Chipotle Lentil Stew
Smoky and spicy, this aromatic chipotle lentil stew is packed with flavor. Paired with roti, it makes for a filling dinner. And, this chipotle lentil stew is also thick enough to enjoy as a dip with veggie crudités and crackers.
My daughter and I love this chipotle lentil stew as it is:
✅ so incredibly tasty. It is packed with layers of intense flavor from the coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, garlic, ginger, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
✅ so versatile: it can masquerade as a thick and filling stew as well as a delicious dip. If you like, you can add in an additional cup and a half of water to thin this stew out into a soup.
✅ healthy. With inflammation-fighting turmeric and no dairy or added sugar in it, it packs a heavy nutritional punch.
✅ so easy to make. Just add everything to an Instant Pot, sauté for ten minutes and set it and forget it for another 15 minutes and boom- dinner is ready!
✅ made with only 10 pantry staple ingredients!
What are the 10 ingredients in this chipotle lentil stew, you ask?
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Dry lentils
- Water
- Canned Coconut milk
- Coriander powder
- Smoked paprika
- Turmeric
- Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
I love lentils as they are so versatile and little nutritional powerhouses. Whether canned or dried, I enjoy using lentils in everything from pancakes to vada to curries.
What does this stew pair with?
It pairs well with:
• Mango chutney or sweet chili sauce drizzled in it,
• Some broccoli kale salad on the side,
• Roti to sop it up with, or,
• Salmon and steamed broccoli.
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When I made this stew, we ate a small bowlful of it with some mango chutney and roti.
The day after, we enjoyed a heaping spoonful of this stew with some air fried salmon and asparagus.
This is my birth week and last night my daughter asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner. I ruminated on her question and realized that all I wanted was some lentil stew, some salmon and roti.
I’m a forty-something year old and at my age I feel it’s so much more fun to celebrate the birthdays of those I people in my circle than my own.
So, with that said, today ~ in addition to this recipe for chipotle lentil stew ~ I’m sharing favorite recipes from forty one, 40+ year old bloggers I know via the ad network I’m fortunate to partner with.
Hoping September is a better month for all…
Now here’s the recipe for this Chipotle Lentil Stew:
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger
- 1 cup dry lentils
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup Coconut milk (I used canned coconut milk but packaged coconut milk can be used as well.
- 3 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 3 chipotle peppers + 3 tbsp adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- salt + pepper to taste
- Optional – cilantro and chili flakes to garnish
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion and garlic cloves. Peel the ginger as well and chop it very fine or use a microplane grater and grate the ginger so the ginger flavor is distributed evenly throughout the stew. Also chop up the chipotle peppers.
- Set a Instant Pot to saute for 10 minutes. Add the oil and onion, ginger, and garlic and saute for 10 minutes.
- Add in the coconut milk, water, lentils, coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, and chipotle peppers + adobo sauce to the Instant Pot.
- Set the Instant Pot to the stew setting and the timer to 15 minutes, cover it and let it work it’s magic.
- When done, season with salt and pepper to taste. And, if desired, garnish with chili flakes and chopped cilantro and enjoy!
Stove-top Directions:
- After prepping the onions, garlic, ginger, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
- Add the onions to a large pan with the oil and saute about 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and ginger and saute another 5 minutes.
- Then add in the coconut milk, water, lentils, coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, and chipotle peppers + adobo sauce. Cover the pan and let simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. You might need to add more water to thin out the stew as more water will be escaping/evaporating.
- As above, when done, season with salt and pepper to taste. And, if desired, garnish with chili flakes and chopped cilantro and enjoy!
Notes
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Nutrition
I want to try this but wanted to ask about the lentils – if the instant pot is on stew for just 15 minutes, are the lentils a bit firm? I am going to get a few missing ingredients for this and try it this weekend!
I hope you got what you asked for on your Birthday Week!
Best,
C
Hi Cathleen – yes the instant pot is on meat/stew setting for 15 minutes under high pressure – in my case the dried red/orange lentils were not firm – they were quite tender.
And thank you so much! So kind of you!
I sure hope you and your family enjoy this.
Ooo, I’m a huge fan of lentils in all possible forms! This creamy (yay to coconut milk) stew looks so dreamy and delicious. I am not a huge fan of spicy recipes either, but I would certainly give it a try…well maybe not right away, but in a couple of months, when it’s cold and you need something soul-warming 🙂
Happy Birthday! I’m with you — celebrating my own birthday really isn’t all that interesting these days. Anyway, love this stew. We use lentils a lot (in fact I just got a big bag of them), and I always have chipotle on hand. Sounds like dinner to me. 🙂
Happy birthday week Shashi! I hope it’s full of your favorite things! Your lentil stew looks amazing, and just as soon as our 100 degree days cool down a bit, I’ll give it a whirl… As a 61 year old blogger, I love the idea to do this roundup celebrating other 40+ bloggers. I’ll circle back when I make your stew!
Happy Birthweek, Shashi! 🙂 Loved your roundup celebrating other 40+ bloggers – what a fun idea! And oooohhhhh … this lentil stew! I’m so excited to try making it, and really loved your idea of pairing it with salmon – what a delicious idea! I was also really intrigued by the idea of using this as a dip with veggies or crackers – I never would have thought to use it that way, but that’s a fabulous idea (in case we have any leftovers, which seems unlikely lol!). Thanks for the wonderful recipe – and Happy Birthday!
Well happy birthday in advance, Shashi! I wish we could celebrate and have cake…err, stew…together. 🙂 Speaking of stew, this one sounds quite tasty. You know how I feel about smoky foods, so I’m pretty sure this stew wouldn’t last long around here!
This lentil stew looks awesome and I have practically all the ingredients in my pantry – yay!
I want some of this served with some Indian bread .. Love the bright color and blend of ingredients you’ve used
You have just convinced me to try my hands at lentil soup. This sounds amazing!
I love the flavours in this stew! Proper delicious comfort food 🙂
At last – a benefit of being 40+
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – your lentil stew sounds like my kind of celebration meal
And thankyou for including me here.
Smokey and spicy…definitely my kind of flavours. The stew looks really yummy.