This healthy vegan lentil and potato stew is full of comfort food goodness and seasonal ingredients, like carrots, greens, and wintery herbs. This lightened up stew is great for cold weather, quick & easy, and very budget friendly.
This lentil potato stew is another recipe that’s a great staple pantry meal using what you likely have on hand. With just a handful of ingredients plus spices, it’s a truly excellent classic dish.
The basics are made a bit more interesting here with rosemary, thyme, and Dijon mustard adding loads of flavour for a surprisingly complex vegan meal. This is winter comfort food all the way.
It’s sort of a cross between a soup and stew, really. That being said, the leftovers from this are fantastic and it will thicken up significantly by day two. This was inspired by a blog favourite, this red lentil and carrot soup, and my oma’s lentil potato soup.
Need some more soup and stew inspiration? Check out this collection of cozy cold weather soup recipes!
Scroll to the bottom of the post or click “skip to recipe” above to see the recipe card with full ingredient measurements and instructions.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Potatoes
- Carrot(s)
- Garlic
- Rosemary
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Sweet paprika
- Cayenne pepper (optional, see notes)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Vegetable broth
- Brown lentils (or black or green, see substitutions)
- Coconut sugar or honey (see notes)
- Dijon mustard
- Thyme
- Spinach, rucola, or other hardy greens (see substitutions)
Tips and Notes
You might be wondering about the honey (or coconut sugar, if vegan) listed in the recipe. This isn’t to sweeten the stew, but rather to round out the flavours. It’s fairly typical in (good) vegan recipes to ensure that there’s a proper depth of flavour in the dish and I don’t encourage leaving it out.
If you have cooked lentils on hand, you can use them instead of dried if you have to use them up. Dried lentils are preferable because they’re being cooked alongside everything else and pick up plenty of seasoning from the broth. To use cooked, reduce the amount of broth by a cup.
In the pictures I peeled the potatoes because they were a little green. I wouldn’t peel them otherwise, because the most nutritious part is the skin. Try to use organic if you can as potatoes are one of the most heavily sprayed crops in conventional agriculture but the skin is excellent.
Rosemary and thyme flavour the stew. Both are good go-to herbs just about year round depending on where you live as 1. they probably over-winter, and 2. unlike basil, both are excellent options dried.
Mustard is key. It’s a tiny amount, just half a teaspoon, but is very important in this recipe.
Substitutions
You can leave the herbs out if you don’t have any or don’t want to buy a whole bundle for such a small amount. I have made it without herbs when I haven’t wanted to go out in the rain to cut any, but they really do improve the dish and I don’t really recommend ditching them.
Alternatively, try subbing in a tablespoon of herbes de Provence – the recipe includes a note on how to use it instead of fresh herbs. Here are some good substitutes for thyme.
I have had some comments that this recipe is too spicy despite just a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper for flavour. If you have a hard time with any spiciness, you can leave it out or just add a tiny pinch. Make sure you’re not using hot paprika.
An earlier iteration used water interchangeably with stock and let me tell you that there were some very grumpy readers. I use water all the time and just up the salt a bit to make up for it (if you’re using store-bought stock, it’s really just salt anyway). So if you don’t have vegetable broth please feel free to use water and then season to taste.
If you’re not too keen on eating so many potatoes, you can switch the carrot/potato amounts and use more carrots and less potatoes.
More Lentil Recipes
Roasted Carrot Salad with Lentils
Lentil Rice Soup with Butternut Squash
Curried Potato Salad
Lentil Bolognese
Hearty Lentil and Quinoa Stew
Lentil and Potato Stew
This budget friendly, healthy vegan lentil and potato stew is full of comfort food goodness and seasonal ingredients, like carrots, greens, & winter herbs.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 500 grams / 2 cups potatoes, cut into 2cm pieces
- 250 grams / 1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into 1 cm slices
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, finely chopped*
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 750 ml / 3 cups vegetable stock
- 150 grams / 1 cup brown lentils, soaked if possible**
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar or honey***
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons thyme, finely chopped
- 70 grams / 3 cups rucola (arugula) or other greens****
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium. Add the onion and sauté for a couple of minutes or until softened and fragrant. Stir in the potatoes and carrots and cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally, to brown slightly.
- Add the garlic and rosemary, cook for an additional minute, then add the spices and stir for about 30 seconds. Pour the apple cider vinegar into the pot and stir, then the stock.
- Increase the heat to high and bring the stew to a rolling boil. Add the lentils and reduce the heat to medium-low, then simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes are tender.
- Take the pot off the heat and stir in the coconut sugar, mustard, thyme, and greens. Serve hot and keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. The stew will thicken slightly as it sits.
Notes
• The pot might get a bit brown on the bottom from the starch in the potatoes. Adding the vinegar should help lift it, but otherwise the broth will incorporate it and you'll end up with a more flavourful stew. Don't worry about it unless it's starting to burn, and then just reduce the heat.
* If you don't have fresh herbs, substitute 1 tablespoon of herbes de Provence in place of the rosemary and thyme. Add it when you add the lentils.
** Try to soak the lentils for 24 hours, but use dried and rinsed in a pinch. They'll take a bit longer to cook if they're not soaked.
*** The stew tastes a bit off without the sweetener, please don't leave it out.
**** You can also use frozen greens. If you do, stir them in and then turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner to thaw the greens.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 265Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 786mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 14gSugar: 11gProtein: 12g
This data is provided by a calculator and is a rough estimation of the nutritional information in this recipe.
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This post was originally published in October 2017. It has been last updated with improvements to the text and recipe as of October 2020.
