Easy Vegetarian Lentil Stew

Week-ahead meal planning is probably THE hot thing in the food world right now. I love the idea but cannot fully commit to it. Because I love my meals, especially vegetables, to be freshly prepared. Maybe I’m spoiled by being a food blogger, blessed with the privilege of constantly testing new recipes. The result is that I put more homemade meals on the table as part of my job.

But that’s not entirely true. In reality, no matter whether I’m testing a recipe or not, I still cook fresh vegetables for lunch and dinner almost every day. It’s just a part of Chinese culture that’s deeply rooted in my veins－a meal is not complete without freshly cooked veggies.

No, I don’t often cook large batches of full meals that last me a week. However, there are many things I do to make it easier to put freshly made food on our dinner table. For example, I cook larger batches of stir-fry sauce ahead of time, so I can make way-better-than-takeout dishes in 15 minutes. I make extra braised meat and freeze serving-size portions, so I can serve dinner quickly by simply cooking one veggie dish and heating up the meat. This lentil stew became a regular staple on our family menu this year, when I started to follow a healthier lifestyle.

Since moving from Beijing to Austin back in 2015, I gained 20 pounds within one year. I guess I adapted to American food a bit too eagerly, by loading up on years’ worth of donuts, fried chicken, pizza, and cheeseburgers. After our Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts in 2016, I found out I couldn’t fit into half of my old clothes anymore. I finally reached a point that I decided to lose weight.

I’ve been loosely following Tim Ferriss’ famous Slow Carb Diet on and off over the past six months. If you’ve never heard of the Slow Carb Diet, it is a diet that allows you to eat just meat, beans, and low-starch veggies until you’re full. Fruits, desserts, and starchy veggies like sweet potatoes, rice, and bread are not allowed. Except on “binge day”, which happens once a week. On this day you are allowed to eat anything, from a stack of pancakes to a one-pound steak, until you’re happy.

After six months, I was happy to find that I’d lost 10 pounds. But eventually the diet didn’t stick. After all, it’s difficult to abandon the rice, noodles, and fruits that I’ve been eating growing up. But I did fall in love with the beans.

This lentil stew is one of our favorites. It’s so simple to make that I never need to read the recipe when I’m cooking.

You start by sautéing plenty of aromatics to create the flavor base. I use onion, garlic, and ginger most of the time. But I also add carrots and celery whenever I have them on hand. Then you add the curry powder and tomato paste and toast them until very fragrant. Lastly, add the canned tomato, chicken stock, and lentils. Simply cover and simmer for 30 minutes. At the end, you will have 10 cups of delicious lentil stew that will last you a week. One of my default things to add to the stew is Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes. They add an amazing smokiness to the stew and make the broth very rich.

You can serve the lentil stew as a main dish. But more often than not, I serve it as a side, as a replacement for rice or as an addition to the rice. It reduces carb consumption and adds plant-based protein to my meals. You can use this recipe to cook black beans or chickpeas as well, although lentils cook most quickly if you’re starting with dry beans. Plus, lentils are one of the superfoods that also boost weight loss.

This is how I plan my meals – I make a big batch of lentil stew and rice on the weekend. Every day I bake some lean protein (mostly chicken, fish, or tofu) that yields enough leftovers to serve for the lunch the next day. I also toss a big salad or stir fry a lot of veggies while the main dish is cooking. Dinner is usually on the table in 30 minutes, plus I have enough food for lunch the next day.

This is not at all the trendy type of meal planning where you have seven colorful containers neatly stacked in the fridge. But making a few things ahead of time had been a big time saver, and it keeps our daily meals healthy and full of deliciousness.

What is your approach when it comes to meal planning? Share your wisdom below so more people can benefit from it!

More meal planning-ish recipes

• The 7 Best Chinese Stir Fry Sauce Recipes
• Mapo Tofu
• Ground Chicken Bowl
• 5-Ingredient Baked Chicken Thigh
• Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.

Easy Vegetarian Lentil Stew

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 9 votes

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 cups

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This easy lentil stew is tomato-based and spiced with curry powder and aromatics. It takes merely 10 minutes to prepare, and yields a creamy, rich, and hearty stew that is tasty enough to serve as a main. Make it ahead of time so you can have nutrition-packed meals throughout the week!

Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
• 1 big onion , minced
• 2 carrots , sliced
• 3 garlic , minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger , minced
• 2 tablespoons curry powder (*Footnote 1)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 can (170-g/6-oz) tomato paste
• 1 can (400-g/14-oz) tomato , diced
• 8 cups vegetable stock
• 1 bag (450g/1-lb) lentils
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• Greek yogurt for garnish (Optional)

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Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot. Cook onion and stir occasionally until tender and pale yellow, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add garlic and ginger. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
• Turn to low heat. Add curry powder and ground black pepper. Stir for 1 minute.
• Add tomato paste. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes. If the paste starts to stick, pour in a bit of chicken stock and use your spatula to scrape the brown bits off the pan.
• Add diced tomato, chicken stock, and lentils. Cook over medium high heat until simmering. Stir occasionally. Turn to low heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt to adjust seasoning to taste.
• Serve hot over steamed rice as a main or by itself as a side, with Greek yogurt on top (if using).

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. I highly recommend using Madras curry powder in this recipe. Or you can use a mix of two types curry powder.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/2 cup of the stew, Calories: 114kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 6.9g, Fat: 2.1g, Sodium: 437mg, Potassium: 397mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 2.9g

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