In Italy and France, people who eat meat also eat lentils, yet in England they tend to be reserved for people who are vegan or vegetarian. That’s a shame, because these middle-eastern pulses are super-tasty and make great (cheap) replacements for meat, and also are packed with protein and calcium. If you have a half-opened bag of lentils lying around in the cupboard (or some tins you bought on sale at the supermarket), here are some recipe ideas to use them up.
Vegan Lentil Loaf (Easy Cheesy Vegetarian) uses easy-cook red lentils with oats, onion, carrot, garlic, herbs, spices, chives and veggie stock. Lovely with mashed potatoes, greens and vegan gravy.
Keep these recipes away from pets, due to unsafe ingredients like salt, onion, garlic and mushrooms. Read more on keeping people & pets safe in the kitchen.
There are three main types of lentils. Red lentils are the quickest to cook. Brown or green lentils are more ‘earthy’ in flavour and good as meat replacements for things like spaghetti bolognese or shepherd’s pie. They take a bit longer to cook, but are easy to find in tins. If you do buy bags of dried lentils (many zero waste shops sell them loose), then recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your council does not collect at kerbside.
a Louisiana Creole-style lentil gumbo stew
Gumbo (Ela Vegan) is a popular dish in the Deep South state of Louisiana. Very filling, this Creole dish uses the ‘holy trinity’ of celery, onions and bell pepper, with lentils and beans, serve with bread or rice.
1-pot creamy vegan lentil pasta dish
One Pot Red Lentil Pasta (I Heart Vegetables) will soon be replacing a watery jar of tomato sauce. This rich sauce is made with vegan butter along with tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs, spinaches, spices and veggie broth. The ‘cream’ is made by adding a plant-based cream cheese.
homemade lentil & quinoa burgers
Quinoa lentil burgers (Ela Vegan) are simple to make and more affordable than buying faux meat burgers. Made with tomato pasta, garlic, onion, soy sauce and spices, serve in buns with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, cucumber and sauce.
a Greek-style lentil moussaka
Lentil Moussaka (Ela Vegan) is a lovely Greek dish, which replaces the lamb with lentils, tomatoes, potatoes and aubergine in a thick vegan bechamel sauce.
a plant-based vegan lentil omelette
This vegan omelette (Ela Vegan) uses ground lentils over tofu to make a wonderful breakfast or light lunch, spiced with cheesy-tasting nutritional yeast and made ‘eggy’ with kala namak (black salt).
2-ingredient red lentil wraps
These 2-ingredient lentil wraps (Ela Vegan) use dried red lentils and veggie broth. You simply blend the rinsed lentils with broth and water, then leave to soak for a few hours. Then cook the batter in a pan, just like pancakes. Add optional onion or garlic powder or smoked paprika.
homemade vegan bolognese (with red lentils)
This homemade vegan bolognese (Rainbow Plant Life) is a nice natural alternative to fake meats, for your Italian supper. Lentils are often thought of as ‘poor relations’ to meat, but in fact they are widely eaten on the continent and in the Middle East. They taste lovely too (tinned lentils are more brown or green, but red lentils are quicker to cook. You can now buy home-grown pasta brands in paper packaging. Yorkshire Pasta and Northern Pasta are two good brands (Suma and Mr Organic also sell pasta in plastic-free packaging).
The dish is topped with vegan Parmesan. Conventional Parmesan is not even vegetarian (it contains a cheese that by law in Italy, contains calf rennet). So just sub with vegan grated cheese if you can’t find vegan versions. You can make your own or even buy it in glass jars.
lentil, mushroom & beetroot bolognese recipe
This lovely beet & mushroom bolognese (The First Mess) makes use of naturally sweet beetroot and earthy mushrooms, for a sauce next time you’re cooking pasta. Why go back to boring watery tomato sauce, when you could make this instead? The recipe calls for roasted beetroot (to save on cooking bills, find an independent greengrocer or market stall that sells them in the morning). Lentils make this creamy cashew-based sauce more filling, and high in protein. Don’t eat too many mushroom for autoimmune disorders (asthma, arthritis, lupus).
Did you know that conventional Parmesan is not even vegetarian (it contains a cheese that by law, contains calf rennet). You can sub with any grated vegan cheese, or go for gold with Kinda Co’s Italian-style vegan cheese (made with nuts, this is gourmet stuff, and sold in a glass jar for easy recycling). You can also buy pasta in paper packaging from Yorkshire Pasta or Northern Pasta.
