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The Best Lentil Recipe (Vegetarian, Vegan)

This lentil recipe is seriously delicious and tender. A great way to use dry lentils. Best of all, this lentil recipe is vegetarian, vegan, and packed with major nutrition. It transforms easily into an amazing lentil soup.
18.6g Carbs, 2.8g Fat, 5.9g Protein
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings: 12 people
Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Caribbean, Indian, Mediterranean
Calories: 101
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 pound dry brown lentils
  • 2 ounces fresh pumpkin (or other winter squash)
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 tbsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp ground red pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp pink Himalayan salt (or salt of choice)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 8 cups water *for soup after water absorbed add up to 4 additional cups of water one cup at a time if serving immediately and desire more liquid consistency to soup

Equipment

  • food processor
  • large stock pot
  • cutting board
  • knife

Method
 

For Lentil Recipe
  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in stock pot.
  2. Add finely chopped onions and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes on medium-high heat.
  3. Add lentils, bay leaf, and pumpkin (or winter squash of choice) with 8 cups of water.
  4. Bring to a boil.
  5. Once boiling, reduce heat to halfway between medium and high heat and cover pot.
  6. After cooking for 30 minutes, add a roughly chopped medium tomato. Add another 30 minutes to your timer. Do not put cover back on pot.
    Adding tomato to pot during cooking process of lentil recipe or lentil soup recioe
  7. Add remaining seasonings (turmeric, cumin, paprika, ground red pepper, ground black pepper, and salt)
  8. Mix well and allow to continue to cook for the remaining 30 minutes.
  9. Let cool until all liquid is absorbed (about 30 minutes to 1 hour)
For Lentil Soup Recipe
  1. Follow all above steps
  2. After cooling and all liquid has been absorbed, if a more liquid-like consistency is desired, add up to 4 additional cups of water, one cup of water at a time.
  3. Salt and pepper to taste.
For Baby Food
  1. Follow instructions above for lentil recipe but do not add ground red pepper. If still too spicy, remove the ground black pepper from recipe also.
  2. After cooling process as instructed above, puree and store in freezer using ice cube trays. After frozen in ice cube trays, place all cubes in a ziplocked bag to maximize flavor and shelf-life.
    *For Stage 2 and above only.