Hearty Crockpot Vegetable Lentil Stew
This hearty and nutritious lentil stew is perfect for a cozy meal, packed with vegetables and flavor, and made easy in your crockpot.
Equipment
- Large Skillet
- Crockpot (6-quart or larger)
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 diced tomatoes, undrained (14.5 ounce) can
- 1 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and diced (or 2 medium regular potatoes)
- 1 cup chopped kale or spinach (added at the end)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- lemon juice or fresh parsley Optional: a squeeze of lemon juice or a sprinkle of fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté chopped onion, carrots, and celery for 5-7 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant to build depth of flavor.
- Transfer sautéed vegetables to a crockpot, then add diced tomatoes, rinsed lentils, vegetable broth, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and a bay leaf. Stir everything together.
- Stir in the diced sweet potato or regular potato.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, until lentils and vegetables are tender.
- About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the chopped kale or spinach and cook until wilted.
- Remove the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper, and optionally add lemon juice or fresh parsley before serving.
Notes
Sautéing the aromatics at the beginning adds significant flavor to the stew, but if you're short on time, you can add all ingredients directly to the crockpot. For best results, allow the stew to simmer on low for the full duration to develop rich flavors.