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Crock Pot Lentil Veggie Stew

January 2, 2011

It's been cold, rainy and -- thankfully -- really quiet here after the holidays, which means there's plenty of time for me to make warm soup to fill everyone's belly. Even though I've been in less of a rush than usual, that doesn't mean I'm not looking for ways to make life easier for myself in the kitchen. So, time once again to break out my crock pot! All I do is toss in some lentils, a few herbs and a mix of vegetables from the farmer's market and serve it with a dollop of herbed goat cheese on top, which the kids love swirling in to their soup. This recipe makes enough so that I can freeze half for cold, lazy nights when I don't have any time to cook -- which I anticipate happening quite a bit once school starts up again!

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Crock Pot Lentil Veggie Stew  (Serves 8-10)

  • Prep Time:5 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 4 hours,
  • Total Time: 4 hours, 5 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 leeks, chopped (use only the white and light green part of the leek)
  • 2 large carrots, chopped
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh or 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 8 cups vegetable stock (you could also use chicken stock)
  • 1 32 oz can chopped tomatoes with juice
  • 16 ounces dried lentils
  • 2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped

Preparation

  1. 1. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 4 minutes.
  2. 2. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
  3. 3. Place the onion mixture with the remaining ingredients in a crock pot and stir.
  4. 4. Cover and cook the lentils on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 8 hours or until lentils are tender.
  5. 5. Top with desired accompaniment and serve.
  6. * You can also place all of the ingredients in a large pot over low to medium heat and cover for 90 minutes or until tender.

Accompaniments: plain yogurt, herbed goat cheese, feta cheese, crème fraiche or Parmesan cheese

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Comments






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    April 16, 2013 at 11:54 am

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  2. Mary

    March 8, 2013 at 10:51 am

    Reply

    Delicious for the whole family – hubby and toddler with some teeth! I made without celery (didn’t have any) and kale (replaced it with spinach).
    Thanks!

  3. Lisa

    March 7, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    Reply

    I just made this recipe tonight. Thought all of the flavors blended nicely. Next time I would omit the Kosher salt as there is sodium in the tomatos. Other than that, I would make this recipe again and again.

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  7. Alika

    December 30, 2012 at 11:19 pm

    Reply

    To Diana: I also had the same issue with my crock pot. After 6 hours in the lentils were still inedible. Mine was also on high, I just think that lentils take a long time to cook, and if you want to speed up the process you could soak and even boil the lentils before adding them to the crock pot…. The best and fastest way to cook lentils is a pressure cooker.

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  10. Sarah

    December 15, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    Reply

    I love this recipe. I am not a fan of leeks, so i added more carrot and celery and cayenne pepper for a kick. SO YUM. Highly recommended. I also diluted the veggie broth a bit so it wasnt as potent. Would make a million times over, and is WAY quicker on the stove.

  11. James Thomson

    December 15, 2012 at 10:49 am

    Reply

    Recipe

  12. Keren

    November 23, 2012 at 1:44 pm

    Reply

    I recently bought your cookbook and I love it! This was on the menu tonight along with your banana bread cake for dessert. This stew was DELICIOUS! I substituted fresh spinach for kale and also added some chopped cilantro and parsley and the result was outstanding. All the adults gobbled it up. Unfortunately the kids were not in an adventurous culinary spirit (grrr…) and there were no leftovers for me to offer them tomorrow. Thank you!

  13. Tammy

    October 22, 2012 at 8:46 am

    Reply

    I made this before with green lentils but recently bought red. Does this alter the flavor much? Any tips!?

    • Sarah

      December 15, 2012 at 9:32 pm

      Reply

      Hey Lady!

      I made with half green and half red lentils, and it was delish, Either way im sure it will be yummy!

  14. Tammy

    October 22, 2012 at 8:46 am

    Reply

    Is it okay to use Red Lentils? I picked those up at the store and wanted to give them a try. However, I have made this before with Green lentils and loved it; I don’t want the flavor to drastically change with red. Any tips?

    • catherine

      October 22, 2012 at 11:28 am

      Reply

      The flavor will not be drastically different! The red lentils have a nuttier flavor than the green. They also cook faster, so the final result will be a softer consistency.

      • Tammy

        October 22, 2012 at 12:42 pm

        Reply

        Thanks Catherine!

  15. Portrait Photography

    June 7, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    Reply

    Lentil soup is the ONLY soup I can get my husband to eat. This was super yummy! Husband & daughters gobbled up every bite!

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  18. Mari

    February 23, 2012 at 10:59 pm

    Reply

    Made this tonight and it was great! My 18-month-old and 4-year-old gobbled it right up and my husband even said, “Mmm, I bet this is like what people used to make all the time before processed foods were invented.”
    Also, I filled two large mason jars with the leftovers – we’ll be taking this in our lunches!
    Thank you so much!

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  20. joyful8581

    February 5, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    Reply

    I have a really large slow cooker and I still can’t fit the 8 cups of stock!! What size did you use?????

    • catherine

      February 6, 2012 at 12:38 pm

      Reply

      I have a 7-quart!

  21. Jen

    February 4, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    Reply

    How do you think this would turn out without the tomatoes? My son has a tomato allergy and it seems like almost every crock pot recipe calls for tomatoes.

    • catherine

      February 6, 2012 at 12:50 pm

      Reply

      Tomatoes add body and flavor, so you’ll see them in almost all stew and soup recipes. You can omit the tomatoes, but you’ll need to increase the stock by about anther cup or two (or you can dilute it with water). Omitting the tomatoes will alter the flavor, but there are still so many other flavors in this stew it should be okay. If you still want the red you can add a diced red bell pepper. That’ll give a different flavor. I hope this helps!

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  23. Diana

    January 12, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    Reply

    Thanks for all of the easy crock pot recipes. I have a Crock Pot brand crockpot that has a recurring problem – veggies are still firm and recipes are generally not cooked after 4 to 5 hours on high. It seems that the food does not even start to simmer until more than 3 hours in. Is this normal? Anyone else have this problem? I’m wondering if there is a defect in my particular model….like it has the “keep warm” and “high” settings mixed up?

    • Diana

      January 13, 2012 at 2:42 am

      Reply

      I made this on the stove top tonight and it was excellent – thank you!

  24. Barb

    January 11, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    Reply

    I put this together this morning and am excited to try! However, there was not enough room in my “standard” sized crock pot for all of the ingredients (had to cut back on the broth), so I’m assuming you used a large crockpot?? I will have to invest! I’m still hoping it will turn out okay. Thanks for the healthy recipes, this should be perfect after our chilly, snowy Colorado day today!

  25. Candy

    November 16, 2011 at 11:07 pm

    Reply

    this was great!! my 2 year old kept saying “mmm” and finished every last veggie and drop of soup

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