Sprouted Lentil Stew
Enjoy some delicious vegan sprouted lentil stew that’ll fill you up without causing any bloating. This dish will be easy to make using tips for even quicker meal prep!
Everyone needs a rich and hearty lentil stew in their life. But many stews made from scratch with beans or legumes can take hours to prepare and result in unsatisfying gassiness. Not this one! I’ll share some effective tips for preparing lentils to beat the bloat.
Then, turn them into a quick vegan stew that will significantly cut meal prep time in half on busy weeknights.
Lentils are so delicious and satisfying. They are rather nutritious as they are high in protein, fiber, and minerals. They are very inexpensive, versatile, and taste better when cooked from scratch.
My favorite ways to use them in many recipes include my Meatless Mushroom Lentil Meatballs, Vegan Rice Burgers, casseroles, soups, and stews.
There are many different types of lentils, but my preferred types are the green or brown ones. They both have a nice earthy and nutty flavor and hold their shape well after cooking.
However, brown lentils cook quicker than the green types. For this recipe, you can use either.
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Preparing and Cooking Lentils to Reduce Bloating
Lentils actually do not require pre-soaking and can be cooked on the stovetop for 15 to 20 mins for brown lentils and up to 45 mins for green lentils.
My main issue with cooking beans and legumes without soaking is that they can cause bloating and gassiness. Not quite a pleasant experience, and many of you probably avoid beans and legumes completely because of this.
Lentils, like beans, could make you gassy because they contain certain starches that the good bacteria in our gut love. They feed on these starches, releasing gasses that make us bloated (source).
Despite that, lentils are quite healthy, and we shouldn’t miss out on the great taste and benefits. But I do understand the frustration of dealing with bloat. Even a short soaking time of a few hours isn’t always enough.
Soaking for at least 8 hours or overnight is preferred. However, the best method that has worked for me to reduce the bloating and gassy effects of lentils completely is sprouting.
Sprouting is excellent at boosting the nutrients in beans and legumes while making them a lot easier to digest (source). Lentils are some of the easiest to sprout. They can form sprouts in as little as one day in the right conditions.
How to Sprout Lentils
1. Rinse 1 cup (200 g) of lentils to remove debris or dirt.
2. Soak in 3 cups (708 ml) of lukewarm water. Place in a warm area of your kitchen and leave overnight.
3. In the morning, drain lentils in a large strainer or colander, then place it over a bowl to continue draining.
It’s crucial not to have the lentils touching the water in the bowl while sprouting, resulting in spoilage.
4. Loosely cover the lentils with a damp kitchen towel and place the bowl in a sunny area of your home to begin sprouting.
5. Every 3 to 4 hours, rinse and drain the lentils to keep them from drying out or to prevent mold formation. Rinse more frequently if the temperature and humidity are high.
6. Stop rinsing once the “tails” start to appear. They usually start that afternoon but can take up to 2 days if the temperature is too low, especially during winter.
If that’s the case, you can try placing the bowl in your oven with only the oven light turned on or in a warm closet. I haven’t attempted this myself, but it’s worth a try.
After the final rinse, the lentils can be cooked. Use just enough fresh water to cover the top. The recommended cooking times are 10 to 15 minutes on the stovetop and 3 minutes in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker (after it comes to pressure).
Remember, green lentils usually take longer to cook than brown ones, so times will vary for both.
If you use the entire batch of sprouted lentils for the same recipe, feel free to cook them with your seasonings and spices.
Lentils are cooked when they still hold their shape but are not crunchy when eaten. They also shouldn’t be hard to press between 2 fingers.
Weekly Meal Prep Tip: You can sprout and cook a larger batch of lentils to greatly reduce your prep time for this recipe, especially during busy weeknights.
I usually sprout 2 cups (400 g) of dried lentils, which is enough to last me a week of dinners.
After cooking, lentils can be stored in smaller containers and frozen for up to a month. The finished sprouted lentil stew can be stored in the fridge and should be eaten within 5 to 7 days.
