Lentil Stew

Lentil stew is one of those recipes that everyone should know how to make. Lentils don’t have to be soaked; they’re nutritious, store well, and are a fantastic meat substitute because of their substance and thickness. Even when cooked, their texture signals that you’re eating something filling when you bite into them.

Lentil stews are versatile and easy to make ahead of time. If you’re into meal prepping, you can make and freeze them for several meals. Make the basic stew once to become familiar with the flavor, and then start experimenting with additions and substitutions to find a recipe that you’ll want to make again and again.

Lentil Stew Ingredients

• Onion: Onion adds flavor and aroma. Saute it first to deepen the flavor.
• Garlic: Garlic is onion’s classic partner in flavor.
• Lentils: Use green or brown lentils because they’ll hold their shape better during cooking. Red lentils tend to disintegrate and form a mushier stew. If using bagged dry lentils, pick through them first to remove pebbles and other debris that can be mixed during processing, and rinse the lentils in a strainer before adding them to the stew.
• Vegetable or chicken bouillon granules: The stew cooks in a broth made from these granules and water. It doesn’t matter which one you use, so this is totally up to your tastes.
• Worcestershire sauce: This adds a bit of umami and savoriness to the stew.
• Thyme: Thyme adds a bit of a lemony taste without adding anything acidic.
• Bay leaf: The flavor of bay leaf is a bit hard to describe; it gives the stew a deeper, fuller taste. It’s a background character in the stew but one you’d miss if you didn’t add it.
• Carrots: These add a little sweetness to the stew and counter the tartness of the diced tomatoes.
• Diced tomatoes: These help flavor and bulk the stew; use them undrained.
• Frozen chopped spinach: Spinach not only adds minerals and fiber but cooking the leafy green in stew really emphasizes its savory flavor. The taste of cooked spinach is more well-rounded, in a way than that of raw spinach.
• Red wine vinegar: This adds an acidic garnish to the robust and bright stew.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the onion and lentils

Joe Crimmings for Taste of Home

Saute the onion in vegetable oil until tender; do this in a large saucepan, the one you’ll use to cook the stew. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the water, lentils, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, pepper and bay leaf to the saucepan and boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer the stew for 20 minutes.

Step 2: Cook the vegetables with the stew

Joe Crimmings for Taste of Home

Add the carrots, tomatoes and spinach to the saucepan and return the stew to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes longer until the lentils are tender. Add the vinegar, and remove and discard the vinegar.

Joe Crimmings for Taste of Home

Lentil Stew Variations

• Add other small, frozen or fresh vegetables: Add vegetables like corn, peas or green beans to the stew. Make sure they’re cut small to cook all the way through.
• Add small pasta: You can try adding some small pasta like orzo or ditalini (such as in this Lentil and Pasta Stew recipe) during the second cooking stage. Don’t add too much, and be prepared to add a little more water to compensate for what the pasta will soak up.

How to Store Lentil Stew

If you have leftover stew, ladle it into shallow, airtight containers and store them in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can also freeze the stew in measured portions; use within three months. You can find containers that have 1 cup and 2 cup sections meant for freezing soups and stews; these can be helpful in making portion sizes equal.

How do you reheat frozen lentil stew?

You can either leave a portion of the frozen stew to thaw in the refrigerator one to two days before you want to eat it, or you can place the container in warm water (not covering; you just want to warm the sides and bottom to loosen the block of frozen stew) for a few minutes, and then slowly warm up the stew over medium heat in a saucepan. Stir the soup constantly.

Lentil Stew Tips

What’s the difference between soup and stew?

Soup and stew are similar, they’ve both got ingredients boiled and then simmered in a broth or stock. Stew tends to be thicker than soup because the liquid reduces during cooking and becomes more saucelike. That said, stews can still have a good amount of liquid and there are times when a stew and soup might look very similar.

What can you serve with lentil stew?

This is a hearty yet non-heavy stew, so you have your choice of sides. You can have something lighter, like one of these side salads, or you could bake some comforting garlic bread.

Can you cook the stew in broth rather than water and bouillon?

You can use broth or stock instead of water and bouillon if you want. Bouillon granules are more convenient to store, of course, and it’s a lot easier to mix a few spoonfuls of granules into the water. But if you have a lot of broth or stock to use up, or if you’ve made your own vegetable or chicken broth, you can use that without issue.