Very Veggie Lentil Bake
One of my most popular recipes ever, with almost entirely 5 star reviews! Its appearance doesn’t do it justice – this lentil bake is incredibly tasty, and so easy to adapt!
Note: In 2018 I made an Instant Pot version of this recipe! If you have an IP, you can check out that version here: Instant Pot very veggie lentil bake.
As a food blogger who needs to come up with new vegetarian recipes on an almost daily basis, I don’t often have a chance to revisit old favourites – I think you guys would have a riot if I just posted the same four recipes over and over (…do any of you actually care that much?). But occasionally I just think stuff it, I’m going to repost something I’ve made before. Because sometimes I just want to. You’ll cope.
This very veggie lentil bake is basically a revamped version of a really old lentil bake recipe I posted way back in February 2012 (who even remembers that far back anyway? Back when our biggest problem was the impending end of the world… ah, those were the days).
The recipe was so unbelievably good and the old photos were so unbelievably not good that I thought it deserved a revival. With a new, but equally silly, name. Back then, it was pretty much my favourite recipe in the world, and not much has changed.
💬 Recipe Reviews
A lovely reader recently reminded me of this recipe, and I was inspired to make it again. They tweeted me a photo and called it ‘absolutely their favourite dish’ – colour me chuffed! So just in case you think my own raving about this recipe sounds insincere, rest assured that at least one person agrees with me.
Of course, since I can never follow a recipe to the letter, even if it’s my own recipe, I did make a few minor changes to this version. I made it bigger, for one (it’s that good, you’ll be happy to have extra), and used slightly different veggies, because I was too lazy to go shopping. It’s pretty adaptable – just use whatever veggies you have on hand (I do love a good fridge clearer!).
You can skip the cheese if you’d prefer a vegan lentil bake, but it does add a lovely flavour and gives that crispy topping, which is always a major plus. It’s not exactly an attractive dish, but crispy cheese goes a long way to making anything look enticing.
Whatever you put in it, this very veggie lentil bake is a brilliant way to enjoy some of the most simple store cupboard ingredients!
Very Veggie Lentil Bake
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Print Pin Comment(if you suffer from allergies, please double check all ingredients before eating)
Ingredients
- 110 g red lentils (~ 1/2 cup)
- 75 g white rice (~ 1/4 cup)
- 650 ml vegetable stock (~ 2 1/2 cups), or 2 stock cubes made up in 650ml water
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 small leek or 1/2 large leek, sliced
- 1 bell pepper, diced fairly small (I used orange)
- 5 medium mushrooms, diced fairly small
- 1 small courgette (zucchini), or 1/2 large courgette, diced fairly small
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- Black pepper
- 90 g grated cheddar cheese (~ 1 cup)
Instructions
- Boil the lentils and rice for 15-20 minutes in the vegetable stock, stirring occasionally. You’ll need to stir constantly during the last 5 minutes or so, to ensure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Once they’re cooked, don’t drain the water, but instead continue stirring over the heat until enough water has boiled off for the mixture to resemble porridge.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, and add the chopped leek, pepper, mushrooms and courgette. Cook over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft.
- Heat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
- Combine the cooked lentils and vegetables in a large mixing bowl, and add the paprika, cayenne pepper, and plenty of black pepper. Mix well.
- Transfer half of the mixture to a baking dish, and sprinkle over half of the grated cheese. Add the remaining lentil mixture, smooth out the top, and finish with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for around 25-30 minutes, until the cheese topping is golden brown and crispy.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Love lentils? There are loads more vegetarian lentil recipes to inspire you here:
What a great find, thank you! Your recipe was delicious.
Thanks ‘Pizza Queen’! Haha glad you enjoyed it :)
We just had this for our Christmas lunch — I made two versions, one which was vegan (for me) and also fat-free, because my husband is on a no-fat diet for medical reasons at the moment, and another which had cheesy topping for my two young boys. Both were absolutely delicious, and went down an absolute treat. Definitely be adding this to the repertoire!
Thanks Teresa, I love that you could make this work for the whole family!
The Best!!
Delicious Delicious!! Added some spinach and little cabbage and peas.. I’ve used whatever vegetables I want to use up. Its a favorite!! Thank you!!!
Thanks Wendy! :)
My new favorite!!! This is a very forgiving and versatile recipe. The smoked paprika is a must! I will be making this again and again and again and again……
Thanks Carol!
Hi do I have to cook the rice / lentil mixture till it’s mushy ?
Many thanks!
Just until the rice is tender, it doesn’t necessarily have to be mushy, but does sometimes end up that way if you cook it a little longer :)
Made this dish last month and really liked it. Decided to make it again as the main course for Friendsgiving yesterday and was just as delighted with the results as before. I didn’t realize I’d used up all the zucchini so improvised with some frozen peas and part of a butternut squash I had cooked a few days ago. This recipe is going into my regular rotation!
Thanks Martha, really glad you enjoyed it! It’s great with whatever veg you have isn’t it :)
dish-lickingly good, don’t expect leftovers. Really easy to make, and easy to make two different versions if not everyone likes the same vegetables. I’ll be keeping it in mind for January as it would be easy to do with frozen or tinned veg only.
Haha I had to read your first word about 5 times before I got it right XD But thank you! Really glad you enjoyed it.
This was light and delicious! Will definitely double the recipe next time. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome Simone! :)
I’m not a vegetarian but I love veggie food and I’m trying to eat more, I discovered this recipe in the middle of the Covid lock down when I was looking to cook something new and interesting using store cupboard ingredients. It’s a fantastic recipe, easy to adapt for what you have in the fridge. Great for using up ‘sad’ veggies. I’ve cooked it several times and given it to my son who is a committed carnivore and he loved it too and went back for seconds.
Thanks Helen, so glad you and your son have both enjoyed it! :)