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!
Made this for dinner last night and just had leftovers for lunch. AMAZING!!!!
As good as it was last night, it’s even better today.
I think I’ve texted 10 people this recipe. Even my husband can’t get enough of it and took it for lunch. Freezing the rest for quick meals later.
Thank-you!
I’ve made a lot of lentil soups over the years and this one will definitely be made again. It has some unique flavors in it (the mustard and soy sauce) that give it a little more flavor than most of my recipes.
This good, easy and healthy. We didn’t fall in love with it like Beth and so many of the reviewers, though. It is a great way to make a one-pot winter pantry/root cellar meal.
Made this last night it was absolutely delicious!!! I did not alter this recipe at all, made it just like it was written. I don’t like peas so I almost didn’t add them but I’m glad I did. It was rich, flavorful, and very filling. After the second bowl I was full. My teenagers enjoyed this as well. Thanks to your recipes they’ve gotten used to eating with real ingredients. My only issue, and not a big one, was the amount of broth left once it was done and sat for a few minutes. I’ve never made stew before and wasn’t sure of the ingredients to broth ratio but I felt like there should have been more. I thought about adding more but opted not to because I didn’t want to affect the flavor of the leftovers. I will be making this again this weekend to freeze for quick winter meals. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
This might be my favorite recipe from this website yet. I’ve probably said that aout 20 times before, but I mean it this time. It’s SO cheap but SOOO good. This is the warmest, heartiest, most delicious soup I’ve had in a long time, and definitely the best soup I’ve ever personally made. I did deviate from the recipe slightly by adding some spicy/hot Italian sausages I needed to use up (I cooked them the same way they’re cooked in the SNAP penne recipe, then added the onions, carrots, etc). I need to have at least some meat in my soup if it’s a meal, but I was worried the sausage would clash with the soup’s seasonings. It actually worked really well together though! Thank you for everything you do!
This was really delicious! The whole family had seconds – even the toddlers! Made the recipe as-is no substitutes…unless you count the grated parm on top. This one is added to the keeper pile. Thank you!
Made this after work tonight for rest of the week lunches. It’s very very good. I followed you to a t.. I wasn’t crazy about the color, probably the broth I chose, so added a tablespoon of molasses to darken it. Rosemary, thyme with the umami of soy, onion and garlic, it smells so good. I don’t eat meat and I miss the kitchen aroma of meat deeply cooking. Especially this time of year. This takes me there :)
I’ve been using your recipes for years so long time fan! You’ve created a ton of our favorite household recipes. BUT. For the first time, I was reading your commentary with a Brit accent in my head for this recipe. Beth, you look just like the new Doctor and I highly recommend you make plans for that as your Halloween costume. You’re fantastic!
Hahahahha! Even though I’m not a Dr. Who fan, this totally made my day. So funny!
Could I use red lentils in this? I have a bag sitting in my pantry and I don’t know what to use them in but this sounds delicious!
The flavor will be slightly different, but I think it would work fine. :)
Can I use a whole 1 pound bag of lentils? Will I need to double this recipe?
Yes, you will need to double the recipe. Just make sure you have a pot big enough for that! But lentils are shelf stable, so it might be a better idea to just make the recipe as written and save the rest of your lentils for another time. :)
Update on my Instant Pot with this recipe: I took the advice of Beth and Sam T. and set the instant pot to 15 minutes. However, I decided to mix and use up three kinds of lentils in one recipe: Brown, Red, and French! So, it still was awesome, and I added the peas after the cook time, however the French lentils are still a little firm, so next time I will adjust to 18 minutes! It tastes great and it is so similar to a meat stew, only better!
Wow. This was so good. First recipe I’ve seen in a while with no added pepper, and it totally didn’t need it. I think my batch needed a couple of cups of water with the broth. The leftovers in the pot barely have any liquid. Still, dang it’s good! I bought enough supplies to make 2 batches, and I think I’ll make that second batch sooner rather than later.
Oh my goodness! This was great! Thanks for all you do Beth! I have been following this blog since about 2011, and everything I have made from here has been delicious. Trying to eat more plant based, and have been delighted to realize that many of our favorites are already plant based or easily adaptable. Thanks again and keep up the good work!
I made this tonight exactly as the recipe reads. Delicious!! My husband asked me to make it again.
Thank you!!!
Just wanted to let you know I tried this today and it was absolutely amazing! It did take me quite a bit longer to cook than the hour /as I’m very slow with chopping and cooking in general/, but I’ve got some extra portions cooked for in the freezer. Definitely looking forward to having this meal as dinner again soon, thanks for sharing this scrumptious recipe!!