If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, then you know how much I love lentils. They’re cheap, easy to cook, and are a blank slate for flavor. This week I decided to take one of my favorite spice combos and add it to some lentils. Warm cumin, garlic, and ginger pair with the subtle sweetness of ginger, cinnamon, and carrots to create a complex flavor that is simply out of this world. Spoon these saucy spiced lentils over something starchy like polenta, rice, or mashed sweet potatoes and you’ll be in lentil heaven.
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Spiced but not Spicy
These lentils are seasoned with a slew of warm, sweet, and savory spices, but they are not hot or spicy. I did add a ¼ tsp crushed red pepper to the mix which gives the back end just a slight kick, but I still wouldn’t consider it spicy by any means. If you do happen to be sensitive to spicy flavors, you can reduce or eliminate the crushed red pepper.
What Kind of Lentils to Use
This recipe is designed for brown or green lentils (not French green lentils, which take much longer to cook). This type of lentil cooks in about 20-30 minutes of simmering, does not require soaking, and they hold their shape when softened. I do not recommend red, orange, or yellow lentils for this recipe because they break down quickly when cooked and will leave you with something more like a mush or porridge.
How to Serve Spiced Lentils
You can serve these lentils in a bowl on their own with some crusty bread for dipping, or spoon them over just about any type of starch. I served mine over a cornmeal mush (like polenta or grits), but you could also serve them over rice, mashed white potatoes or sweet potatoes, farro, or any other grain that you might like.
Meal Prep It!
I think these spiced lentils would make a fabulous vegetarian or vegan meal prep. They’ll keep well in the fridge for four to five days and should reheat quickly in the microwave. They’ll also freeze well, so you can stock a few extra portions in your freezer!
Spiced Lentils with Carrots
Servings 4 about 1.25 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger ($0.10)
- 4 carrots (about 2 cups chopped) ($0.56)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp allspice ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1 cup brown lentils ($0.67)
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.15)
- 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots or raisins* ($0.75)
- 3 cups vegetable broth ($0.40)
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional) ($0.10)
Instructions
- Dice the onion, mince the garlic, grate the ginger, and peel and dice the carrots.
- Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and olive oil to a deep skillet. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about five minutes).
- Add the diced carrots, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, and crushed red pepper to the skillet. Continue to sauté for about two minutes more.
- Next, add the uncooked lentils, tomato paste, raisins or chopped apricots, and broth to the skillet. Stir until the tomato paste has dissolved into the broth. Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat up to high.
- Allow the broth to come to a full boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the lentils simmer in the broth with the lid on for 30 minutes, stirring only occasionally.
- After 30 minutes the lentils and carrots should be very tender. Give the lentils a taste and add salt or pepper if needed (this will depend on the salt content of your broth, I did not add any).
- Serve the spiced lentils with crusty bread for dipping, or over a bed of polenta or mashed potatoes. Top with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Spiced Lentils with Carrots – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion, mince four cloves of garlic, grate about one teaspoon fresh ginger, and peel and dice four carrots. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a deep skillet along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add the chopped carrots to the skillet along with 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp allspice, and ¼ tsp crushed red pepper. Continue to sauté for about two minutes more.
Add one cup uncooked brown lentils, 3 Tbsp tomato paste, and 3 cups vegetable broth to the skillet.
Also, add ¼ cup chopped dried apricots or raisins to the skillet. If using dried apricots, chop them to about the same size as raisins.
Stir everything together until the tomato paste is mixed into the broth. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to high, and let the broth come up to a full boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the lentils continue to simmer, with the lid in place, for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
After 30 minutes the lentils and carrots should be tender. Give them a taste and add salt if needed. I did not add any, but depending on the salt content of your broth, you may need a bit to make the flavors pop.
Serve the spiced lentils with crusty bread for dipping or over a bed of polenta or mashed potatoes. Top with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Hello Beth! I love what you love:)
I am planning on making this recipe today 10/9/24. My grands like soup. I have one picky eater, so, I would like to know would you consider this dish a soup? Or is it more thick. I suppose I could add more broth to make it a soup. Also, do you think it is too spicy for kids? Thanks!
