Cozy Fall Lentil Sweet Potato Stew

This Lentil and Sweet Potato stew is perfect to cozy up with for lunch or dinner when the weather is cold (or even when it’s not honestly). This meal is so hearty, delicious, and SO easy to make!

So I live in Minnesota, and me and fall, we have a love hate relationship.

On one hand, I LOVE bringing out my sweaters and sweatshirts (because that’s pretty much all I own), and I REALLY LOVE warming and cozy meals that just make me feel like it’s fall you know?

But, fall also means that winter is coming, and I do not like winter – at all.

I guess I’ll just focus on the positive, aka this warming and delicious Lentil Sweet Potato Stew

Lentils are one of my favorite sources of protein because you can literally do anything with them. I love making lentils with Pakistani/Indian (desi) spices because it the smell has such a homey feel to me. Also, desi spices never lack on flavor which is essential.

What makes this Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew so great?

• It’s great for meal prep
• All you really need is basic pantry ingredients
• It’s so budget friendly
• You getting in that health
• It’s so freaking good

Ingredients

Oil and Onion: Frying up the onion is such a simple way to bring so much flavor to this dish! I used avocado oil, but olive oil should work too!

Veggies: This stew is great because it goes well with a ton of different vegetables. I wasn’t feeling too much veg when I made this, so I just used some chopped carrots, but I think that spinach, mushrooms, or cauliflower would go really well with this too!

Spices and Herbs: I used a few different spices for the most flavor, but don’t worry if you don’t have all of them! I feel like the basics are curry powder, cumin, garam masala, salt, and cinnamon. If you can get your hands on some curry leaves and cilantro, I highly recommend because they really add in a ton of flavor and bring the dish to the next level!

Tomatoes and Veggie Broth: These are the liquid base of our stew. I used crushed tomatoes, but diced or fresh tomatoes should work as well! Also, if you don’t have veggie broth, that’s fine just use water.

Sweet Potato: Obviously we need sweet potato. I just chopped mine up into 2ish-inch cubes because I wanted them a little bigger. Feel free to sub with Russet Potato, I feel like that would taste good too!

Lentils: Also, obvious but we need lentils! I used green lentils, but brown would work just fine as well. If you’re going to use red lentils, just know that they probably will be more mushy and won’t be as prominent, but they’ll still taste good! Make sure these are soaked for at least 30 minutes!

How to make this bowl of deliciousness

This bowl is so easy to make! I honestly think that the thing that takes me the longest is chopping up the onion because I have to take so many breaks because the tears are too real and I don’t wanna chop my finger off.

(^^ I have a tip for this below!)

Prepare: Chop up the onion, veggies of choice, and sweet potatoes. I also like to mix all my spices together in a small bowl and set it aside just so I can add all the spices at once.

Fry: Fry up the onion, garlic, veggies, lemon juice, and seasonings in a medium pot or saucepan.

Bring all ingredients to a boil: Add in the tomatoes, veggie broth, sweet potato, and lentils and bring it to a boil for around 5 minutes.

Let simmer: Cover the stew, lower the heat, and let it simmer for 30 minutes – 1 hour to thicken up.

Add-in: Add in kale, spinach, and/or cilantro at this step if you’re using that.

Enjoy: Serve with rice or bread or enjoy on its own! (I tried it with rice and with sourdough bread and both were amazing)

Tips on making this Lentil Sweet Potato Stew:

1. Soak your lentils!! This will not only help the lentils cook faster, but it will also make it easier for you to digest. I typically soak mine overnight.
2. Food process your onions! This is a great hack to avoid crying every time you chop an onion. Cut the peeled onion into 5-6 big chunks and throw it in the food processor. You’ll have diced onions without the tears J
3. Microwave your sweet potato! I feel like sweet potatoes can be a little hard to chop well because they’re so hard. I microwave mine for 1-2 minutes depending on the size, and it’s so much easier to cut
4. Make it ahead! I like to make this stew ahead of time so that I have meals ready for the week! I also like to do this because I feel like the flavors get stronger the longer it sits!

How is this Cozy Lentil Sweet Potato Stew Balanced?

This stew is so yummy and so nourishing – I always feel so satisfied after eating it!

Protein: Lentils are giving us an amazing source of plant-based protein!

Carbs: We’re getting loots of yummy and wholesome carbs from the sweet potato, lentils, and/or the rice/bread that you serve it with!

Fat: Honestly, this meal doesn’t have too much fat on it’s own. All we really have is some oil. So, I like to serve some avocado on top because 1. I love avocado, and 2. It helps add some more bulk to the meal to keep me full!

How to store

This stew keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days! This recipe lasted me around 3 meals, so if you’re planning on making one meal for the whole week, feel free to adjust the quantities!

I haven’t tried freezing it, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work, as long as it’s in an air-tight container!

Let me know how this turns out for you guys! Take me in your recreations on IG at @thebalancedblend, I love seeing them!