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!
I didn’t know stew could have so much flavor! This was my first time cooking with lentils and definitely won’t be the last. The only concerning thing is that I made 8 servings and really only got 5, which means I’m eating WAY too much of this. It is so so good. I wish I would have made it before March…
This stew turned out delicious. I used “not chicken” broth and added chopped up Beyond Sausages at the end – which is not necessarily budget friendly but man it was good!
Just wanted to let you know I made this for my carnivourous husband and it was a hit! He ate four bowls in one sitting! My only error was accidentally dumping the rest of my bag of peas into the pot so it turned out very…green. But it still tasted amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s my favorite thing to hear!! :D
YUM!! I didn’t have regular potatoes so I used sweet potatoes and added bay leaf. I used an immersion blender to make it more chowder-like and added a dollop of sour cream to each bowl. Reminded me of borscht. So good!! Thanks for sharing another recipe winner!
Hi! Is there an instant pot conversion for this recipe? Thanks!
I haven’t tried this one in an Instant Pot, unfortunately.
Made this stew for healthy work lunches. It is great! I added a bit more dijon mustard but might not do that next time. Still love it.
Unfortunately my husband is allergic to mustard. Do you know of anything that would make a good substitute? I know it won’t taste the same, but maybe something that would give it a punch of flavor like mustard does? This is my life’s (cooking) struggle. Thank you in advance for any ideas!
I would try adding a splash of red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. That will provide that same tang that the mustard does. :)
Made this recipe when I knew I was coming down with a cold….had this every night until I felt better. It was so perfect – so delicious, so healthy, and so soothing – it definitely helped me feel better, and I am already day-dreaming of making it again to help me get through the rest of this winter! Thanks so much for developing and sharing this recipe!
This stew was a big hit at my home this week! We made it in bulk and froze the rest.
What’s your opinion on substituting for sweet potato in this recipe? Thank you!
I think it will definitely change the flavor and texture a lot, so it’s pretty risky. It’s a little too hard to guess whether the result would be good or not without actually trying it.
I tried substituting sweet potato for carrot on Wednesday and it worked great with sweet peas! Everyone was raving over it.
I’ve made it with half regular potatoes and half sweet potatoes and it came out well and was delicious ! I left out the brown sugar. The texture was fine.
This is a fantastic recipe that I have made this several times now however I have found a few minor tweaks that really take this up a notch(in my opinion).
1) Fresh herbs (particularly fresh rosemary)
2)An extra 1/2 TBLS or so of Dijon Mustard
3) 1-2 tsps of Miso paste (this stew already has a a flavor profile similar to a shepherds pie filling and the miso helps give you that umami flavor you normally get from the meat)
4) Finally the fact that this doesn’t call for a boat load of freshly cracked black pepper is frankly a sin.
This was so, so good! I used an immersion blender to help thicken it a little, and added nooch as a little topping while serving. Super filling and warming on a cold winter’s night!
You must wash any lentils/beans/grain thoroughly by squeezing them by hand in water, at least three times, discarding the water each time!
You’ll get rid of any dirt, or other chemicals.
I love this stew! I tend to like more broth, so tweaked it by using less potato and more stock. I also used fresh rosemary and thyme… a full bunch of each. My new go-to on a cold winter night! Thanks for sharing it!!!
I like ve ths recipe, but what are you using for vegetable broth?. 6 cups of Swanson vegetable broth cost me $4.50. Are you making your own?
She usually uses Better than Bouillon, which makes (I believe) 32 cups. It usually costs $5 where I am, so it would cost me $0.94 for 6 cups.
Better Than Bouillon is awesome – it keeps for a long time in the fridge – much longer than an opened box or can of broth, and you use only what you need, when you need it. Also, when using for soups or stews, you don’t actually have to prepare the broth ahead of time – just add the water and correct amount of paste to your pot and bring to a simmer – easy!