Easy Vegan Brown Lentil Stew

I’ve been eating this super duper easy brown lentil stew (which so happens to be vegan) for as long as I can remember. It’s always been a staple in my family, and it never gets old.

As soon as Autumn creeps in, this meal becomes pretty much a weekly rotation. It’s quite cheap to make, super easy, packed with protein and relatively quick for how much yield you get.

I like to make this meal in bulk and eat it over two days for lunch and dinner. I normally don’t freeze it because there’s potato in it but if you wanted to do so, you can swap the potatoes for carrots and/or celery, and it will freeze really well.

This brown lentil stew has been in the back of my mind for a while now to share with you and this week with all this cold and yucky weather, it seemed like the perfect time! It’s a great comforting meal.

A quick note about the stock

You can use vegetable stock in liquid form, vegetable stock cubes (which I have found have palm oil usually) or homemade stock by your sister-in-law that has it ;). I was lucky enough to get two jars of the homemade kind the other day, and I use that diluted with water for the stew.

I normally just use water as I never buy stock from the shops. Boiled water will be just fine if that’s all you have. Feel free to experiment and add other veggies in there to make it more of a lentil and vegetable stew/soup.

For a family, this is a cost-effective, healthy meal that you can serve with a fresh salad, or we like it with fermented vegetables like cabbage and carrot. If you ferment your own veggies, I would recommend trying a carrot, turmeric and garlic combination. It’s pretty amazing!

If you try this recipe, let me know! Would love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest. 

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Yield: Serves 5-6

Easy Brown Lentil Stew

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Enjoy this quick and easy vegan brown lentil stew, which is packed with protein and is a perfect hearty meal on a cooler day.

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Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 brown or red onion, diced
• 3 potatoes, washed well and cut into cubes (I like to leave the skin on for extra flavour and nutrients)
• 3.5 cups brown lentils (soaked overnight and rinsed well)
• 1 heaped tbs tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp hot paprika powder
• 3-4 bay leaves (snapped in half)
• Boiling water or stock (I used stock)
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, on medium heat the oil and onion until it becomes translucent.
2. Add in the potatoes and lentils and stir making sure the potatoes don't stick to the bottom. Cook for a few minutes.
3. Add in tomato paste, hot paprika powder, bay leaves and liquid enough to cover the lentils. Bring to the boil and reduce to low-medium heat.
4. Add in the chopped garlic and salt to taste and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the lentils and potatoes are cooked. I normally top up the water another 1-2 times as it evaporates. Make sure you always have enough liquid to cover the lentils on the top and remember to give it a stir every 5 or so minutes.
5. Once cooked, remove the bay leaves and serve with some beautiful Italian bread or on its own.

Other recipes you’ll love:

1. One-Pot French Lentil, Mushroom and Sage Stew
2. Vegan Black-Eyed Bean Stew
3. Hearty Mung Bean Stew With Kale
4. Vegan Dal Makhani (Black Lentil Dal)
5. Creamy Red Lentil Curry (Vegan-Friendly)