Ever since I added coconut milk to my ramen broth, I haven’t been able to stop adding coconut milk to all of my savory saucy and brothy dishes. The creaminess of the coconut milk is unmatched, and pairs particularly well with the flavor of mushrooms. So I did it again this week with these Lentils with Creamy Mushroom Gravy, which make a great easy weeknight dinner that you can eat almost like a stew with some crusty bread for dipping, or spoon it over a big bowl of mashed potatoes or rice. It’s hearty, creamy, and just right for cold winter nights!
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Garnished with chopped parsley, for color.
What Kind of Lentils Should I Use?
I suggest using brown lentils for this recipe, which are quick-cooking (only requiring 20 minutes of simmering) and hold their shape. These lentils look kind of greenish-brown when dry and are sometimes labeled green lentils (not to be confused with French green lentils). If you’re unsure if you have the right kind of lentil, check the cooking instructions on the package. If they say to simmer for about 20 minutes, you’ve got the right kind of lentil.
Red or yellow lentils will break down and create more of a split pea soup textured dish, so I don’t suggest using them for this recipe.
What Kind of Mushrooms Should I use?
I used baby bella mushrooms because they’ve been available for a great price at Aldi lately, but white button mushrooms will work perfectly well and are often less expensive.
Meal Prep It!
These Lentils with Creamy Mushroom Gravy make a great winter meal prep. They hold up perfectly in the refrigerator (for about four days) and also freeze well. You could freeze them right in the same container as your mashed potatoes or rice!
How to Serve Lentils with Creamy Mushroom Gravy
As mentioned in the introduction, you can serve these creamy lentils as is with some bread for dipping, or spoon them over a bowl of mashed potatoes, rice, or even pasta!
Lentils with Creamy Mushroom Gravy
Servings 4 About 1 cup eachIngredients
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 8 oz. mushrooms ($1.69)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 cup brown lentils ($0.50)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 3/4 tsp rubbed (dried) sage ($0.07)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
- 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.26)
- 1 13.5oz. can coconut milk ($1.99)
- salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp) ($0.02)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and slice the mushrooms. Add the olive oil and garlic to a large skillet and sauté for about one minute. Add the sliced mushrooms and continue to sauté until the mushrooms have released all their moisture and begin to brown.
- Add the lentils, sage, thyme, freshly cracked pepper, and vegetable broth to the skillet with the mushrooms. Stir to combine. Place a lid on the skillet, let the broth come up to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the lentils simmer for 20 minutes (with lid), stirring occasionally.
- After simmering for 20 minutes, the lentils should be tender and most of the broth absorbed. Add the coconut milk, stir to combine, turn the heat back up to medium, and let the lentils simmer for about five more minutes (without lid), or until the mixture in the skillet has thickened to a gravy.
- Once the mixture has thickened, turn the heat off. Taste the mixture and add salt to your liking. I added about 1/2 tsp. The salt will help the herbal flavors pop and reduce the sweetness of the coconut milk.
- Serve hot with crusty bread for dipping or over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
Shown with Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes and garnished with parsley for color.
How to Make Lentils with Creamy Mushroom Gravy – Step by Step Photos
Start by mincing two cloves of garlic and slicing 8 oz. mushrooms.
Add the minced garlic to a large skillet with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the garlic for about one minute, then add the sliced mushrooms.
Continue to sauté the mushrooms until all of their moisture evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown.
Add 1 cup brown lentils, ½ tsp dried thyme, ¾ tsp rubbed sage, some freshly cracked black pepper, and 2 cups vegetable broth to the skillet. Stir to combine, then place a lid on the skillet and allow the broth to come up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the lentils simmer for 20 minutes (with lid), stirring occasionally.
After simmering for 20 minutes, the lentils should be tender and most of the broth absorbed. Add a 13.5 oz. can coconut milk and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium and let the mixture simmer for about five more minutes.
The mixture will thicken a bit more as it simmers and form a rich gravy. Once it has thickened slightly, turn off the heat. Give the lentils a taste and season with salt to your liking. I added about ½ tsp. Adding enough salt will help the flavors of the herbs pop and it will reduce the sweetness of the coconut milk.
