I am back again with another dinner recipe! Today’s recipe is braised lentils. Recently I’ve been putting out a lot of salad content, because well I’ve been eating a lot of salads! I definitely put on some holiday weight, so I am trying to slowly and steadily get back to me regular weight. With that said, I can’t eat salads 24/7, sometimes I need a heartier meal like this Coconut Lentil Braise. This recipe makes the perfect simple vegan dinner. It combines to many vegetables, and has a flavor that is just oh so good!
How easy is this lentil braise recipe?
This dish makes for the perfect simple vegan dinner recipe. This Coconut Lentil Braise may appear to have a lot of ingredients, but I promise you it is not a difficult recipe at all. If you really hate cooking, you could simple add all ingredients (except the rice, that’s separate) to a pressure cooker and cook on high for 15 minutes. I love using my Ninja Foodi on days like that where I just want a simple vegan dinner with no hard work.
Can I use different vegetables in this braised lentil recipe?
Absolutely! I am obviously biased towards liking my own recipes, so I will always encourage you to make the recipe as is. However if kale isn’t your thing, sub it out for spinach, if you love yellow squash and hate zucchini, double the yellow squash and omit the zucchini in this lentil braise recipe. I create these recipes for YOU, so at the end of the day do what you need to do so that you will enjoy the recipe the most.
This braised lentil recipe can also be made with different types of lentils. I love using beluga lentils (they’re the kind I actually planned to use in this recipe, but couldn’t find them in stores) to make a beluga lentil braise. You can also make this braise with red lentils, or green lentils like I did.
What are braised lentils:
Listen, before making this recipe I had no idea. Honestly I got the idea for this lentil braise recipe after eating something similar at a restaurant. Braising essentially browning ingredients first, and then cooking it slowly with all those flavors. Since this is an oil-free braise recipe, the ingredients don’t get too browned, but they do get very flavorful!
Ingredients for this Coconut Lentil Braise:
- Lentils
- Brown rice
- Kale
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Potato
- Onion
- Garlic
- Coconut milk
- Paprika
- Peas
- Plant based milk
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Carrots
Simple Vegan Dinners like these braised lentils:
I touched on this earlier, but I wanted to share some more simple vegan dinner recipes like this lentil braise with you guys, because I know how annoying it can be searching for them online. I have tons of simple recipes on my blog, and new recipes coming out every Tuesday and Thursday, plus occasional recipes over on my Instagram. Some of my favorite simple vegan dinner recipes include:
- Simple Chickpea Curry
- Sweet Ginger Tofu Poke Bowl
- Winter Vegetable Risotto
- Vegan Lasagna Soup
- Coconut Peanut Noodles
And more!
Coconut Lentil Braise
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried brown rice
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 potato
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 3 carrots
- 2 cups kale
- 1 cup peas
- 1 cup plant based milk
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 tbsp ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp paprika
- black pepper
Instructions
- Cook your rice according to package instructions. Cook the lentils in water as well.
- Prepare all your vegetables by: dicing the onion and potato, mincing garlic, slicing carrots and kale, and cutting the zucchini and yellow squash into half circles.
- In a sauté pan add the garlic and onion with a little water and cook until soft. Add the potato and carrots. Add the kale followed by the zucchini and yellow squash.
- Add lentils and remaining ingredients and cook on medium for 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
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