Spiced Lentils with Carrots
These warm, sweet, and savory spiced lentils hold up well as leftovers and make the perfect cozy vegetarian meal prep.
Servings: 4 about 1.25 cups each
Calories: 314kcal
Equipment
- Deep Stainless Steel Skillet
- Garlic Press
- Chef's Knife
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion $0.70
- 4 cloves garlic $0.16
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger $0.10
- 4 carrots (about 2 cups chopped) $0.56
- 2 Tbsp olive oil $0.44
- 1 tsp ground cumin $0.10
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon $0.05
- 1/2 tsp allspice $0.05
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper $0.02
- 1 cup brown lentils* $0.67
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste $0.15
- 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots or raisins** $0.75
- 3 cups vegetable broth $0.39
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional) $0.10
Instructions
- Dice the onion, mince the garlic, grate the ginger, and peel and dice the carrots.
- Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and olive oil to a deep skillet. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about five minutes).
- Add the diced carrots, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, and crushed red pepper to the skillet. Continue to sauté for about two minutes more.
- Next, add the uncooked lentils, tomato paste, raisins or chopped apricots, and broth to the skillet. Stir until the tomato paste has dissolved into the broth. Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat up to high.
- Allow the broth to come to a full boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the lentils simmer in the broth with the lid on for 30 minutes, stirring only occasionally.
- After 30 minutes the lentils and carrots should be very tender. Give the lentils a taste and add salt or pepper if needed (this will depend on the salt content of your broth, I did not add any).
- Serve the spiced lentils with crusty bread for dipping, or over a bed of polenta or mashed potatoes. Top with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
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Notes
*This recipe is designed for brown or green lentils (not French green lentils, which take much longer to cook). This type of lentil cooks in about 20-30 minutes of simmering, does not require soaking, and they hold their shape when softened. I do not recommend red, orange, or yellow lentils for this recipe because they break down quickly when cooked and will leave you with something more like a mush or porridge.
**Raisins are the more economical choice here (golden or purple raisins), but I happened to have dried apricots on hand so I used those instead of buying raisins specifically for this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.25cup | Calories: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 851mg | Fiber: 18g