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Last updated on December 13th, 2023 at 12:39 pm
If you’re on a mission to find some easy and healthy dinner ideas, you’ve just found a tasty vegan lentil recipe that you’ll want to meal prep every week. This is a delicious healthy lentil bowls recipe and it’s gonna become one of your go-to easy plant-based meals.
High in protein and fiber, these gluten-free lentil bowls are satisfying and super easy to make, even if you’ve never made lentils before.
Healthy Vegan Lentil Bowls Recipe
Don’t know what came over me, when I thought of making this lentil dish, all I know is it was on one of the hottest days of this beautiful adventurous year. I was sweating as if I had run for 5 minutes straight. And if you’ve ever seen this red face after a run, you’d know that’s a lot of sweat and it’s not pretty.
However, it was all worth it, because I got these lentil bowls out of that sweat and I couldn’t be happier.
I hadn’t had lentils in a while and when I tasted them, I was reminded that they are pretty much the best. They’re delicious and tiny and round.
Lentil Bowls Made With Simple Ingredients
These lentil bowls are made with whole foods only and are nourishing and pretty amazing. They’re spicy, but not too spicy, just intriguing. Here’s what’s inside:
- Lentils
- Tomato
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Turmeric
- Mint
- Crushed red pepper
- Onion
For the sauce I basically mixed some tahini with garlic, lime juice and a few splashes of water. Turns into the best vegan garlic sauce.
As for the salad, it’s pretty much this tomato cucumber salad that I shared a few weeks ago with some green pepper in it.
How To Cook The Lentils
To cook your lentils until they’re so perfect that you’ll start trying to compare yourself to them and to feel super intimidated, you’ll need to do a few things I’m pretty sure you don’t do every day.
First, you’re gonna have to travel back in time to the day before and soak the lentils in water. Then you’re gonna come back to here and now and remove that water. I’ve heard lentil water makes you bloat even more, so do yourself that favor and rinse and drain very well.
Now that you’ve taken all of these precautions you’ll discover that the lentils tripled their size. They’re pretty much like babies. They’re tiny, helpless, cute and next thing you know they’re walking, talking and asking you for toys.
Take a non-stick pan and add some olive oil to it, because non-stick cannot be trusted. Then add some chopped onion and chopped tomatoes, herbs, spices and the lentils.
Add some filtered water to cover the lentils, cover the pan with a lid and let the lentils cook for about 15 minutes at medium-high. Once all done, add in some spinach, some more garlic and olive oil. Your lentils are ready.
Not, so fast. I need you to remember something and I want you to share this eternal wisdom with your children and pets one day:
It is very, very very very important to add salt when you’re starting to cook your lentils. Otherwise, they’ll taste like nothing. Like sadness in a bowl. Like they’re empty and have never been loved. Salt = the magical ingredient that turns bland food into something delicious. (Probably not the best nutrition-related advice)
Once the lentils are cooked and you’ve discovered that you possess some extra sweat glands (if you make these during summer), make the salad, the tahini sauce and put it all together in a bowl.
More Lentil Recipes To Try
I hope you enjoy this simple, nourishing lentil recipe, here are some more to try:
- Easy Lentil Coconut Curry Recipe
- Evolved Lentil Wraps
- Vegan Bulgur Lentil Skillet
- Easy Lentil Vegetable Soup
Yield: 4
Healthy Vegan Lentil Bowls Recipe
A delicious vegan lentil bowls recipe that needs to be in your collection of favorite healthy dinner ideas! High in protein and fiber, this easy lentil recipe is satisfying and super easy to make, even if you’ve never made lentils before. A delicious vegan dinner recipe that everyone will love!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
Lentils
- 1 1/3 cups lentils, soaked
- 1 tomato chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp mint
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- ½ onion
- Handful spinach
- salt
Tahini Garlic Sauce
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 lime juice of
- 2 garlic cloves
- salt
- water
- tomato cucumber salad
Instructions
- Lentils: At medium-high saute onion and 2 cloves of garlic with 1 tbsp olive oil, add spices and tomato. Smash tomato with the spatula once a little cooked. Add lentils and stir. Add salt and water about 1 cup to cover.Cover with a lid and let cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Add spinach and cook for another 5 minutes. Add water if needed while cooking. Turn off the heat and add a clove of garlic and another tbsp olive oil.
- Sauce: In a small glass mix the tahini, lime juice, minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Add 2-3 tbsp water until desired consistency.
- Salad: Prepare this tomato cucumber salad, I also added a bell pepper.
- Arrange the bowls and enjoy immediately or store the lentils in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 208Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 337mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 6gSugar: 4gProtein: 7g
