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A pretty blue bowl filled with red lentil vegetable stew.
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Hearty Red Lentil and Vegetable Stew

This quick and easy protein packed stew is both versatile and completely delicious. You can use whatever veggies you have in fridge, change up what kind of potato you use, leave out or add extra mushrooms, and play with adding spice, and fresh or dried herbs.
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 305kcal
Author Renee Press

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion (or any allium: leek, shallot, etc), diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 small russet potato (or any potato, sweet potato as well)
  • 4-5 crimini mushrooms, quartered or sliced (optional)
  • 1-2 carrots, sliced
  • 1-2 stalks of celery, sliced (optional, but adds flavor and nutrition)
  • 5-6 kale leaves, de-stemmed and chopped (any other cooking green will work as well)
  • 1 medium tomato (or a few plum tomatoes) chopped
  • 1 cup of red lentils, uncooked, do not need to soak
  • 4 cups of vegetable broth (1 carton)
  • ½ cup of nutritional yeast
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon of salt, or taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • (other optional add-ins: broccoli, cauliflower, peas, cabbage, kohlrabi, corn, beans, smoked paprika, fresh herbs, etc)

Instructions

  • Add 1 tablespoon medium-high heat oil to a deep skillet or a medium/large pot. Saute onion, garlic, potato, celery, mushrooms, and carrot over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until starting to soften.
  • Add red lentils, vegetable broth, tomato and kale. Stir well, liquid should sit just above (½' or so) lentils and veggies, if not, add a bit of water. Bring to a gentle boil (for 1-2 minutes), then lower to a simmer and cover. Let cook undisturbed for 30-40 minutes. You can also throw everything in a slow cooker and cook on low heat for 4 hrs.
  • Lentils and tomatoes should be broke down, potatoes and all other veggies should be soft but intact. Add nutritional yeast, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. You can add any fresh herbs and spices at this point as well. Serve hot with toasted bread, crackers, or side salad. Enjoy!

Notes

This stew is even better the next day so don't worry about leftovers.

Nutrition

Calories: 305kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1578mg | Potassium: 1388mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 10487IU | Vitamin C: 104mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 6mg