Red Lentil Stew

Learn how to make some delicious, hearty and vegan friendly stewed red lentils. This is a one pan stew with a medley of vegetables, smokey flavour and incredibly filling.

In my humble opinion, all legumes, pulse and beans are very very tasty. However, when it comes to lentils I feel that red lentils, in particular are often over looked.

Many people gravitate towards to the brown or green lentils when it comes to making a good old stew.

Today I'm going to show you one of my favourite all time vegan stew dishes. I promise it won't disappoint.

For those of you who are from the islands, I will say this much, this recipe reminds me of stew peas.

Although the texture is much creamier, with a smokey flavour and without the spinners. 

I make this stew anytime of the year but my favourite time to make it is when it is very cold outside because it is really wholesome and filling.

There is plenty of flavour, vegetables, herbs and spices in this dish.

I have a few stew recipes on the blog already so add this one to your "to make list" and thank me later.

Reasons to make this dish

• It is a one pan/pot dish, less hassle and clean up.
• Lentils are packed with fibre and high protein.
• A great source of iron.
• Any leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen.
• Versatile dish, you can add as many vegetables as you like.
• Contain complex carbohydrates making you feel fuller for longer

Ingredients you will need

• Onion/garlic/scallion and ginger - These are the base ingredients for the most of my savoury dishes.
• Red/Green bell peppers - To form the base of the recipe.
• All purpose seasoning - I like to use my homemade mult-purpose seasoning
• Smoked paprika - This helps to give the recipe that smokiness, make sure you are using paprika that is SMOKED and NOT hot or sweet.
• Pink salt/black pepper - To enhance the taste
• Thyme/chado beni - Fresh not dried, if you cannot get chadon beni use fresh coriander instead.
• Tomato - Chopped tomato from the can, is needed but only a small amount.
• Cho cho/kale/carrot - To bulk the recipe with a medley of vegetables, yet cho cho is a fruit but behaves like a vegetable.
• Red lentils - The star of the show!
• Liquid aminos - To enhance the smokey taste further.
• Coconut milk/water - Full fat coconut milk and a small amount of warm water is needed to cook the stew.
• Scotch bonnet pepper - Optional, although it is added whole so little to no heat is generated.

The steps

• In a medium sized skillet or frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat.
• Add the minced, onion, garlic, scallion ginger and bell peppers.
• Saute until soft and translucent.

• Season with the all purpose seasoning, smoked paprika, black pepper, pink salt, thyme and chado beni and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes.
• Fold in the chopped tomato and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the kale, carrot and cho cho and continue to for a few minutes, until they begin to soften.

• Add the red lentils and then stir.
• Pour in the liquid aminos, coconut milk, warm water and scotch bonnet pepper.
• Bring the pan to a rolling boil.

• Once boiled, stir and then put the lid on.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until the stew has thickened (may sure to stir often so the lentils don't stick to the bottom of the pan).
• Once cooked, do a taste test and add additional black pepper and pink salt, if needed.
• Remove the scotch bonnet pepper and thyme stems before serving.

Notes and tips 

• Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
• This is a freezer friendly meal that can be frozen for up to 3 months.
• Make sure you are using full fat coconut milk to enhance the flavour of the stew.
• If you cannot obtain chado beni simply use fresh cilantro (coriander instead).
• Cho cho is also known as christophine or chayote, zucchini (courgettes) is a great alternative.
• This is the recipe that you will need for my All Purpose Seasoning blend.
• Make sure you are using red lentils for this recipe, not green or brown ones which are firmer.

Serving suggestions

• Callaloo
• Brown Rice
• Coconut Rice
• Cauliflower Rice
• Mashed Sweet Plantain
• Mashed Breadfruit
• Gluten Free Roti

**Please comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Support my website by leaving a donation through Buying Me a Coffee. A site to show your appreciation of my hardwork over the years.  Let's be friends and engage on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**