You can serve the creamy mushroom lentils as-is with some bread for dipping…
Or spoon them over something starchy, like a big bowl of mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta! 🤤
We made this recipe today for the second time. I added some shredded carrots I had in the fridge and a few drops of tabasco. I served it over the cheesy cauliflower grits from the Cauliflower grits and spicy shrimp recipe. It’s one of our new favorites!
So for my New Years resolution I’m tackling Meatless Mondays. This was my first Monday to try a new dish. This recipe is DELICIOUS. I put mine over mashed potatoes but now I’m dreaming of making it over polenta. Definitely adding to my new meatless recipe rotation. I didn’t change anything on this recipe except halve it and everything came out great!!!!!!
Tried this today and it’s soooooo gooood. I had to let the liquid reduce for another 5 minutes but I got the consistency just right. I also added a lot more mushrooms since I had a Costco sized box. Served over some rice. Will definitely come back to this recipe in the future.
The weather turned cold this week, and I was craving something hearty for lunch. I had a package of mixed, fresh mushrooms in my fridge from the local Asian Pacific Market that I used. I found that I used a whole container of chicken broth (no vegetable broth in my pantry today) in order to cook the lentils down completely. I hesitated when it came time to put in the coconut milk because the lentils and mushrooms tasted SO GOOD without it. The addition of the coconut milk adds some sweetness to the dish and turns it into the gravy consistency (with the help of a tablespoon of Wondra flour since my coconut milk was lite instead of full fat).
This dish is hearty, healthy, and so tasty. I will absolutely make this again.
Amazing! My husband who thinks it’s not a meal without meat really liked it. We froze half and ate it a few weeks later and it held up great.
I also had the problem of this being more like a mushroom and lentil soup after adding the coconut milk. If I make this again, I think I’m just going to make a roux with flour and butter, like I usually do with mushroom gravy. Was tasty, though.
Just made this today and it is definitely a make again meal!
If I have an allergy to coconut milk, what other type of milk could I use to give the same/similar taste/consistency?
I don’t know of another vegan option because you need something really high fat, but if you’re not concerned about it being vegan you can use heavy cream.
Would soy or nut milk work?
I don’t think those would be quite creamy enough to give the same effect. The coconut milk (the kind in the can, not the kind used as a dairy milk substitute) is very high fat and produces a super creamy gravy.
What about something like peanut butter or cashew butter? There are some African stews that use peanut butter and get a great creamy consistency.
Julian, I don’t know about using it in this recipe, but try Beth’s Vegan Peanut Stew. Amazing!
I would suggest homemade cashew cream. Since it’s not filtered like nut milks are it should have enough body to make the dish creamy.
Such simple ingredients, but so good! I used lite coconut milk (it’s all I had) and thickened the broth with a little cornstarch. Served over spaetzle noodles. Very, very good!!
This was so tasty and a real hit even with my carnivore husband. I used tinned lentils and also included a bit of smoked tofu, it turned out absolutely delicious. Served with mashed potato.
Wow this is amazing! As a vegetarian I really appreciated it. The taste and the texture of the gravy is great. Thanks from Turkey! :)
I made this with some hulled purple barley that I had in hand, instead of the lentils. I added a cup of broth and increased the cook time to 40 minutes to properly cook the barley. This is an amazing recipe that I will definitely make again!
My store didn’t have brown lentils so I had to sub for more yellowish ones that took 45 mins to cook! I simmered those for about 20 mins in the 2 cups of veggie broth before adding them to another ready pan with the sautéed garlic/mushrooms and added about another cup of broth for moisture and then continued the recipe as normal so the lentils did cook for the full 45 mins. It came out delicious!! I served it over mashed garlic potatoes with some toasted sprouted bread. I made this for myself since my fiancé is a picky eater so I’ll have plenty of the gravy left for the rest of the week :)
This recipe is incredible! My 10-year old stepson that doesn’t like lentils, doesn’t like mushrooms, and doesn’t like rye bread just gobbled up all three together as if they were his favorite things!
SO. SO good! I made this for dinner Sunday night with the olive oil mashed potatoes and ate the left overs for lunch during the week. Adding this to my regular rotation!!