Quick Lentil Goulash with Spaetzle

written by Isa

The Christmas season is supposed to be cozy, harmonious, and relaxed, but there's just sooo much to prepare – how are you supposed to stay calm? Don't worry, like every year, we're here to help make sure at least the food tastes great without tons of effort! This year, we're bringing you – drumroll, please – the Lazy Christmas Pasta Edition!

Pasta for Christmas? Have We Lost Our Minds?

Honestly? Maybe a little. When we set out to develop a Christmas pasta recipe, we quickly realized it wasn't that easy. Pasta and Christmas – those two are really hard to bring together. So we tested, scrapped ideas, tested again, until we were happy with the result! What we came up with: A hearty lentil goulash with spätzle and red cabbage – on the table in 30 minutes, without spending all day in the kitchen.

Red Cabbage Is Non-Negotiable for Us

Red cabbage is THE Christmas vegetable for us. Without it, something would just be missing. That's why it was clear from the start: It had to be part of this dish. We're simply using fresh red cabbage here, turning it into a small side salad with apple and onion. It brings some freshness to the plate.

Can You Leave Out the Red Wine?

Yes! If you don't want to use alcohol or simply don't have vegan red wine on hand, you can use a splash of red grape juice and a bit of soy sauce instead. That gives the goulash a similar depth.

More Relaxed Christmas Recipes:

If you're looking for more uncomplicated Christmas dishes, check out our other Lazy Christmas Dinner recipes. We already had loaded tater tots with jackfruit or a vegan puff pastry wreath filled with potato dumplings.

So relax, leave the Christmas stress outside, and cook yourself this quick, delicious, and somehow still festive pasta dish. You'll see: Christmas can work with spätzle and gravy too. And if things don't need to be quite so quick at Christmas, we also have classic goulash recipes that take a bit more time as our vegan yeast dumplings with Szegedin Goulash.

Quick Lentil Goulash with Spätzle

4 servings

30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Lentil goulash:

1 onion
1 garlic clove
3 carrots
50 (1.75 oz / 0.5 stick) vegan butter
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp wheat flour (type 405)
100 ml (0.5 cup) vegan red wine
450 ml (2 cups) vegetable broth
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
9.25 oz (drained weight) pre-cooked canned brown lentils
200 g (7 oz / 1.5 cups) frozen peas
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt
pepper

For the Red Cabbage Salad:

400 g (14 oz / 3.5 cups) red cabbage
1 apple
1 onion
2 tbsp jam (e.g., apricot)
2 tbsp olive oil
1–2 tbsp water
salt
pepper

Also:

500 g (17.5 oz) vegan spaetzle

Instructions

Finely dice onion and garlic, and slice carrots.
Heat vegan butter in a large pot and sauté onion together with carrots for approx. 5 minutes. Once onions are translucent, add garlic, tomato paste, and mustard, and sauté until tomato paste turns brown. Then add flour and mix well.
Deglaze with red wine and vegetable broth, and bring to a brief boil. Add bay leaves and cloves. Let simmer with a lid on for 5 minutes. At the end, add frozen peas and lentils, and warm through for 2–3 minutes. Season with soy sauce, salt, and pepper to taste.
Prepare vegan spätzle according to package instructions.
Cut red cabbage into thin strips, dice apple and onion. For the dressing, whisk together jam, olive oil, and a bit of water, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients well with the dressing.
Remove bay leaves and cloves from goulash, tas
te again, and serve with vegan spaetzle and red cabbage salad.