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Vegan Winter Lentil Stew

January 2 by Nara 4 Comments

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My brand new cookbook is out on Amazon! It’s called “30-Minute Plant-Based Recipes” and it’s perfect for busy vegans. Grab it now!

Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chilly night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers!

Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils

I love winter for one reason alone – I get to make stews and soups every week!

I have this entire collection of delicious, quick stews and soups on the blog and this recipe is by far one of my favorites!

GET YOUR FREE E-BOOK

This mini-cookbook will give your recipes for delicious, plan-based, healthy, and cozy soup and stew recipes for every day of the week!

Simple, Everyday Ingredients

This delicious lentil stew requires simple 10 ingredients. It’s packed with vegetables for nutrients, lentils for protein, vegetable broth, and spices for flavor.

Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils

The whole stew comes together in about 40 minutes and makes excellent leftovers for those nights when you simply don’t feel like cooking.

Tips for Cooking Vegetables Faster

One of my favorite tips for ensuring that the vegetables cook fast, especially in stews and soups, is to chop them small. There are two ingredients in our stew that can take a while to cook: carrots and potatoes. Chop them into smaller cubes so that they cook faster.

Meal prep the smart way! Check out my FREE guide How To Meal Prep Without A Recipe.

  • Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils
  • Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils
  • Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils
  • Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils
  • Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils
  • Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils
Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils

Make It Oil-Free

I’m not oil-free, but I know there are a lot of you who are! I always try to post oil-free versions of my recipes if that is possible and you can make this Winter Lentil Stew oil-free!

I used oil here to caramelize garlic and onion but you can use vegetable broth or good ol’ water. It won’t affect the taste at all since we will be cooking all vegetables and lentils in vegetable broth.

Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils

Make Your Own Vegetable Broth

One downside to using store-bought vegetable broth is that it is high in sodium. You can, of course, buy a low sodium kind but there is only so much sodium you can reduce from prepackaged, shelf-stable food.  

What I love doing is making my own broth from vegetable scraps. As you cook throughout the week or a couple of weeks, simply collect veggie scraps in a Ziploc or a container and store it in the freezer. Then use it to make a delicious, sodium-free stock at home.

P.S. Try my FREE 5-Day Vegan Clean Eating Challenge to help you cut down on packaged and processed foods and enable long-term, clean eating habits!

Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils

Don’t forget to download your FREE Healthy Vegan Soups and Stews e-cookbook.

5 from 2 votes
Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils
Print
Vegan Winter Lentil Stew
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 

Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers!

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: lentils, stew
Servings: 8
Calories: 240 kcal
Author: Simple Fit Vegan
Ingredients
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped small
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups chopped celery, chopped small
  • 2 cups chopped carrots, chopped small
  • 3 cups chopped potatoes, chopped small
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
  • 7-8 sprigs fresh cilantro
  • 2 quarts vegetable broth
  • 1 cup lentils
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (skip if oil-free)
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Caramelize garlic for 30 seconds, then add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent. *If oil-free, cook both garlic and onions in 1/4 cup water or vegetable stock.
  2. Stir in Dijon mustard, maple syrup (or brown sugar), and soy sauce. Add chopped potatoes, carrots, and celery and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
  3. Add vegetable stock, lentils, and salt and pepper. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover half-way with a lid and cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Add frozen peas and fresh cilantro sprigs, cover with a lid and cook until lentils are cooked all the way through, about 5-10 minutes.
  5. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.
  6. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes

Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories: 240 Fat: 3.8 g Saturated fat: 0.7 g Carbohydrates: 37.4 g Dietary Fiber: 11.8 g Sugar: 8.9 g Sodium: 1670 mg Protein: 14.5 g

GET YOUR FREE E-BOOK

This mini-cookbook will give your recipes for delicious, plan-based, healthy, and cozy soup and stew recipes for every day of the week!

Rich, hearty, healthy stew made with vegetables and lentils. Perfect for dinner on a cold, chili night. Plus, it makes excellent leftovers! #stew #vegan #lentils

My brand new cookbook is out on Amazon! It’s called “30-Minute Plant-Based Recipes” and it’s perfect for busy vegans. Grab it now!

Filed Under: Entrees, Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darlene

    February 23 at 8:18 pm

    5 stars
    Truly excellent! I followed the recipe exactly and it has a rich hearty taste like there’s meat in it. This will become a regular at our house.

    Reply
    • Nara

      February 26 at 10:39 am

      Thanks for your feedback! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 It’s one of my favorite meals!

      Reply
    • Angela

      March 4 at 4:26 pm

      5 stars
      This soup is so tasty!! I didn’t have cilantro, but went to the store to get some and I’m so glad I did because it gives the soup a delicious flavor. I added this to our regular rotation. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Nara

        March 5 at 6:59 am

        I’m glad you liked the recipe! It’s one of my favorites too! 🙂

        Reply

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