Easy to make, this hearty and nutritious roasted vegetable lentil stew is a family favorite for chilly evenings. This vegan dinner is rich in flavor from roasting vegetables and garlic at a high heat which creates sweet undertones. Enjoy with a thick slice of your favorite bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
If you’re like me and always feel short on time and don’t want to babysit something on the stove for hours, this is a great easy vegan dinner recipe for you. The vegetables are roasted so they hang out with only one toss during baking. I really love the simplicity of red lentils – they cook so quickly compared to most other legumes, and they don’t need to be soaked. All you need is 15 minutes to cook them! The’re mild in flavor, rich in nutrients and easily digested making them perfect for little ones, too.
The lentil stew base cooks quickly and then it’s a matter of blending up half of the roasted veggies with some stock and pouring it back into the pot with the remaining roasted veggies. Add in some kale and you’re done!
From start to finish, this lentil stew takes an hour to get on the table, but only about 15 minutes of this involves you being active.
How to Make Roasted Garlic Vegetable Stew with Red Lentil & Tomatoes
- Roast the vegetables and garlic
- In the meantime, saute onion and garlic in a large pot
- Add lentils, spices, tomatoes and soup stock and simmer
- Puree half of the roasted vegetables with balsamic and remaining ingredients
- Combine the puree and remaining roasted veggies into the pot
- Stir in the kale, simmer for 1 minute and serve!
Love easy red lentil stew recipes like this one? Be sure to check out my Creamy Curried Carrot, Ginger and Red Lentil Soup , and my Red Lentil and Cauliflower Dal.
If you make this Roasted Garlic Vegetable Stew with Red Lentils & Tomatoes, please give it a rating in the recipe card or let me know in the comments! I love connecting on Instagram where you can tag me in your creations using my recipes. You can also follow me on Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you for reading along!
Roasted Garlic Vegetable Stew with Red Lentils and Tomatoes
Ingredients
For the Roasted Vegetables:
- 4 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced 3/4 inch cubes
- 2 red bell peppers, seeds/stem removed, chopped
- 1 head garlic
For the Stew Base:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 28 oz canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup red lentils
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 cups kale, de-veined and torn into bite size pieces
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
For the Roasted Vegetables:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Place the roasting vegetables on the tray (except the garlic), drizzle with olive oil and toss well with a large spoon or your hands ensuring that all the veggies are evenly coated.
- Slice the pointed end of the garlic bulb off exposing the garlic cloves. Drizzle with 1 tsp of oil. Wrap tightly with foil and place on the baking tray with the vegetables. Bake for 30-40 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes or so and checking the garlic at 25 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn or dry out.
For the Stew Base:
- In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 3 or 4 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the oregano, basil, thyme, canned tomatoes, vegetable broth and red lentils. Turn the heat up to high until the stew comes to a boil, lower the heat, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until the lentils are cooked, stirring occasionally to prevent lentils from sticking to the pot.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skins into a high-powered blender. Add tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, about 1/2 of the roasted vegetables, and ladle in about 2 cups of the soup. Blend on high until smooth. Pour this mixture back into the soup pot with the other half of the roasted vegetables. Over medium heat, stir the kale into the soup and cook about a minute until it's just wilted and bright green. Enjoy!
Gail
Monday 10th of January 2022
An excellent veggie stew!! I didn’t have basil or thyme, so used herbes de provence instead. I served it with sourdough bread and that was perfect. I’m trying to expand my repertoire of vegan recipes, and yours is definitely being added to my collection. This was a great dinner for our winter, as it’s -31 tonight. Thank you.
Crumbs & Caramel
Tuesday 25th of January 2022
Thanks so much for taking the time to share, Gail! I'm so happy you enjoyed the stew! ~ Bronwyn
Shannon
Sunday 12th of December 2021
Wow this was so flavorful! The roasted veggies and garlic were delicious. I can’t wait to eat my leftovers!
Crumbs & Caramel
Monday 13th of December 2021
I'm so happy you enjoyed this stew, Shannon! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! ~ Bronwyn
Deborah
Saturday 4th of December 2021
Just made this delicious stew. I halved it because there are just 3 of us. I also used the bone broth from our Thanksgiving turkey as opposed to vegetable broth. Will definitely make again.
Shannom
Sunday 28th of November 2021
Do you think I could swap broccoli for cauliflower and butternut squash for the sweet potato? It’s what I have on hand
Crumbs & Caramel
Monday 29th of November 2021
Hello! Yes, I think that those substitutes would be fine - the flavor will be a bit different with the broccoli but should be tasty! I wouldn't add the broccoli to the baking tray until the last 20 minutes of baking though. Broccoli roasts much faster than the other vegetables. I hope you enjoy the stew! ~ Bronwyn
Tamara
Monday 22nd of November 2021
Bronwyn,
Do you think the flavours could be condensed and served as an appetizer - a healthy hot spread on crostini?
Crumbs & Caramel
Tuesday 23rd of November 2021
Hi Tamara! That sounds like a great idea! I haven't tested this but you could either slowly simmer the lentil mixture until reduced before adding in the roasted veggies/blending or you could try using less vegetable broth to begin with. One cup of red lentils needs about 3 cups of water/broth to cook properly - so instead of using 6 cups of broth you could try using 3 (or 4 to be safe and then reduce as desired. ) If using less broth, adjust for salt and other seasonings as desired, too. I'd love to hear how it works out for you! ~ Bronwyn