It’s definitely thick, so you’d need to add quite a bit of broth to make it soupy, if that’s what you’re going for. This one isn’t spicy! If you think the red pepper flakes would be too much (its barely detectible) you can omit that. :)
Would have given it five star but next time I’ll omit cinnamon. Skipped adding the dried fruit. I tweaked it adding barley, basmati rice, and curry powder. I added a large can of fire roasted tomatoes. Very tasty and will make this again! Thank you ☺️
I like the curry and fire roasted tomatoes. I may have to make a small pot for the kiddos so I can keep it on fire:)
Thank you so much for sharing this! I love “sweet” spices (ginger, cinnamon, etc.) so when I saw this recipe I had to try it! One thing that I love about the taste is that the spices tone down the dankness of the beans. I like to eat vegetarian options, even though I’m not a vegetarian, but sometimes I need a little lightness in my meals. Something that makes me not feel like I’m just eating a can of beans. Something that is “sweet” enough to keep my interest but not so much that it’s like dessert. And when I say “sweet” I don’t mean sweet like candy. Think of if you were to eat a spoonful of lentil and vegetable soup, and while you are chewing someone hands you a warm slice of gingerbread. You take a bite, the flavor of the beans mixed with the warmth of the ginger creates a romantic lounge in your mouth.
Um. Check please! We have to take this party to the house 😄.
The first lentil recipe that my husband loved!! And he is a picky eater! 5 out of 5 stars deliciously!
This was delicious, although a little bit too sweet for me. Next time I’ll use 3 instead of 4 carrots, and reduce the amount of apricots. All in all, a delicious and satisfying dish. I’ll be making it again!
Im adding one new vegan/vegetarian recipe each weekend, i made this last week and just made it again this week. Its so easy i didnt even use the recipe the 2nd time! Just delicious! I used basmati but also ate it plain. Carrots add a sweetness. I cant wait to experiment and see what else i can do with it.
So good! Highly recommended.
Good recipe but my dish was a hit too sweet for my liking and the lentils weren’t quite soft enough. This is likely more a preference than anything but I would add less cinnamon and cook a bit longer by adding a bit of water.
Good to know that it is sweet; what a fabulous way to get hearty lentils and veggies down kids throats! My husband will love the addition of raisins. So creative! Ty
Made per directions except didn’t have tomato paste so I just used cut up tomato. My kids all ate it and it was an enjoyable meal also my first time using lentils.
This is a serious winner of a recipe! Delicious flavors, easy prep, budget friendly, it checks all the boxes for me! My husband said this is the only lentil recipe that I’ve ever made that he actually likes. I served it with Jasmine rice. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Soooo delicious! A sweeter, Indian slant. Definitely going to be a staple.. I already transcribed the recipe into my notebook.
Wow this was delightful. I wanted a healthier lunch with lentils and I just happened to have most of the ingredients. I couldn’t find the allspice so I used nutmeg instead. I ate it with some toasted whole wheat bread. So yummy!! Thank you for sharing.
10/10
I made this yesterday for dinner. It was very easy & very delicious! I just ate it straight up without potatoes or polenta. I really loved the complex flavors. I used Better than Bullion vegetable base. I put the base & the tomato paste in a measuring cup together & slowly added the boiling water, stirring to combine, before adding it to the pot. I added an extra 1 cup of water & cooked it about 10 minutes longer to soften the lentils to my own preference.
Oh my goodness! Delicious! The only thing different is I added spinach. Bravo!👏
I’m sure this will become another staple for me – this was very filling and satisfying even though it was meatless. I paired it with some long-grain white rice, which worked perfectly for me, since I adore white rice. As someone who never grew up eating rice or lentils, I can’t believe I’ve been missing out for so long.
I do wish there was some more heat to the dish, but I realize that’s my spice-addicted personality talking. I’m still giving 5 stars since that’s a ‘Meg’ thing.
For anyone wondering about the flavor, I’d call it…warm? It doesn’t have heat, but it still feels nourishing. It’s not sweet at all, which was something I was worried about since my preference leans towards salty/savory/spicy. Your kitchen is going to smell great while this cooks.
Your recipes have been saving my life with how delicious and economical they are. Thank you 💜