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
If you’ve cooked this recipe, don’t forget to leave a star rating!
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:
This came out great and would have been delicious except that 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper ruined it for me. Way way too spicy. I cannot eat it. i will, however, make it again with 1/4 teaspoon if cayenne (or less)
Thanks for the feedback Nancy, a few people have said that, but even more people have enjoyed it – I wonder whether cayenne pepper is hotter in certain parts of the world or something?! Or maybe different brands? I don’t know, as half a teaspoon between 4 people isn’t a huge amount to me. I hope you try it again but adjusting the spice to your own preferences :)
Used spring onions instead of leek and white cheddar. Great, hearty, tasty recipe!
Thanks Amy!
Could this recipe be made ahead and frozen?
I haven’t tried freezing this one myself but I think lots of people have had success with freezing it yes :)
Thank you Becca, for this great, easy and nutritious recipe! I’ve made it several times since I found it last November. It’s super flavorful without salt, other than what’s in the vegetarian stock. I like my veggies chunky so I have been leaving the courgette, mushrooms and red bell pepper in larger pieces. I also take the lazy way out and cook the lentils and brown rice together in the Instant Pot, reducing the amount of vegetable stock by a lot. In case you’re interested, I combined 120 g lentils, 85 g brown rice, and 435 g vegetable stock and set it on 30 minutes on high with natural venting. Thanks again!
You’re very welcome Nancy, glad you enjoy it! :)
For the rice, is it regular white or brown long cooking rice? Not basmati or jasmine, correct?
Just any long grain white rice :) Basmati rice would work well.
Soooo yummy! Great way to use up all the veggies in the fridge since the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples. I find myself coming back to this recipe a lot
Thanks Meredith! Glad you like it! :)
This looks amazing! I’m planning on trying this tmrw. how can I adapt with canned lentils? cook rice and blend lentils the last few minutes?
Yes absolutely, just add the lentils once the rice is already cooked :)
Very tasty dish! I will definitely be making again!
Thanks Rachel!
Hi Becca,
I haven’t made this yet but was wondering how some small sweet potato cubes and / or some green veggies in there. Have you tried other veggie combos and how it?
This is the perfect recipe to experiment with! All sorts of vegetables would work just fine in this :) You could roast the sweet potato first if you like, to give extra flavour and to make sure it’s well cooked.
I’ve made this so many times and I love it! I want to make it for a work potluck. Do you think I’d be able to keep it warm in a crockpot and still have it be as good?
I haven’t tried but I imagine it would work ok?! Let me know if you try it! :)