This Lentil Tortilla Stew is so easy and flavorful; it is sure to be a new family favorite. Plus, it’s Whole Food Plant Based: oil free, refined sugar free, no processed ingredients to minimally processed ingredients, and gluten free!
Hi Everyone! Ameera here!
What is better than a beautiful bowl of stew that is wonderfully hearty and filling? This soup has to be one of our absolute favorite recipes that we have ever created. The Whole Food Plant Based diet really lends itself to creating amazing soups and stews. We always have multiple containers of soup in our refrigerator.
This one is in constant rotation and is a real crowd pleaser. Katie loves it so much that we always make it for her whenever she comes to town with Chris and Charlotte. Charlotte loves it too! She took one bite and immediately dug her big blue baby spoon in for another big bite. She has clearly developed a great flavor palate, no bland flavors for this little girl! 😉
It really does pack a flavor punch, which we love! Lentils always seem to make any recipe hearty. You definitely won’t walk away hungry after eating a bowl of this deliciousness. If you are looking for a great recipe to transition your kids over to Whole Food Plant Based, this one will definitely do the trick. Bake strips of gluten-free organic corn tortillas in the oven for some extra fun and crunch.
We call it a stew, but you can easily control the broth density, stew-like or soup-like. If you are looking for soup, add another cup of water; otherwise, be prepared for an amazingly stew-like dish of wondrousness. It is truly happiness in a bowl full of YUM!
Robin here!
I absolutely love this stew – simply delicious! I love anything with a Southwestern flair as you will start to see some Southwestern trends on this blog site. But what I love most about this stew is that I don’t feel deprived by the lack of sour cream or cheese.
Cheese – the struggle is real!
One of my initial, biggest struggles on the WFPB diet was giving up cheese. I was truly addicted. The struggle is real folks. You won’t feel the need to add cheese or sour cream to this bowl of deliciousness, and that makes me happy!
Love of Lentils
Growing up, my mom never used lentils, in any dish . . . ever! Lentils were simply not part of her cooking vocabulary. I am not sure why, other than I just don’t think she ever tried to use them or even thought about them much. I think she stuck with her tried and true recipes, none of which included lentils. I didn’t introduce lentils into my cooking until much later and now I use them whenever I possibly can. We love finding new ways to use them, especially since they are so satisfying in the belly! They warm you right up, body and soul!
“Strippy Things”
TP loves soups and stews. He especially loves this one. He likes to add what he calls the “strippy things” on top -lol. Don’t underestimate the power of the “strippy things” aka “gluten free organic baked corn tortillas”. Monkey and I take organic corn tortillas, cut them into strips and bake (or broil them) on a baking sheet until nicely browned. They add a yummy bit of crunch and flavor. I mean, you just gotta have the “strippy things”! LOL
Avocados!
I also love using avocado chunks in this soup. It gives the impression of having sour cream, only better! Another favorite is to sprinkle chopped red onions or green onions on top. I enjoy the different textures.
Everyone loves this stew (except Michael aka Mr. Picky Eater) even though he has actually never tried it. He just thinks he won’t like it. What are we gonna do with that boy? Every family has a picky eater, right?
Give it a try. The kids will thank you for it. 🙂
Products used in this recipe
- 8-quart Dutch oven
Lentil Tortilla Stew
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
This Lentil Tortilla Stew is so easy and flavorful; it is sure to be a new family favorite. Plus, it’s Whole Food Plant Based: oil free, no processed ingredients to minimally processed ingredients, and gluten free!
Ingredients
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 bell pepper, finely diced (we used a mixture of orange, red, and yellow)
- 3 cups water
- 1 ½ cups Pacific organic vegetable broth
- 1 – 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, then rinsed with 8 oz. water
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 – 4 oz. can mild green chilies
- 2 – 15 oz. cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- ¾ cup dry brown lentils
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
- ¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano (regular oregano works well too)
- Scant 1 teaspoon cumin (+/- to taste)
- Dash of cayenne pepper (+/- to taste)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt (+ more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+ more to taste)
- Corn Tortillas (Certified Organic Corn Tortillas) We use Organic Gluten-Free.
