I’m already declaring THIS my favorite recipe of the winter of 2018/2019, and we haven’t even gotten to winter yet! That’s just how excited I am about this Lentil Stew. I’ve made it twice in a row and am not even tired of it yet. I’ve even eaten it twice for breakfast. My want for this hearty lentil stew knows no boundaries.
I had been craving beef stew but felt like I’d been eating a bit more meat than usual lately, so I decided to try to craft something just as rich, hearty, and flavorful, without meat. I modeled this Vegan Winter Lentil Stew recipe after my Slow Cooker Beef Stew, but I made a few substitutions to make it 100% plant-based. The medley of vegetables and herbs creates a thick, flavorful, and comforting stew that is just begging for some crusty bread to sop it all up. I served mine with a batch of No-Knead Bread and was in heaven.
Ingredients for Lentil Stew
- Aromatics: Any good stew will start with aromatics for a nice deep flavor. I used onion and garlic (four cloves, but you can measure with your heart!).
- Vegetables: A medley of vegetables adds flavor, color, and texture to this hearty stew. I used carrots, celery, potatoes, and green peas, but you could also try other vegetables like mushrooms, parsnips, or turnips.
- Lentils: Lentils are what make this stew so thick and hearty. They provide a ton of fiber and other nutrients, yet are super budget-friendly! We used green or brown lentils (not French green lentils), which cook quickly, in about 20 minutes, with no soaking needed.
- Broth: The liquid base for this stew is vegetable broth, which provides tons of complex flavor and an appealing stew-like brown color. The type of broth used will definitely impact the flavor of your stew, so I suggest using Better Than Bouillon.
- Seasoning: To flavor the stew even further we add dried rosemary, dried thyme, a little Dijon mustard for some zing, soy sauce for umami, and a little brown sugar to add a sweetness similar to what you’d find in Worcestershire sauce.
What to Serve with Lentil Stew
This hearty lentil stew is truly a complete meal in a bowl that is packed with nutrients. I wouldn’t typically serve a side dish with lentil stew, except maybe some bread for sopping up all that delicious gravy. Try our no-knead bread, garlic bread, beer bread, or drop biscuits.
How to Store and Reheat Lentil Stew
This stew will stay good in the refrigerator for up to five days. To reheat, simply microwave until hot or place in a saucepot and heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until heated through.
To freeze this stew, I suggest dividing it into single portions, cooling it completely in the refrigerator overnight, and then transferring it to the freezer. And don’t forget, always label and date your freezer food! The stew will stay good in the freezer for about three months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before heating, or use the defrost function on a microwave.
Vegan Lentil Stew
Servings 8 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 4 carrots (about 1/2 lb.) ($0.45)
- 4 stalks celery ($0.75)
- 2 lbs potatoes ($0.70)
- 1 cup brown lentils ($0.49)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.09)
- 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.09)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.04)
- 6 cups vegetable broth ($0.78)
- 1 cup frozen peas ($0.38)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the olive oil, onion, and garlic to a large soup pot and begin to sauté over medium heat.
- While the onion and garlic are sautéing, dice the celery, then add it to the pot and continue to sauté. As the celery, onion, and garlic are sautéing, peel and chop the carrots into half rounds. Add the carrots to the pot and continue to sauté.
- As the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots are sautéing, peel and cube the potatoes into 3/4 to 1-inch pieces. Add the cubed potatoes to the pot along with the lentils, rosemary, thyme, Dijon, soy sauce, brown sugar, and vegetable broth.
- Briefly stir the ingredients to combine, then place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and bring the stew up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Toward the end of the simmer time, when the potatoes are very soft, begin to mash the potatoes a bit as you stir. This will help thicken the stew.
- Finally, after 30 minutes, stir in the frozen peas and allow them to heat through. Taste the stew and add salt if needed (this will depend on the salt content of your broth, I did not add any extra). Serve hot and enjoy!
