An easy weeknight curry recipe made with red lentils, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, and spinach. Vegan, gluten-free, healthy, and delicious.
This is a big day, friends. No, I don’t have any new book or baby announcements on the agenda – but today is the first day in four years that this vegetarian food blog has a lentil recipe! I have at least 39 chickpea recipes (more if you count the ones I probably forgot to tag) but let me present – the almighty lentil.
I realize that many of you probably really love lentils… they’re a great source of protein, especially if you’re vegan or vegetarian. My relationship with lentils has been so-so, but lately I’ve been giving them another chance. So far, I’ve found that I’m ok with red lentils. (baby steps)
If you’re like me and are ready to be converted, this red lentil sweet potato stew is a darn good place to start. Though it’s a bit of a hot mess, it’s been one of our favorite recipes this fall. Unlike most soups that I make, it’s not broth-y or creamy. Instead it has a deliciously thick texture that’s somewhere in between.
It’s spiced with ginger, curry &Â cardamom and brightened with generous squeezes of lime. It’s great the first day, the second day, and… well… it didn’t last any longer than that in our house, but it won’t be long before I make this one again.
Curried Red Lentil Sweet Potato Stew
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped
- 2 teaspoons muchi curry powder*
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¾ cup dried red lentils
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup chopped green beans
- ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 cups baby spinach
- Juice of 1 lime, plus extra lime wedges for serving
- Juice of ½ small lemon
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
- Garnish with fresh cilantro (optional)
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a few pinches of salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, garlic, ginger, and sweet potatoes and stir. Add the curry, cardamom, and another pinch of salt and pepper. Stir again and cook until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the lentils and broth. Reduce heat and simmer until the carrots and sweet potatoes are soft, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender (or a potato masher) to coarsely blend the stew. Add the green beans, peas, and spinach and cook for another few minutes. Add the lime juice, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes, if using. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more spice, lime, and salt and pepper to balance the flavors to your liking.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro, if using, and serve with lime wedges. If desired, combine all yogurt sauce ingredients and serve on the side.
If you over-spice your soup, add a splash of white wine vinegar to tone down the heat.
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Love it! Thanks for recipe! These look incredible…;)
This looks amazing and I actually have (almost) all of the ingredients in the house! I think I’ll try it tonight. Thank you for providing inspiration for tonight’s dinner!
Wow, Jeanine , this recipe was amazing! I especially like the Indian influences in the stew- cooking gourmet, vegetarian meals at home usually takes a significant amount of cooking and prep time but this stew recipe made it seem like a breeze!
What to do when your city closes down for a rare winter storm? Why, check Love and Lemons for soup ideas of course ! It was a safe alternative to the drunk sledding that broke out in the neighborhood.
Was looking to make the Tomato Chickpea Coconut Soup (for the third time) when I saw this gem. It’s so good! I took some liberties-added a shallot, a whole bag of red lentils, a can of coconut milk and a pinch of smoked paprika. Thanks for being such a great part of our snow day in Nashville.
HA – best comment ever – you win. Although drunk sledding sounds fun too :).
Thanks for your wonderful article .Eat Healthy Live Healthy …Every one are not living for eating but eat for living.
This dish is amazing! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve made it twice now, it’s so delicious! Everything I’ve made from this blog has been a hit.
WOW! Just made this on a damp, November London evening. Absolutely delicious and really easy to make. My mouth was watering as it was simmering as it smelled so delicious. I used watercress instead of spinach and extra peas as I didn’t have any green beans.
I just made this with my best friend! It reminded us a lot of Indian dal, which is my most favorite comfort food. I added two serrano peppers and a ridiculous amount of cumin and red chili pepper, and it took us both back to India! 🙂
This looks fantastic, and very warming for this time of year. Thanks for the tip with the vinegar. I am prone to adding too much heat and then just suffering through it.
Eating this for dinner right now…YUM. Love & Lemons is my favorite food blog and I saw this and made it straight away because I had (almost) all the ingredients already. Even though I had to sub water for veg broth and kale for spinach, and skip out on the lemon juice and cilantro, it is delicious. Great consistency and spicy aroma. A perfect stand alone dish for a crisp fall evening 🙂
Also definitely ate 2 servings…oops
Aww, you’re so sweet – I’m so glad you loved it as much as we did!
I love lentil soup. However, I’ve never had the pleasure of trying red lentils. I’m excited to test out this recipe and share it with my mom. She’ll enjoy this a lot.
Happy Tuesday
http://www.lovecompassionatelee.com/thinkoutloud
This stew looks and sounds soooo comforting! I wanna make it and bundle up on the couch with my dog!
Welcome to the lentil fan club Jeanne! Or “kind of” ;). This red lentil stew looks so hearty, warming, and full of flavor – everything I am craving this time of year <3 so lovely.
may I ask what kind of pots you are using? They look beautiful!
I recently just started eating Lentils too! I can’t believe I went my whole life without eating this deliciousness! This recipe sounds amazing, will give it a try! 🙂
Haha, I guess I’ve always been so excited about whatever recipe you put out I didn’t even notice you never use lentils! I don’t need to be convinced when it comes to lentils, and especially this soup. 😉 I love the coconut, red lentil, sweet potato combo, perfect winter comfort food. And I like that you use cardamom in here too.
I’m all about warm, hearty stews this season, and you had me at red lentils and sweet potato (I just made a chili with those ingredients too!). This just looks so comforting!
Lentil love will creep up on you slowly, until one day you wonder what you ever did before lentils. This lentil soup looks beautiful.
I just made this, AWESOME!!!???FIVE STARS!!!!
thanks Rachel! SO glad you loved it!
oh my goodness this reminds me of graduate school! My friend, Caroline (from Denmark), would a similar recipe from Ottelenghi’s book when we all had a paper deadline. This is definitely a more green-friendly version… need to try it out! Thank you 🙂 x
Wow, I didn’t realize you don’t have lentil recipes here before this one – buy hey, really great one for your first 🙂 I love lentils for starters and I’m a big fan of curry as well, so I’m really excited about this Curried Red Lentil Sweet Potato Stew recipe.