If you are a veggie lover, this recipe is for you!
Lentil stew with a million vegetables in it!
This is one of those recipes where you feel super healthy and full of energy when you’re done eating, not the slightest bit sluggish or weighed down. It’s perfect for starting the new year off on a healthy foot… especially if your new year’s resolution is to eat more veggies.
The stew has a million of them, remember?
Eh, close enough. 
A few days before Christmas, I stocked up on a million veggies (with an emphasis on mushrooms) from the Asian market, and this stew was a way to use them all up! The recipe is adapted from a lentil tagine recipe found in The Whole Foods Cookbook, and it’s the same lentil-veggie stew pictured in the post about what I ate for Christmas dinner.
“1 Million Dollar” Vegetable Stew
(with an option for slow-cooker lentil stew)
- 1.5 cups onion, chopped (190g)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic (15g)
- 3 tbsp olive oil (If desired, you can get away with 1 tbsp. Technically you can omit; it will just be better and more flavorful with the oil)
- 1 1/2 cups bell peppers, sliced or diced (350g)
- 4-6 carrots, sliced (95g)
- 1 cup celery, chopped (140g)
- 6 cups sliced mushrooms (Any variety will do; feel free to mix and match. I used 300g button mushrooms, 150g portabellas, and 350g shiitakes)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (30g)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (30g)
- 2 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/3 cup dry lentils (200g) (See nutrition link below for all substitution notes)
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (360g)
- 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes (I used regular, not unsalted.)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 5oz box raw spinach
- 1 1/2 tbsp grated lemon zest (important)
Heat a large saucepan, then add the oil and onion. Sauté 5 minutes, until onions begin to brown. Add the garlic, peppers, carrots, and celery, and cook 5 more minutes. Then add everything else up to the cumin, and cook 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Now add all but the spinach and lemon zest. (If you have a crockpot, you can transfer the ingredients to your crockpot at this time.) Cover and cook on low until the lentils are soft and have absorbed most of the liquid– it takes about an hour on the stovetop. Time will vary if you use a slow cooker, depending on the strength and size of your particular crock pot. Add spinach and lemon at the very end, and cook 2-3 minutes until the spinach wilts. This recipe makes 8 servings (or 6 larger “Katie-sized” servings).
View Lentil Stew Nutrition Facts
Also see above link for substitution notes.
Great recipe. I just made a batch of lentil soup today but this one really packs the veggies in. I’ll be making this soon for sure! Thank you
Omg, you are just so stunning katie
Oh my, this looks and sounds so yummy. I can’t wait to try it!
I love veggies and it’s been too long since I’ve had lentils! Beastly salads with tons of veggies always make me feel healthy!
Food always makes me feel healthy when it’s light and I know what it’s made from – like homemade meals!
Pic of you and your sister so cute!!
Mmmmm, lentil stew. A true staple for a vegetarian winter. Love the recipe, its a little different from the one I usually use so I will have to try it out!
Do you think I could use steamed lentils?
I love lentils, especially in soup. I found this really great recipe on the Internet with red lentils, apple, and sweet potato and it is sooo good. This looks amazing, too. 🙂
Green smoothies always make me feel really healthy. And so do veggies and hummus.
This looks delicious! I feel healthy when I eat regularly clean and nutritious food.
Hey, Katie! I love your website so much! It has really helped me in my transition to veganism!
I was wondering, do you think you’ll ever put up a vegan nut cluster or granola nut cluster recipe? I’m looking for some great weight-gain snacks but most recipes call for butter, eggs, honey, etc, which isn’t vegan!
Thanks!
You can just substitute vegan margarine for butter, and agave or maple syrup in place of honey. I don’t know a substitute for eggs in terms of calories, but for baking etc. you can use ener-g powder, flax seed and a lot of other things 🙂
I LOVE lentils. And every time I eat them, I wonder why I don’t cook with them more often. This recipe is definitely up my alley- it sounds incredible! And, I have pretty much all of the ingredients on hand!
Happy New Year to you, Katie 🙂
It may not technically have a million veggies, but it looks uber scrumptious… said the veggie lover. 😉
This looks so yummy! I’ve been trying to use lentils more since I don’t eat enough protein most days, but a lot of the lentil soup/stew recipes have been ho-hum as far as flavor goes. I’ll bet the vinegar and lemon zest really brighten this up (in addition to using more than just carrots, celery, and onions like I have been)! And even though I’m not always thrilled with the flavor, I do feel healthy after eating lentil stew because just a small portion leaves me satisfied and ready to take on the afternoon without weighing me down!
A million veggies with a side of a million chocolate bars sounds just right for me! This stew looks great! the perfect clean-out-the-fridge recipe, plus I always have lentils on hand.
I purée the veggies before cooking them with the lentils so that my kids will eat them – and they really do that way. I feel good when I eat ratatouille and quinoa together – so light and full of energy.
We are definitely on the same page! I love ratatouille and quinoa!! Not sure if you’re looking for new kid-friendly recipes but I have a bunch on my blog bitesforbabies.com.