I Love Valerie Bertinelli’s Favorite No-Cook Meal

Back in July, I interviewed cookbook author, actor and The Drew Barrymore Show regular Valerie Bertinelli. And genuinely, I still think about our chat in the best way. To put it simply, we were just two lovers of food talking about her favorite easy dishes and our shared love for Trader Joe’s.

Speaking of the latter, when I asked Bertinelli for her go-to pantry staples that she uses to make quick meals, one of her favorite dishes came to mind. You only need 4 ingredients to recreate this meal—all of which are available at Trader Joe’s.

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“If you really don’t feel like cooking at all, get the Trader Joe’s lentils and the Trader Joe’s bruschetta mix,” she told me. “This is stuff you can make on your own, but if you don’t feel like cooking, you mix both of those together with some of their feta cheese or some of their marinated mozzarella, which is also really good. And then I’ll just rip up some basil from my garden and mix that up and that actually lasts in my fridge for three or four days, and the flavor is so good.” 

I was so grateful for the step-by-step that Bertinelli gave me in our conversation. And fall is my favorite time of the year for a warm base of beans or lentils to keep me full and satisfied, so remembering this interview, I recently went to Trader Joe’s to pick up the above ingredients. 

After grabbing steamed lentils, bruschetta mix and marinated mozzarella (naturally I went that route being an Italian-American), I headed home from TJ’s and whipped up this meal ASAP. Side note: if you don’t have fresh basil on hand, Trader Joe’s sells fresh basil plants that have actually held up for months in my house. 

When Bertinelli said that this lunch or dinner was “super-easy stuff to put together and takes five minutes,” I admittedly thought it was a bit of an exaggeration—until I tried it for the first time. The lentils can be eaten warm or cold depending on your preference, but either way, they take just minutes to heat up as they’re pre-cooked. The rest of the ingredients just need to be added to your dish. 

As a taste test, I added about ½ cup lentils, 2 marinated mozzarella balls (eating a couple more as I prepared this meal, if we’re being honest), a couple of small basil leaves and about ⅓ cup of bruschetta mix to my bowl. Admittedly, I eyeballed everything—I recommend you follow suit depending on your own preferences. 

The mozzarella paired with tomatoes and basil is a known marriage, but adding a base of lentils instead of pasta is genius. The flavor is still herbaceous, cheesy and tasty while adding a bit more nutrients. Lentils are high in fiber (these lentils have 6 grams per ½ cup serving) meaning they’re great for your gut health and healthy digestion. Plus, they’re high in protein (TJ’s lentils have 10 grams per ½ cup serving) so the fiber-protein combination is bound to keep you satisfied for longer. 

I have tried this recipe with TJ’s uncooked lentils, and it tasted just as delicious. It’s not as quick as the pre-cooked variety, but they’re equally comforting and include the same nutrients. I added a bit of salt, pepper and garlic while cooking the dry lentils as they are not seasoned like the cooked variety.

Overall, highly recommend Bertinelli’s no-cook dinner as I did with her easy vinaigrette recipe. I think I have to continue this series on making every Bertinelli recipe I can get my hands on, because the star’s dishes have yet to disappoint.