Quicker Alternative to Sprouting
If you are not up to trying sprouting at home or can’t seem to get it right, then no worries! There are a few brands that offer sprouted, dried lentils.
These are not easily found in stores in my area, so I would order them online from time to time.
One brand I’ve personally tried and like is TruRoots. They are great to have on hand and take about 10 minutes to cook.
This is perfect for throwing together a quick, vegan sprouted lentil stew in a crockpot or Instant Pot. Add 1 cup (200 g) lentils to the pot, 3 cups (708 ml) water and the remaining ingredients.
Then, set it and forget it! It’s definitely the fastest way to make this recipe from scratch with minimal effort and without the gassy aftermath. This makes about 2 1/2 cups (500 g) of cooked lentils.
Serving Suggestion
You can serve this stew with potatoes, rice or pasta. Here I served it with kudzu noodles back when I lived in Japan.
They are low-calorie, gluten-free noodles made from potato starch. I’ve also had rice noodles with sprouted lentil stew.
For a heartier side, try these Vegan Garlic Knots or Pearl Barley.
More comforting stew recipes :
Sprouted Lentil Stew
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked sprouted lentils, See Notes
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp maple syrup, or other sweetener
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose seasoning, or to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 handful fresh basil, optional
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Chop the carrot, onion, tomato and bell pepper and mince the garlic.1 medium carrot,1 medium onion,1 medium tomato,1 small red bell pepper,3 cloves garlic
- Heat the oil in a pot then add carrot and onion.2 teaspoons oil
- Once browned, add garlic, sweetener, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, tomatoes, all-purpose seasoning, salt and pepper.1 medium tomato,1 tsp fresh thyme,1/2 tsp dried rosemary,1 bay leaf,1 tsp maple syrup,2 teaspoons all-purpose seasoning,Salt and pepper
- Allow sweetener to caramelize (darken a bit) then stir in lentils.2 cups cooked sprouted lentils
- Add water, cover pot, lower heat and allow it to simmer for 8-10 mins.1 cup water
- Adjust seasoning if needed. Stir in bell pepper and fresh basil then remove from heat.1 handful fresh basil
- Serve with potatoes, rice or pasta.
Notes
- Effective ways to prepare and cook lentils to prevent bloating
- How to sprout lentils
- Alternative to sprouting
- This stew can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days and is also freezer-friendly.
- More Vegan Lentil Recipes: Vegan Sausage Lentil Lasagna (Gluten free), Mushroom Lentil Meatballs, Vegan Taco Salad Bowl
Hi Jhanelle,
I am eating this wonderful dish as I type. Amazing!
TBH, the only time I’ve ever had a problem with digestion was in my mid-40’s after a surgery when the very first meal I had after coming out of anaesthesia was a sausage and onion ginder (Italian-American sandwich). That’s a week I hope never to repeat!
So as far as sprouting the lentils is concerned, I’m not sure I’ll bother next time. I like them the old-fashioned way just fine.
But girl, you knocked it out of the park with the “everything else.” I think the biggest surprise for me was the maple syrup. It took the “sweetness burden” off of the carrots, and let them just be their own tender yummy self.
IDK if maple syrup is a Jamaican tradition , but the dish does bring back some fond memories of a week I spent in Jamaica back in the 90’s. I think the idea is that sweetness (often banana) can be one more dimension in a balanced, complex flavor landscape.
I made two changes to your recipe. Because the tomatoes I used were pathetic USA supermarket tomatoes, I added a bit of tomato paste so that there would at least be a bit of tomato flavor. And I used a combination of red bell peppers and red Fresno chili peppers. The Fresnos, if you carefully remove the seeds and internal ridge thingies, add only a tiny bit of heat; enough to notice, but well-behaved and still kinda in the background.
I just stumbled upon your site b/c YouTube told me I had to sprout lentils and I wanted ideas for what to do with them. I’m not vegan, but I have seriously cut back on meat consumption, so I will be sure to scour your site for more ideas.
