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Portrait image of Vegan Lentil Stew in a white bowl garnished with sliced avocado and diced red onion. Blue background green and white towel wrapped around naan.

Vegan Lentil Stew

Course: dinner, lunch
Cuisine: Indian, North American
Keyword: lentil, stew, vegan
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 385kcal
Author: Marta Rivera
The vegan and gluten-free stew is filled with warm spices and easy to make.
Pureeing the stew is optional but results in a thicker stew.
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • 4-quart dutch oven
  • immersion blender or blender (optional)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) olive oil
  • 1 cup (52 grams) yellow onion diced (or white onion)
  • 3/4 cup (155 grams) green bell pepper diced
  • 2 stalks (101 grams) celery diced
  • 2 large (144 grams) carrots diced
  • 4 cloves (20 grams) garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup (65 grams) sofrito optional
  • 4 (500 grams) Roma tomatoes diced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (16 grams) Garam Masala Spice Blend
  • 1/4 cup (64 grams) tamari (or soy sauce*)
  • 1 pound ( brown lentils sorted and rinsed in cold water
  • 8 cups (2 litres) vegetable broth
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (3 grams) kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Optional Toppings

  • slice avocados
  • diced red onion

Instructions

  • In a 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
    Once the oil starts to shimmer in the pot, add the onion, bell pepper, celery, carrots, and garlic. 
    Sauté the veggie mixture for 3-4 minutes, or until they look glossy and begin to turn opaque.
  • Stir the sofrito into the veggies sauteing in the pot, then allow this mixture to cook for another minute.
    Add the Garam Masala Spice Blend to the pot, along with the diced tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes in the pot until they have released most of their liquid, or for 6 minutes. 
  • Add the rinsed lentils and the tamari to the pot.
    Stir the lentils into the rest of the ingredients in the pot to ensure they are incorporated, then pour the vegetable broth into the pot. Add the bay leaf to the mixture and give everything a stir.
  • Bring the liquid up to a boil. After the liquid in the pot comes to a boil, decrease the temperature, and cover the pot.
    Simmer the lentils for 25 minutes over low heat. Check the lentils after 5 minutes to make sure they're not boiling.
    Simmer the stew slowly, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent the heavier ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  • Turn off the stove. Remove and discard the bay leaf and 2 cups of lentils from the pot.
    Use an immersion blender to puree the lentil slightly. Little chunks of veggies and whole lentils are okay.
    Optional blender method: carefully transfer the stew to your blender in small batches. Vent the lid of the blender by removing the plastic plug from its center. Cover the hole in the lid with a folded towel to guard against splashes. Puree the stew for 30 seconds or until it's mostly smooth.
  • Once the stew is pureed, pour the reserved lentils back into the pot and stir everything to combine.
    Turn the stove to warm to reheat the stew as needed. To serve: ladle the stew into bowls and top with diced onion and avocado slices.

Notes

*Using soy sauce in place of tamari will add gluten to this recipe.*
Flavor Swaps:
Switch up the flavors of the stew by merely altering the spice blend you add in this step:
  • Basic Stew: replace the garam masala with this Meat Spice Blend
  • Mexican Stew: replace the garam masala with this Mexican Spice Blend
  • Curry Stew: use Madras or Jamaican curry instead of the garam masala
  • Puerto Rican Stew: replace the garam masala with my Sazón 

Storage Instructions:

  1. Allow leftover stew to cool completely before transferring to a food storage container.
  2. Refrigerate the leftovers for up to 3 days.
  3. To reheat the stew: microwave your desired amount for 2 minutes on high, stirring mid-way through. You can also reheat leftovers in a pot over medium-low heat. Stir the stew frequently to reheat it thoroughly.
  4. Once heated through serve as desired.

Freezer Instructions:

  1. Packed the cooled stew in freezer storage bags (or containers).
  2. Freeze for 4 months.
  3. The the frozen stew overnight in the fridge.
  4. Reheat per instructions in the previous section. 

Nutrition

Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1752mg | Potassium: 901mg | Fiber: 25g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 879IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 6mg