Simple Lentil Chili Recipe 
Of all the simple lentil recipes I have tried, this one is fast becoming my favorite way to eat lentils. My newest friend from Virginia, Cheryl B., brought this soup over last week for our lunch together. The kids chowed down!
Cheryl was sweet enough to leave extra lentil chili behind for me to photograph and enjoy. And I certainly did just that. ;D
HERE'S ALL IT TAKES
- 1 1/2 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon. minced garlic
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen carrots (I use about 4 cups of fresh sliced carrots)
- 1 (16 oz.) pkg. lentils (any color is fine but red looks the nicest)
- 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste (can substitute stewed, diced, or chopped tomatoes)
- 6 cups water
- 1 3/4 cups beef stock
- 1-2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
- grated cheese to top (mexican, cheddar, or just be creative)
Cook oil, garlic, onion, and carrots 10 minutes on med. high, until looking a bit brown.
Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and bring to a boil. Then lower heat to simmer for 35-40 minutes, un-covered. Add more seasonings to taste. Serve with grated cheese on top.
This recipe sounds great and I’m making it for dinner tonight! I just have one question. You list 6 cups of water and right below it 14 ounces of water. Is this correct? How many cups total would that be? About 8?
Thanks!!
Yes, that’s right, 8 cups of water all together. Thank you for catching that.
The 6 cups of water is for the lentils.
The 14 oz of water is to be mixed with the beef bouillon. If you had beef broth on hand then you would use 14 oz of beef broth or a little more depending on how thick you like the consistency.
Thank you!!!
Can’t wait to try this tonight!
This tasted very good, except I found that the allotted time was not enough to let the lentils actually finish cooking. At the recommended cooking time, the lentils were extremely crunchy. I cooked them for another 30 minutes and everything tasted a lot better at that point. I’m not sure if I just did something wrong, or maybe my stove top isn’t as hot as it should be, but just wanted to put it out there.
Thanks!
Thank you Ravyn
for sharing your experience. It’s always good to read how others lived through a recipe.
Generally to cook lentils, we should cover with water or broth and boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Then, reduce heat to simmer until tender.
Depending on the variety and age of the lentils, cooking time may take anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour.
Great recipe. Mine ended up a little too watery for my liking (probably because of the margin of error in cooking with Lentils) so I added some potato flakes to thicken it up. There were no leftovers!
Love your website!
I beginning to think all lentils are not the same. A reminder that Cooking is an Art, more than a Science.
This sounds sooooooooo delicious! I’m definately going to make it this week. Waa wondering if this could be done in a crock-pot? I was thinking of maybe adding some smoked sausage to this… my family thinks they have to have meat in every meal.. personally, I wouldn’t care a bit. What do you think?
Hi Mardi!
This recipe came from my friend, Cheryl. She made it and brought it over to share with me. I’ve never cooked lentils in a crock-pot, so I couldn’t say.
As for adding sausage, I guess that depends on the type of sausage. This recipe doesn’t have a heavy feel to the mouth, so I would cut the sausage into small chunks. Go with your favorite sausage and see where that leads. Then, let me know how it turns out. ;D
Tryin this right now. Got 45 minutes to go. (Im adding the 30 minutes one of your readers suggested.) Also adding 1/2 lb of smoked sausage cut very small. Smells wonderful. Way too much for my wife and I so I will be experimenting with freezing some. I also used 8 oz less than you call for.(I like my chili thicker)
Hi Paul!
It ought to make a good chili for freezing, but you let me know how it turns out. I love having soups and chili frozen in the freezer waiting. It’s like having your own drive through.
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband took one bite and said “This is AWESOME!” Thank you! I did use turkey broth instead of the bouillon and water so I added more salt than I otherwise would have. I also just used up what I had left of some red lentils (it weighed around 8 oz on my kitchen scale) but it still turned out pretty thick. This is a keeper. Thanks!
YEAAAAH Stacie! I love to hear dinner success stories. And I like hearing you use a kitchen scale. I’ve been using a digital scale for some recipes and really like it.
Where did you find your red lentils?
You know, I’ve had the lentils so long I can’t be sure where I got them. My best guess would be that I found them at Trader Joe’s or a local upscale grocery store we have here called Dorothy Lane Market. I guess I better get on figuring that out so I can make it again!