This Crock Pot Lentil Veggie Stew is a wholesome family favorite. As the temperature drops, this hearty stew becomes a go-to for my busy family. It’s delicious, nutritious and requires minimal effort!
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!
Crock Pot Lentil Veggie Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 leeks, chopped (use only the white and light green part of the leek)
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (32 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
- 16 ounces dried lentils
- 2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 4 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
- Place the onion mixture with the remaining ingredients in a crock pot and stir.
- Cover and cook the lentils on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 8 hours or until lentils are tender.
- Top with desired accompaniment and serve.
Notes
- * 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.
One of my all-time favorites. I love when the weather finally gets cold enough to make this soup.
Hi Deidre! I couldn’t agree more. I look forward to making this every year when it starts to get chilly too!
Delicious! Great for a crowd with good bread on a cold day…..filling and flavorful. Only change I made was I used fire-roasted tomatoes.
Glad you enjoyed!!
Jan 29, 2023 – made mostly as directed. Only chgs; 3 carrots instead of 2, 4 celery stalks instead of 3, didn’t have bay leaves, so added 1/2 tsp oregano & my canned diced tomatoes were seasoned. I cooked mine on the stovetop. It only took 60 minutes till the lentils were soft. Very easy, healthy & tasty.
Our 2-yr-old LOVED this soup! She had never had soup before, but she gobbled up 3 bowls. She even figured out how to drink the leftover broth at the end! Mom and Dad enjoyed it too
It also took my lentils longer than 4hrs on high. Too bad I was planning it for dinner time with no time to spare. Good news is they get better with every reheat.
Amazing recipe and flavours – thank you!!!!!! 🙂
I couldn’t get kale or Swiss chard in the supermarket today, so I substituted with finely sliced sweetheart cabbage. I made in on top of the stove in about 90 minutes and it turned out perfectly. I don’t have kids, so I can’t vouch for how kid friendly it is. I did, however, film it bubbling away on the stove and sent it to my food-loving chum. Very impressed, he was! A lovely stew, and the leftovers are now packed away ready for the freezer. I’ve recently decided to overhaul my eating habits so this will be an ideal “ready meal” when I’m too exhausted to cook. Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ll be trying out more from your site!
SCORE! This is what I love to hear!
My 3 year old daughter absolutely loved this soup! We had it for dinner and she asked for the leftovers for lunch everyday for a week. It was a big hit at our house. My one year old son and husband also devoured it. I made it exactly as described in the recipe except used extra celery and multi-colored carrots in place of the leeks. Definitely putting it into the regular rotation!!
Glad to hear you liked it!
Wow this was great! I made it using a regular pot and still cooked it for around 4 hrs. The flavors came together near the end, so the extra time was worth it. Amazing with a little parmigiana sprinkled on top.
These were great. I skipped the onions and garlic on the stove and skipped the leeks and kale since I didn’t have them and it still turned out great. I do beans and rice every Sunday night and this is getting made again tonight.
[…] Crockpot Lentil Stew Perfect, comforting lentil stew, and sometimes I add good quality andouille sausage. […]