olive oil and sprinkle with spices. Roast for 30ish minutes until tender.
3. In a large saucepan, add diced onion and lentils and cover with water. Boil until they’re soft, about 10 minutes.
4. Add sauce to lentil mixture and combine.
5. Cook pasta, my pasta water got so starchy that I had to dump the water out and add clean water so it would absorb and cook.
6. Combine roasted veggies to the marina mix and then top your pasta with the amount you’d like and a sprinkle of vegan parm.