Comforting, simple healthy goodness, all in one pot, is all you’ll need on a chilly day. Perfectly seasoned, it never fails to please, this delicious Lemony Red Lentil Spinach Stew is perfect for warming you up and filling your belly with wholesome goodness. Healthy and packed with feel-good ingredients, you can be assured that your tastebuds will be delighted. Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Ameera here!

“I really don’t like tasty, warm, comforting stews”. . .  said no one ever!  Seriously now, everyone I know really loves a flavorful stew.  You know the kind I’m talking about, those “soul warming” types of stews!  Which is exactly what this stew is all about!

This stew is so easy to make, the cooking process is perfectly painless.  It’s filled with fragrant spices that will warm you up inside and pair with it our fabulous Quinoa Flatbread for a wonderful soup-dunker, YUM!

Lemon and Spinach Power Duo

The lemony flavor really brightens this stew perfectly.  Why, you might ask?  Because lemon really helps open the flavor and nutrients of spinach.  Lemon and spinach are considered a “Power Food Combo.” Lemon helps your body absorb as much as 13 times more antioxidants than if you just ate spinach alone, now how cool is that? Plus, spinach paired with citrus allows for better iron absorption – win, win, win!

Red Lentils

Red lentils are rich in iron and folate and are an excellent source of protein. No need to soak red lentils, they cook quickly. They are also a good source of fiber, copper, phosphorus and manganese. I could go on and on about the wonders of lentils, but let’s just say “lentils are AH-MAZING!”

Spices Galore 

Dr. Greger is all about the spices! They help the body in numerous ways – from helping lower blood sugar levels, fighting infections, boosting immunity, to containing powerful antioxidants, spices does the body good!

Spices are also important to the Whole Food Plant Based diet because we use them to bring flavor to our dishes simply because we don’t use oil or other artificial ingredients and chemicals like MSG.  Detoxing from all those chemicals and artificial ingredients is real folks. But once you get past it, food takes on a whole new dimension of flavor, and spices play an important role.

This dish has an impressive list of spices used and it tastes awesome!  I’ll let Mom tell you more.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Hi!  Robin here!

I have always had a decent pantry full of spices, but since going Whole Food Plant Based, my spice shelves have tripled.  At first, I would buy one new spice a week. That really helped keep the cost down instead of trying to buy them all at once.

Spices are essential when eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet for the reasons Monkey explained above, and I whole heartedly agree. I love my spice cupboard. It is jam packed. I have to admit, there are days when I go crazy trying to locate a certain spice that I know I have, but I simply can’t find it right away as I have 4 shelves devoted to my spice obsession.  LOL

We hope you give this recipe a try and spice up your life!  If you do try this recipe, we would love to know if you love it as much as we do!  Leave us a review or post it on Facebook or Instagram!

Also, check us out on Instagram or Facebook!

Products Used:

• 6-quart or 8-quart enamel-ceramic lined Dutch oven or similar large stock pot

Lemony Red Lentil Spinach Stew

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 35 Minutes
• Total Time: 45 Minutes
• Yield: 4 Servings 1x
• Category: Stew
• Method: Stovetop

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Comforting, simple healthy goodness, all in one pot, is all you’ll need on a chilly day. Perfectly seasoned, it never fails to please, this delicious Lemony Red Lentil Spinach Stew is perfect for warming you up and filling your belly with wholesome goodness. Healthy and packed with feel-good ingredients, you can be assured that your tastebuds will be delighted. Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 large yellow onion, fine dice
• 2 carrots, fine dice
• 3 celery ribs, fine dice
• 1 red bell pepper, fine dice
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 – [ 14.5 oz. can ]  petite diced tomatoes
• 4 cups water (or broth)
• 2 cup vegetable broth *
• 1 ½ cups dry split red lentils
• 1 Tablespoon white miso *
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 to 6 cups fresh baby spinach – optional

Spice/Herb Ingredients: 

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
• Pinch turmeric
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (+/-)
• 2 ½ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)

Optional Topping Ingredients:

• Cilantro
• Microgreens
• Lemon wedges
• Fresh tomatoes – small dice
• Red pepper flake

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Place all the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, mix well (exclude the bay leaf and cayenne pepper). Set aside.
2. In a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven/pot or similarly large stockpot, add the diced onion, celery, carrots, and red bell pepper. Sauté over medium heat for approximately 7 to 9 minutes to soften them.  Add a splash of water if they start to stick.
3. Once the veggies are softened, then turn down the heat a little, and add the minced garlic, sauté for one minute.
4. Stir in the Spice/Herb Mix and cook for a minute, stirring constantly until fragrant.
5. Add all the remaining ingredients except for the fresh spinach, and cayenne pepper. Turn the heat up to bring the mixture to a boil, once boiling then immediately turn down the heat to a simmer.  Simmer until the lentils are soft, about 20 to 30 minutes).
6. Taste test for flavorings, ramp up any spices as needed. Add the fresh spinach and cayenne pepper simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
7. Serve with your favorite toppings, and our Quinoa Flatbread. (Note we added ½ teaspoon of turmeric to our Quinoa Flatbread recipe. It was super tasty!

---

Notes

*Vegetable Stock:  We use Pacific Organic Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  If using a different brand, then consider using 4 cups of veggie broth and 2 cups of water.

*Miso:  We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free.  Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. You can also substitute with chickpea miso for a soy free version.

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

*Servings:  4

*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.