Hope all is well with you. Thank you for your recipes.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment Jeff! I love the modifications you made too. The tomato paste was a smart move and the combination of red bell pepper and Fresno peppers sounds like great enhancements to the flavor. I’ll have to try them myself!
And I’m with you on the sprouted lentils. If you’d rather skip the sprouting process, I say go for it!
Molasses was our “liquid sweetener” back in Jamaica but boy, was it strong! It barely had much sweetest to it. I think it was the blackstrap kind.
I get what you mean though about complex flavors in sweeteners. That definitely reminds me of Jamaican brown cane sugar.
I really appreciate you giving the recipe a try and making it your own. I hope you find more recipes you enjoy!
– Jhanelle
Thank you, Jhanelle. It looks and sounds so yummy. I’m planning to make this or as close as I can get it this coming weekend in Maine (Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend with maybe some frost!). I’m sure it will be a big hit. I get my already sprouted (brown) lentils from nuts.com and they are truly delicious.
Would love to see more of any sprouted bean or lentil recipes from you. I also have sprouted black and pinto beans but have not tried any recipes yet.
Agnes N.
Came out well / mine did not turn mushy 😀. The photo is before adding basil (if the photo works). The only change I made is that I added some lemon juice and a tiny splash of tamari sauce.
Thanks so much for sharing a photo Kim! It looks great!
Looking forward to trying this recipe, but maybe I am missing the point. Since the lentils will already be softened by the sprouting process, can’t they just be added with the other vegetables and be cooked for 8-10 minutes? Seems like they shouldn’t need to be cooked separately.
Yes, sprouted lentils can definitely be cooked with the vegetables.
We actually love it with some balsamic glaze drizzled across each serving and omitting the basil. Love the flavor combo 😊.
Hi Jhanelle, it’s Bill here again that commented above on overcooked lentils. I was searching other sites to see how long others are cooking sprouted lentils and came across a site called the MinistryofCurry . com. This Indian girl Archana has written a book called The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook. She cooks sprouted lentils for 1 min under pressure and let cool and release pressure on it’s own. Then their done. No wonder I made 2 cups of sprouted cooked lentil mush.
Anyway, I thought you might find her site and book interesting and helpful for you future recipes. I’ll be trying a few myself. I wish you health, wealth and happiness.
Bill
That sounds like a great read Bill. I love Indian food so I’ll be looking her up. Thank you for sharing!
I sprouted green lentils and used your recommended cooking time of 8 mins using a pressure pot. Unless you like your lentils like mush you need to shorten the time to maybe 4 or 5 mins and reduce the water to just below the top of the lentils or less, unless you want soupy lentils. I was cooking these green lentils without spouting for about 12 – 15 min which made then firm enough to use in other recipes without having them turn to mush too.
Thanks for the suggestion Bill. I’ll give them a go again and update the recipe if needed.
In wondering in your recipe why you cook the lentils first before adding to the rest of the ingredients? Could not the sprouted lentils just be cooked until done with all your ingredients?
Hi Karen, great question. Yes, you can definitely cook the lentils with the remaining ingredients.
Often when I sprout lentils, I don’t usually use the entire batch for the same recipe. So I prefer to cook the sprouted lentils (just in water) before freezing. That way it’s more versatile.
However, if you are only making one dish with the entire batch then you can certainly cook all the ingredients at once. I’ll make a note of that.
Thank you!
I am trying lentils again thanks to your post! I have avoided them for years because of how gassy they make me. If I purchase pre-sprouted lentils, such as TruRoots, do I still need to soak them overnight? Thank you again!
Hi Christina! I totally understand! I went through it too but happy you’d like to give it a go again. The good thing about TruRoots is they are ready to cook. They have been through the soaking and sprouting process so no need to soak them overnight. You can do a quick soak to rehydrate them but if you’ll be adding them to a stew or soup then you can skip soaking altogether. Just cook with a bit more water if needed. Best of luck!