Easy Zucchini Lentil Skillet! It’s a versatile, healthy, and budget-friendly dish that’s sure to become a staple in your weekly meal rotation.

Looking for a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner? This Easy Zucchini Lentil Skillet is your new go-to recipe! Packed with tender zucchini, sweet red peppers, and savory onions, all simmered together with hearty lentils, this dish offers a perfect balance of flavor and nutrition. Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or just love wholesome comfort food, this zucchini lentil skillet is a delicious way to enjoy fresh vegetables and plant-based protein in just under 30 minutes.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Honestly, we loved this zucchini lentil dish! It’s one of those recipes that’s incredibly easy to whip up on a busy night but still tastes like you’ve put in much more effort. The combination of tender zucchini and hearty lentils creates a satisfying texture, while the colorful peppers add a touch of sweetness and brightness.

I can’t recommend enough giving this recipe a try — it’s perfect for anyone looking to add more plant-based meals to their diet without sacrificing flavor or convenience.

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This Easy Zucchini Lentil Skillet is fast and easy to make. Tender zucchini, onions, and red bell peppers along with hearty lentils are flavored in simple seasonings.
• Zucchinis: We used 4 small zucchinis in one kitchen test and 3 small to mediumish-sized zucchinis in another kitchen test. The key is to use between 16 to 18 oz. of sliced zucchinis in total. This equates to approximately 4 to 5 cups of sliced/diced zucchini.
• Tenderness of the Veggies: Do not add the lentils until the sautéed veggies have reached the desired tenderness.
• Amount of Sea Salt: Our family was completely divided over the amount of sea salt that was used in this recipe. Some felt it needed additional sea salt seasoning. We landed on 1 ½ teaspoons.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
• Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered air-tight container.

This dish freezes well; however, the integrity of the zucchini and lentils tend to become very soft after freezing and thawing.

Pantry Products:

• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Equipment:

• Canned Lentils: We used Delallo Imported Italian Lentils.  They come in a 14 oz. can.  Most grocery stores carry them in the specialty aisles. If using dry lentils, select lentils that hold their shape after cooking like a brown lentil such as small brown lentils called Pardina lentils. Cook dry lentils separately, adjust time accordingly.  If cooking dry lentils, you want to end up with 1 2/3 cups of cooked
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

If you try this flavorful salad, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Easy Zucchini Lentil Skillet

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 20 Minutes
• Total Time: 30 Minutes
• Yield: 5 Cups 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Looking for a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner? This Easy Zucchini Lentil Skillet is your new go-to recipe!

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Ingredients

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Skillet Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
• 2 to 3 medium zucchinis (16 to 18 oz.), unpeeled, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, small dice
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 – [ 14 oz. can ] canned lentils, drained and rinsed *

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ¼ to 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
• Sprinkle black pepper (+/-)

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Instructions

1. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
2. In a large skillet, add the diced onions, zucchini, and red bell peppers, sauté over medium-high heat for 9 to 11 minutes until tender, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning. Add the Spice/Herb Mix about half-way through the sautéing, stir well.
3. Push the veggies to the sides of the skillet to create a space in the center, then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic and tomato paste in the center of the skillet, sauté, stirring the tomato paste and garlic constantly for one minute. Then mix the garlic/tomato paste mixture into the sauteed onions, red bell peppers, and zucchini.
4. Once the onions, red bell peppers, and zucchini are tender, then add the drained and rinsed lentils, gently stir. Simmer until heated through.

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Notes

Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used. 

Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.   

Servings:  4 (makes 5 cups)

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