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:
Everyone is right, this is great! Doesn’t taste like lentil soup at all. I made it with Farrow( same cooking time). I’m not going to use white rice and brown rice takes too long. I am eating PBWF so not suppose to have cheese or processed vegan cheese but I did use nutritional yeast, 2 T, and 1/3 cup each of cheddar cheese and vegan cheddar. Used vegetables as stated. Thanks, great recipe.
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it and managed to make it work for you :)
Absolutely great recipe. Daughter doesn’t like lentils much but this went down a treat and great nutrition count too making cal counting very easy.
Glad this recipe was able to convert her to lentils! :D
This is honestly one of the best yet simple recipes I’ve ever come across! It is so damn tasty!! I make it at least once a month. Thanks so much! :)
Awesome! Thanks so much Melissa :D
Simple and delicious, I have this recipe book marked for over a year and come back to it now and again. Should have left a comment much earlier but better late than never I suppose.
Thank you for the great addition to our ever expanding cooking recipes.
The recipe is amazing, you can literally put any veg and it always comes out delicious, truly recommended.
Thanks so much Natalie – I definitely appreciate the comment, better late than never for sure! :D
Simply delicious. You have to try this recipe
Absolutely gorgeous! Followed the recipe apart from cayenne pepper and it turned out lovely. Will definitely be making this again and will double it up because I’m sure it would be yummy cold too. Can absolutely see how any veg would go in this, what a great way to use up left over veggies 👍
Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe!
Thanks so much Elaine! This definitely seems to be a recipe that a lot of people like to double up :D
I love this recipe, leeks have a lovely flavour and this dish is easy and filling without being heavy. Yum, yum, yum.
This is my go to clear out the fridge of veg recipe now. Its really easy to sub out any veg for what you’ve got and always tastes amazing!
I can’t believe it took me so long to try this recipe! I’ve been a follower of your blog for years and I’ve tried other recipes, as well as gotten new ideas. You’re responsible for my addiction to halloumi cheese. :)
I’m one of those people who can’t handle spicy foods at all, so this was a little too spicy for me as written. But it’s definitely delicious. I made it with a little onion, bell peppers, and zucchini. When I make this again, I think I’ll leave out the cayenne.
Haha I think I’ve turned quite a few people on to halloumi – can’t say I’m sorry haha :D Glad you liked it, feel free to adjust it to your own tastes next time! :)
I’m not sure if you mentioned this already, but what size pan do you use? Thanks!
I think it’s around 8 inches square, but it doesn’t really matter too much, just adjust the cooking time accordingly if your pan is much bigger or much smaller :)