Preconception · Dinner

Lentil & Mushroom Ragu with Tagliatelle

Name: Lentil & Mushroom Ragu with Tagliatelle
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 2 carrots, finely diced; 300 g cremini mushrooms, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 200 g dried green lentils, rinsed; 400 g canned chopped tomatoes; 700 ml vegetable stock; 1 tsp dried oregano; 180 g tagliatelle, dried

A deep, slow-simmered lentil and mushroom ragu that eats like the meat version - freezer-friendly and quietly iron-loaded.

A proper, patient dinner that happens to be entirely plants. While you are trying, a meal like this does quiet double duty - it fits the plant-leaning pattern observational research links with fertility, and it puts one comforting plate in front of both of you without any ceremony.

Lentil & Mushroom Ragu with Tagliatelle - A deep, slow-simmered lentil and mushroom ragu that eats like the meat version

Medium

Vegan IronFiberFolateAntioxidants

Ingredients

for 2 people

2 tbspolive oil
1onion, finely chopped
2carrots, finely diced
300 gcremini mushrooms, finely chopped
3garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsptomato paste
200 gdried green lentils, rinsed
400 gcanned chopped tomatoes
700 mlvegetable stock
1 tspdried oregano
180 gtagliatelle, dried

Open this recipe in the interactive app to scale servings, switch to oz and cups, and tick ingredients off as you cook.

Per serving (approx.): 560 calories · 24 g protein · 80 g carbs · 16 g fat · 14 g fiber

Method

Base. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the chopped onion and diced carrots for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and the carrots have lost their raw crunch.
Mushrooms. Add the chopped cremini mushrooms and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they release their water, the pan goes dry again, and the mushrooms catch some real brown color.
Simmer. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and oregano for 1 minute, until the paste darkens. Add the rinsed lentils, canned tomatoes and stock, then simmer uncovered over low heat for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the sauce is thick.
Pasta. Near the end, cook the tagliatelle in a large pot of boiling water for the time on its package, until just tender with a slight bite. Scoop out a mugful of the cooking water before you drain it.
Toss. Tip the drained tagliatelle into the ragu and toss over low heat for a minute, adding splashes of the reserved cooking water until the sauce clings to the strands rather than sitting in a puddle beneath them.

Worth knowingLentils plus mushrooms build the savory depth people miss in meatless ragu - and the iron count beats the beef version's price.

Is this safe when trying to conceive?

Yes - everything is cooked through, and nothing here carries a caution for either partner while trying to conceive. It is worth noting what is absent: traditional ragu often includes wine, and this one skips it, which lines up with NHS advice not to drink when trying - heavy alcohol is among the few exposures with solid evidence of impairing semen quality, reversibly, over roughly a three-month sperm-production cycle.

Substitutions & allergens

Button or portobello mushrooms work in place of chestnut - cook them until their water is fully gone.
Brown lentils swap for green directly; red lentils dissolve, so save them for soup.
Any ribbon or short pasta works, gluten-free included.
Thyme or rosemary can stand in for the oregano.

Storage & reheating

The ragu refrigerates for up to 48 hours - cool it and chill within 1-2 hours - and reheats once, until steaming hot throughout, per FSA chilling guidance. It freezes well if bagged on the day of cooking; defrost in the fridge and use within 24 hours. Freeze the sauce alone and cook the tagliatelle fresh each time - pasta does not survive the freezer well.

Checked against the public guidance we follow - see our sources & editorial standards.