Lentil Stew Recipe • Two Purple Figs (2024)

This North African lentil stew features a flavorful base of onions, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs with a generous amount of lentils and spinach. It’s such an easy one-pot meal for cold days and it will be finished after roughly thirty minutes in the pot.

You’ll love how filling and how comforting this delicious one-pot vegan lentil stew will be for your family. Make a pot and be sure to enjoy the leftovers as this kind of dish only seems to get better with age.

WHY THIS LENTIL STEW RECIPE

This thick and savory spinach and lentil stew is as simple as can be. With very few ingredients, this meal is cooked all in one pot for less than 30 minutes, and it keeps you full for a long time!

It’s a must try recipe, especially if you’re looking for a vegetarian or vegan meal to sneak in to your busy week. I’m really excited about this North African-inspired lentil stew recipe. Like many other recipes on the blog—this one pot meal has a special place in my heart.

You see my mom used to make it when I was a kid and I resented tasting it just by the look of it. Horrendous I know.

Especially now that I keep pushing my kids to “just taste” anything even if it doesn’t look familiar. I’m hoping one day they won’t judge food by the look of it like I did lol. Now that I’m an adult it looks so much better than I remember!

HOW TO MAKE LENTIL STEW

This recipe is actually a really old one, and it’s very popular in North Africa so I made it as is without changing or twisting a thing about it.

It’s very unlike me, you know how I always love twisting recipes. But I thought this time, I’ll just watch my mom make it her way. The same way my grandma made it too. And I didn’t feel I needed to change a thing.

This lentil stew is perfect the way that it is— a flavorful base of onions, garlic, tomatoes and herbs to which a generous amount of lentils and spinach are added and cooked through.

Ingredients for Lentil Stew

Olive Oil. Used as the base for sauteeing onions and garlic because of it’s high burn point.

Garlic Cloves. Freshly minced garlic makes a huge difference in the final taste of a dish. If you need to use jarred minced garlic, use less because it adds a bitter edge to the flavor.

Roma Tomatoes.Diced into 1/4 inch dice. You can use canned roma tomatoes if necessary.

Tomato Paste. You’ll just need a little bit to up the intensity of the tomato flavor in this dish.

Parsley and Cilantro.Chopped and mixed.

Salt.

AllSpice. A surprising spice many people consider to be seasonal adds the perfect touch to this dish. You should use it more often!

Dried Coriander. Ground.

Tumeric. This bright yellow spice is warm and bitter, similar to black pepper.

Paprika. You can use smoked paprika if you love that smokey flavor.

Vegetable Stock.

Red Lentils. Use orange lentils or brown lentils if that is what you have on hand.

Fresh Spinach Leaves. Loosely packed.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Since I’ve been lucky to have my mom stay with me the last couple of months, I’ve been asking her to make those meals I rarely make on my own.

Don’t ask why, I just don’t know. Like those amazing Juicy Spicy Turkish Meatballs, why on earth didn’t I make them for so long! They’re another MUST try by the way if you’re looking to jazz up or swap your everyday meatballs.

Here’s the thing — it’s straightforward to make. First, you will sautee the onion and garlic with the olive oil until they are soft and golden. I recommend using a dutch oven if you have one and get it good and hot before you add the onion and garlic. Then, you add the tomatoes and tomato paste and keep them over heat until the tomatoes release all the water. Keep cooking this until most of the tomato juices have evabporated.

At this point, add the herbs and spices and sautee for a couple more minutes until it begins to look olike a thick paste. Then add the stock and bring to a boil. Once it boils, add the lentils and cover your pot. Cook those lentils for about fifteen minutes until they start to soften up and then add then spinach to the pot.

Continue cooking all for ten more minutes until the spinach is wilted and the lentils are tender and fully softened. Garnish with the remaining herbs, and then taste and adjust for salt before serving hot.

TIPS FOR THE BEST VEGAN LENTIL STEW

• Sautee your onions and garlic on medium heat and don’t be tempted to rush through this step by turning up the heat. The garlic should not brown as it will make your lentil stew bitter.
• You can use a cup of canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes.
• Fresh spinach can be substituted with frozen, thawed spinach.
• Add extra broth to make this a lentil soup instead. Both the soup and stew are delightful.
• You may wish to have coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper for seasoning at the table.
• Garnish with slices of fresh lemon. The lemon juice will add a little brightness to the dish.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH NORTH AFRICAN ONE POT SPINACH AND LENTIL STEW

Classically this lentil stew with spinach is served with bread. I had some naan bread which I just warmed up a bit and it did the job! Any crusty bread will be perfect. You might also enjoy it with our ultimate garlic bread.

On the side, my lovely mom had made some of her famous pickled lemons.

HOW TO STORE LENTIL STEW LEFTOVERS

Refrigerate leftover stew for up to four days in an airtight container in your refrigerator. If you prefer, freeze individual servings in airtight containers for up to three months. Microwave to thaw. Lentils may be more mushy when re-heated from frozen, but the overall taste should be preserved.

MORE ONE POT MEALS

I just love simple comforting one-pot meals like that—quick, delicious, nutritious and heart warming. You just can’t go wrong. Here are more one-pot meals to try.

One Pan Chicken Potato Bake With Zaatar

One Pot Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad

One Pan Pierogies Alfredo Recipe

15 Minute One Pan Ravioli Recipe