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!
Super yummy and easy to do! Totally my fault, but I accidentally put 1 lb lentils instead of a cup. After wondering why it was low on liquid, I figured where my mistake was! Lol Still turned out wonderful and I can’t wait to make it again the correct way next time! 🤣🤦
Will beef or chicken broth work as a substitute for vegetable broth?
Absolutely.
My partner made this for us this week and it was delicious! Simple to put together and perfectly seasoned. Highly recommend.
Wow, this is so good and so easy! I made it exactly as written and it was a huge hit!
This recipe is SO good. My parents, the best cooks I know, ask me to make this for them at least once a winter. This recipe is perfect as-is, but the most recent time I made it I added a splash of Worcestershire sauce (making it not vegan) and a bay leaf and it brought it to an 11/10. Definitely make this recipe!!
This was so tasty and easy.
For the second timing making it, I did two tins of lentils and swapped the potatoes for a tin of butter beans (we had no potatoes!). Overall this made it a higher protein and lower carb meal, though the potatoes were missed!
I really liked this. It was my first time to try lentils. I guess it goes without saying, but you may need to be cautious of the salt content of your stock along with your soy sauce. Mine was just on the verge of being salty, but I liked it. My wife may have to add some water or something to tone it down though.
Very tasty stuff, have made it before and will make it again. It’s great if you add the right amounts of seasoning. Except for things like salt, when Beth says add a teaspoon of something for instance, use a well-rounded teaspoon. It’s a great rule of thumb and everything comes out very flavorful.
A great, delicious, easy to make recipe that is budget friendly. We always eat veggie, but everyone should have a few inexpensive, healthy meals in their wheel house so thanks so much for this!
Can this be made in the crockpot
I haven’t tried that, unfortunately.
Yes, this works well in a slow cooker. It is faster to cook on the stove but sometimes it works better for me to have it cook all day while I am out of the house.
I do, however, follow steps 1 and 2 in a sauté pan on the stove then transfer to the slow cooker with everything listed in step 3. I set the slow cooker for 8 hours on low. My slow cooker switches to a “warm” setting when the set time is over so that is what it is on when I get home. I mash up some of the potatoes with a fork against the side of the crock and stir them in then throw the peas in, recover the slow cooker and leave it to warm them up for about 10 minutes or so.
Original recipe was a little bland for my liking. I am a person that needs really bold flavors. I made it and wasn’t very satisfied in the palate. Considering the ingredients, it seemed appropriate to add some Indian spices. I added 1.5 to 2 tbsp of red curry and almost the same of cumin and it was amazing!!
Recipe is a great base to make something truly original,
This was yummy. I just felt like it could’ve used a bit more flavor – adding salt and Tabasco sauce helped, but in retrospect I think it could’ve used some acidity – next time I will try a splash of lime juice or vinegar before serving.
Apparently brown lentils are non-existent where I live. I’m wondering if you can use green or red lentils?
I would use green lentils instead of red. Red lentils break down very quickly and will sort of turn into a mush, like split pea soup, which might be okay but will probably just be a matter of personal preference. Some green lentils take much longer to cook, so you’ll need to check the directions on the package to find out.
I always use green lentil. I think their interchangeable. Red is more delicate so not great for a long simmer.
After putting on the lid and getting it to a boil, do I keep the lid on or off when I turn it down to low to simmer for 30 mins? Thanks.
The lid stays on. :)
Do you soak the lentils first or add them dry?
I add them dry. :)
This looks amazing and would sweet potatoes work ?
It will definitely change the flavor profile quite a bit and they might not thicken the broth in quite the same way, so you might end up with more of a soup.
I ended up needing to use sweet potatoes as I didn’t have enough regular. As Beth stated it is much soupier than the original recipe but good. I do think I prefer the regular potato flavor though.