- Avocados, sliced (Optional, added to individual servings)
- Hot Sauce (Optional, added to individual servings)
Instructions
- Mince the onion and bell pepper and set aside.
- In a large ceramic-lined Dutch Oven, over medium heat, sauté the onion and bell pepper for 3-5 minutes until softened. (Add a Tablespoon of water if the onions and peppers start to stick).
- Next, add the following to the Dutch Oven: add the vegetable broth, water, tomato sauce, (and 8 oz. water rinsed from tomato sauce can), green chilies, tomato paste, black beans, corn, dried lentils, and the seasonings: chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, dried minced onion, cayenne pepper, sea salt and pepper. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Then immediately lower the heat to simmer. Cover the Dutch Oven and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, check the tenderness of the lentils. If the lentils are not tender, cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Test the tenderness of the lentils again. Continue until lentils are tender.
- When the Soup-Stew is almost done, take several corn tortillas and cut them into long strips and place on a baking sheet. Broil under the low broil setting until crispy and lightly browned.
- Place soup-stew in individual bowls and top with sliced avocado and crispy tortilla strips.
Notes
* This tortilla soup is stew-like, but can easily be made more soup-like by adding some additional water. We recommend trying the soup-stew since it is really filling and hearty.
*Brown or green lentils can be used. The cooking time may vary slightly.
*Mexican Oregano‘s taste is a bit more citrusy and has subtle hints of lime that really enhance the flavor of chilies and paprika. Most grocery stores sell Mediterranean Oregano aka Greek Oregano (without actually labeling it as “Mediterranean Oregano”). It is simply labeled “Oregano”. You can find Mexican Oregano online if your grocery store doesn’t carry it. If you cook a lot of Southwestern type dishes, the small investment is definitely worth it.
*Vegetable Broth: We used Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth because it does not have MSG, and has no highly processed ingredients; however, Pacific has a very strong flavor so our water to broth ratio is heavy on the water and low on the vegetable broth. If you are using a vegetable broth other than Pacific, please adjust the water to broth ratio accordingly.
Storage: The recipe is simple and yields approximately 10 cups of soup. Cool to warm, place in glass storage and refrigerate or store in plastic containers and freeze.
This was SO good! It is now in our menu rotation. Thank you!
Hi there Wendy 🙂
Wooooot! We are so glad that you enjoyed this recipe and will be adding it to your menu rotation! Thank you so much for your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write!
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Made this early in the day (right after lunch), so that it could simmer until dinner to let the flavours meld. So damn good! And I paired it with heated up corn tortilla chips.
Also, I made the Chipotle Butternut Cheesy Sauce from The Healthspan Solution book to go with it all. (great recipe if you haven’t tried it)
Dipping a chip in the sauce and then spooning some of the stew onto the chip were perfect bites of YUM!
Can’t wait for leftover tomorrow. ?
Hi there Sandra 🙂
Awesome!!! We are so glad that you enjoyed this stew. We are not familiar with that book, but the recipe sounds SUPER yummy with this dish! Thank you so much for sharing your fantastic feedback with us! We truly appreciate you taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Here is the link. https://healthspansolution.com/2020/03/27/chipotle-butternut-squash-cheesy-sauce/
I thought it was only in their book, but they shared it on their website!
Hopefully you ladies will try a Butternut squash based Sauce, ’cause I of course want to see what flavours you will create!! And I was shocked at how smooth the texture was and I would never have guessed squash was an ingredient.
Thank you so much for sharing with us 😀 It sounds so fun and tasty! We always love new ways of utilizing veggies.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
I loved this stew. Just to be sure there are actually 4 cups of water total?
Hi there Polly,
Thank you for your question. Yes, 4 cups in total. The last cup is used to rinse out the tomato can.
-Ameera and Robin
Lentils just don’t agree with me sadly. I love them but it’s not mutual. Could you add chickpeas in place of lentils or what would you suggest as a replacement?Thank you
Hi there MaryB,
Thank you for your question. Yes, you can substitute the lentils for canned beans (of any kind, pretty much); however, you will need to cut back on the liquids. We don’t have any suggestions on how much to cut back as we have not tested the recipe ourselves. I hope this helps.
-Ameera and Robin
Yes it does! Thank you 😁