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Vegan Lentil Stew – Step by Step Photos
Begin by dicing one yellow onion and mincing four cloves of garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and 2 Tbsp olive oil to a large soup pot. Sauté over medium heat.
While the onion and garlic are sautéing, dice or slice 4 stalks celery (depending on how chunky you want your stew). Add the celery to the pot and continue to sauté. Peel and chop four carrots into half-rounds, add them to the pot, and continue to sauté.
While the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic are sautéing, peel and cube 2 lbs. potatoes into 3/4 to 1-inch cubes. Add the potatoes to the pot along with 1 cup brown lentils, 1 tsp dried rosemary, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp brown sugar.
Finally, add 6 cups vegetable broth to the pot and give everything a brief stir. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to high, and bring it up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer for 3o minutes, stirring occasionally.
Toward the end of the simmer time, when the potatoes are very soft, begin to mash them a bit against the side of the pot as you stir. This will thicken the stew. After 30 minutes, add 1 cup frozen peas, and allow them to heat through. Finally, taste the stew and add salt if needed (I did not add any salt because the broth I used had enough).
Enjoy your Vegan Lentil Stew with a big chunk of crusty bread to sop up all that richness!
This is excellent! I made it as is and put a splash of red wine vinegar on my bowl full before eating. I pared this with some fresh baked Jalapeño and Cheddar bread. A great meal followed by a nap – what a perfect Sunday! Many thanks.
Could this be made with red lentils?
Swapping red lentils will change both the texture and flavor of the stew. Technically you can, it will just turn out differently. :)
Was delicious! I left out the celery because I don’t like celery instead I added one more carrot and some more peas
I have made this several times and really love it! Great flavor, meatless and a good tasty source of protein. I have to say though, that saying it takes 10 minutes to make is a big stretch unless you have everything prepped ahead of time like in a cooking show! There is a lot of cleaning of vegetables, peeling and chopping. I would say it’s much closer to 30 minutes of prep. Despite that, it’s definitely worth making!!
Loved this soup! I made it as is. Thanks for a great recipe!
Huge fan of this recipe. I’ve made this several times- my go to favorite easy filling soup.
Ohmigosh…..this recipe is wonderful. I added kale. I think this recipe will become a staple in our house. My husband really enjoyed the stew.
Where do you get brown lentils. The ones I see in the store look green. Are they the same thing?
They might be the same thing. Unfortunately there is no real consistency in the way these are labeled. What I’m calling “brown” is kind of a drab brown-green color. I call them brown to differentiate from French green lentils, which take twice as long to cook. To make sure you have the right lentils, check the cooking instructions on the package. If it says to simmer or boil for about 20 minutes, those are the right lentils. If they say to cook for closer to 45 minutes, those are different and the recipe will need to be adjusted to compensate. I hope that helps!
Great stew. Made it today. Partner and daughter loved it! Thanks for all the great recipes!
Oh this is just fabulous! I would rather eat this than real beef stew! The Rosemary makes it so yummy. Perfect consistency! You should make a soup cookbook! Every soup recipe that I have tried of yours I have loved!
Yum! I’m very impressed with this recipe. It’s reminiscent of beef stew. I added mushrooms which added some “meatiness.” I also cut the recipe in half to get 4 servings – appreciated the automatic calculations. Def will make again, thanks! :)
So wonderfully delicious, filling, and wholesome. I made it last week and I’m going to make it again today. I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth for a richer flavor, but either way it is the best thing the eat on a cold winter’s day.
thank you so much this site is helpful Thank.you for you hard wok
This was delicious. It was more like a soup than a stew.
Very flavourful. I made it in the IP. I sautéed all veggies and then added the remaining ingredients except the peas. Cooked for 15 minutes and then released pressure. Added peas and let sit for 5 minutes.
I’ve never left a recipe review before, but I’ll make an exception for this masterpiece! This is, without a doubt, one of the nicest foods I’ve ever eaten. I’m an exceptionally slow cook, so despite this taking me a little while because I chop vegetables about as quickly as a baby, it was entirely worth it! Will definitely be my cosy go to!