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.
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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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Nutrition
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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 was an amazing soup! Even my meat loving husband had seconds.
I made this just as instructed and it came out great. It was thick and satisfying. Will be making it again.
I substituted vegetable broth for chicken broth (made with better than bouillon). I also substituted the peas for frozen green beans because I didn’t have any peas. It was delicious! Definitely keeping this recipe. Thanks!
Could this be made in a crock pot?
This one would probably work well in a slow cooker, although I haven’t tried it to verify. :)
I made this last night and it turned out great. It’s even better today as leftovers for lunch! The combination of soy sauce with a bit of brown sugar is such a nice combination in the broth! I’ll be adding this to my regular rotation of winter meals.
Great winter stew!
We added one additional sweet potato.
Read ahead in the directions. I suggest dice chop and prepare ingredients ahead of time. I am slow with my knife skills so ten minutes of prep easily turns into 20.
Nothing better on a cold winter night. Very filling and delicious! Thank you for a great recipe
Hi Beth, can the sugar be omitted? Trying to remove all added sugars from my diet.
Yes, it will only change the flavor of this one slightly and I think it would still be quite tasty. If you’re sensitive to acidic flavors, you may want to also reduce the Dijon, as the sugar helps balance the tanginess of the mustard.
Hi Beth, your recipe looks amazing!
I have a question though, is it possible to replace the dry lentils with cooked lentils?
How would the timing change then?
You’d probably need less simmer time, but still enough to break down the lentils and vegetables a bit so they stew still thickens up. You’ll also need less liquid, since the cooked lentils won’t be absorbing any.
Two very happy vegans here! While I did wonder a bit about the mustard and soy sauce, the flavors were perfect. I added some mushrooms that wanted using, along with some diced seitan, neither of which hurt a thing.
The recipe makes a lot, which is a definite bonus. Having a container or two stashed in the freezer is going to make it a lot easier to get through the winter.
Hi, Beth – a vegan wanna-be. This sounds delish, but could you please include fiber/protein percentage/grams, as I’m hypoglycemic and am looking for a stick-to-the-ribs easy meal. I’m thinking the sugar content would be low judging by the ingredients. Also a question – 1″ cubed potatoes cooking for an hour – won’t they be kinda non-existent? I plan on using what one commenter posted: 1 lb sweet potatoes and 1 lb potatoes in addition to the carrots. Thanks, Beth!
Hi Marilyn, Unfortunately I don’t have a reliable source for the nutrition data, so I won’t be able to post those numbers. The potatoes do break down quite a bit during the cooking time, but this is what helps the stew thicken up instead of being thin and soupy. :) I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks, Beth M, for your quick reply. Duh, didn’t think of the potatoes thickening the soup to “stew.” Might still add sweet potatoes – more veggies the merrier? Or do you think they will cancel out the carrot taste? Love both veggies. Thanks again!
I don’t think it will cancel out the carrots. :)
I can’t wait to make this! Thanks for sharing!! I hope my vegan kiddo loves this as much as I think I will.
I made this in my Instant Pot and it turned out delicious! I did 10min on the soup setting, 5min natural release, and then threw it back on the saute mode to add the peas and smash the potatoes a little. Definitely a great winter soup that I’ll be making again!
So delicious! Have been following you for a while. Have become vegetarian over the last 6 months and your recipes have made it so easy. Love, love, love the vegan and vegetarian recipes you post!
Absolutely delicious!!!