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.
Mmmm! The stew looks amazing. I’ll have to make it ASAP! 🙂 And the blue dress looks stunning on you! Is the person next to you your sister? She looks beautiful as well! Happy New Year! 🙂
Aw thank you! Yes, that’s my sister :).
My favorite lunch: sardines in olive oil topped with chia seeds, with a side of fresh lettuce and tomato, sometimes paired with Gingerberry Kombucha. This meal always makes me feel really healthy. I just love fresh veggies in general, and fish, and the occasional lean organic beef. Also granola – I LOVE dark chocolate granola with almond milk – this is one of my favorite breakfasts. 🙂
Made this tonight, and eating it now. It is so good!! I didn’t have fennel seeds, so I put in a few anise seeds and a little extra cumin (per some suggestion substitutions). Also didn’t have any lemons to zest, so I used about half a teaspoon of bottled lemon juice. My dad, who does not like tomatoes, is going back for seconds right now!
Is there anything I can substitute for the mushrooms? Don’t hate me, but some people in the family aren’t fans!
Sure! Extra carrots would be good, or parsnips, peas, maybe even some sweet potatoes…
Made this yesterday (using the slow cooker method) and it was really yummy! I was glad that the fennel seeds blended in well, because I don’t love fennel or anise flavor. I am afraid my cumin-hating mother probably would not eat this, even though it doesn’t have a strong flavor, but that’s her loss. Thanks for the recipe…I would have never found and fallen in love with lentils without you!! Your sloppy joe lentils are still my favorite!!
How long did you cook it in the slow cooker? Did you just put it in and leave it or stir occasionally?
Made this last night…delicious! The fennel seeds and meat like texture of the mushrooms & lentils make it taste like a chunky sausage veggie stew or would be killer as a topping over spaghetti squash and/or pasta. Great recipe…thnx!
Also..made it without a drop of oil…still yummers!
Chocolate Covered Katie – Helping me be healthy, lose weight, eat more veggies, try new things, and actually stick to Weight Watchers since last spring. Hearts and hugs all around. I know I’ve said it before, but if I ever am in your area for any reason, I’m finding you and giving you lots of thank yous and flowers. My husband will too, because he really likes your chocolate recipes the most!!!
Made this for supper and I’m eating it right now — sooo good!!
Yum! It was a wonderful coincidence that on the day I was going to look for a good chili/stew recipe for a cold day, you happened to post this recipe! I made it the very first day you posted and was enjoying the leftovers for several days after that! I added some homemade seitan for a protein boost and had roasted sweet potatoes on the side- a perfect wintery dinner! Thanks, Katie, for posting a variety of recipes! The desserts are my favorite, but it’s fun to see the other kinds of delicious things you make as well!
I’m studying abroad and having to cook for myself for the first time. I made this stew tonight and even though I was winging the measurements because my kitchen is understocked, it turned out wonderfully! And I love that it makes so much because now I will have meals ready for nights to come.