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says
I like how chunky this soup is! Those chunks of potatoes, and the greens, just add character to it. Lentils are amazing, and we often incorporate them in our meals. Sorry to hear you were not feeling well, also here flu season is in full bloom. Soups like this one, are a great help!
Gabrielle @ eyecandypopper says
I had lentil soup 3 times this week, and I'm still salivating looking at yours. haha It's just so good, and I love potatoes too, so this is a great combo. Too funny about your grandma… Good thing she doesn't speak English! 😉
The Food Blog says
I really love the look of this soup. I love lentil soup and Have been making lots of them, too and yours with potatoes is one that I need to try! Glad you're feeling better!
Justine Celina says
This is EXACTLY what I need this week! It's freezing cold here in Calgary, we just got our first huge snowfall and I have such a busy week ahead. I'm headed out to grab the ingredients tomorrow and I pinned the recipe. Thanks for another beautiful dish!
Authentik Vietnam says
I made this recipe for dinner yesterday. It tasted so good!
Alexandra Daum says
So happy to hear that, thanks for sharing!
Meg Messinger says
I made your stew tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Even my kids loved it. The smell of the coconut oil was amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Alexandra Daum says
Oh that's awesome, Meg, especially knowing that your kids like it! You're so welcome, and thanks for letting me know that it went well 🙂
Anisa says
Could I use cooked lentils and add to the stew at the end?
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hi Anisa, you certainly could, but I would recommend reducing the amount of liquid by about a cup.
Brigitte says
Alexandra, I came to your page via Vanilla and Bean, and I am glad I did. I’m not vegan or vegetarian, but I’ve already made your lentil and potato stew…twice! It is a lovely recipe, and quite delicious. Thank you for the easy to follow recipe.
I’m looking forward to making more of your savory dishes.
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Thanks so much Brigitte, I’m so happy to have you here!
Nina says
I just made this and it’s super delicious, in addition to being really easy and quick to make. Wonderful recipe! Thank you.
Ashley says
This was fantastic! The flavor of the apple cider vinegar really came through in the best way. I used spinach because that’s what I had on hand. Really, really good.
Marilyn says
This looks delicious but it isn’t completely vegan if it has honey in it.
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I’m sure a vegan person would choose to sweeten with the coconut sugar : )
Isabella says
I made this soup for tonight’s dinner and it was delicious! I love that it only requires simple ingredients that I am always likely to have at home. It will be on the regular rotation of our recipe list : )
Katie Schenk says
This was excellent. Perhaps the best vegan stew I’ve made. I did make some minor changes, but mostly stuck to the recipe and it turned out amazing. We definitely feel this has a place in our kitchen! Thanks so much!
Steve Rich says
Perfect meal
I forwarded the recipe to my daughter as she has just moved out of the family home for the first time in our lives. A good healthy, versatile and budget wise dish. However, me being the meat eater of the house hold I garnished my serving with a good serving of sliced smoked duck breast thrown on top.
Yum yum yum.
Dan says
Very nice stew. Maybe I have a more mature palate, but I didn’t add a sweetener and I thought it was delicious all the same. Also in the future I would recommend putting the recipe at the top of the page; having to scroll down through your narrative to get to the facts is quite frustrating for the reader.
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hi Dan, glad you like the recipe. To clarify, the honey isn’t there to actually sweeten the recipe, but to make the flavour more complex and add roundness. If you prefer to go right to the recipe, there is a handy “Skip to Recipe” button right at the top of the post, before anything else – you’ll find this on almost every recipe site you visit.
Starla Pezzullo says
You can just tap the Jump To Recipe tab at top of post.
Colleen says
Hi, Alexandra.
Can you substitute red lentils for the brown lentils in this recipe? Thanks!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
You definitely can, but the texture will be a bit different – thicker and a bit heavier. It’ll still taste good!
Gracen Pernia says
I loved this recipe without the Dijon mustard, honey, and thyme. It tasted perfect before I added that in there!
Estelle says
Hi, this looks scrumptious!
Can l use split lentils, or must they be whole? Thanks
Alexandra says
Hi Estelle! You can use split lentils (I’m guessing you mean red ones?) but they’ll thicken the stew further and change the texture a bit. It’ll still taste good though!
Sara Thomas says
Absolutely delicious! I used the herbes de Provence and threw in some mushrooms. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you!
Sara Thomas says
I love this recipe so much! I wanted to stop by and say I did another version. I chopped the vegetables smaller and used less liquid. I sweated the spinach separately, then spread it over a puff pastry sheet. Then I added the ‘stew’ in a sausage shape, wrapped it up and baked it. A truly delicious vegetable Wellington, which I’m going to have for my Christmas Dinner!
Alexandra says
That sounds absolutely delicious, Sara, thank you for the inspiration!
Naomi says
❤️❤️❤️ this recipe!! Just bought an instant pot and would love some advice on how to make it in there!!
Alexandra says
Hi Naomi! Unfortunately I’ve never used an instant pot so I can’t really advise on how to use one for this recipe. Sorry about that! Maybe another reader will know this, though.
Mandy says
I was wondering the same thing! How to do this in an instant pot.
Alexandra says
My mom has one so I’m getting her on testing now! I’ll either share in this post or make a new post with the recipe.
Carla @ Foodie Digital says
This is a delicious and perfectly balanced lentil stew! I made it with beluga lentils (the black ones). I used kale, which was delicious, but next time I want to try the arugula option.
Aria says
My lentils didn’t cook all the way through.. I don’t know what I did wrong.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Aria, this is probably due to the age of your lentils. Sometimes they’re quite old by the time they get to shops, and old lentils (and and legumes) take longer to cook depending on their age. If you have more lentils from the same package, try soaking them overnight first. Hope this helps!