Delicious Spicy Lentils and Spinach - a perfect meal for those meatless mondays. Even the non vegetarians, will love this recipe.
I love lentils because they are cheap, a great source of protein and high in fibre. I have several different varieties in my pantry. The red lentils are great for thickening soups and making daal type curries etc, but the chunkier lentils like brown or green lentils are great for using in a recipe instead of ground meat.
This spicy lentils and spinach use spices that are common in most curries, along with various vegetables to bulk out with some speed foods. You can actually vary the vegetables in this dish, maybe add some sweet potato or butternut squash for a little natural sweetness.
I use a food processor to chop the vegetables really small, It helps make the sauce to these Spicy Lentils and Spinach nice and thick. But don't worry if you don't have a food processor, you can do the same with a knife, if just takes that little bit longer.
You can also cook the spicy lentils and spinach in an instant pot.
If you haven't heard of an Instant Pot you are seriously missing out. It is the best kitchen gadget I have purchased. I would even put it above my actifry and that's saying something. I love this thing so much, that I almost use it EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
It seriously tops every kitchen appliance I have ever bought.
It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, saute's, has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven't tried that yet).
Check out my other: Instant Pot Recipes
I like to serve this just with some plain rice and a spoonful of plain yoghurt mixed with some fresh lemon juice, sea salt and chopped coriander, but it is also perfect on it's own in a bowl or maybe even with some toasted pita bread.
This Spicy Lentils and spinach dish is a great one for making a big pot of and freezing in some tubs for a later day. Perfect for just grabbing out the of the freezer for meals on busy days.
To make a bigger pot of Spicy Lentils and Spinach, just double or even triple the ingredients. You could even add some cooked chicken for an extra bit of protein.
It is both gluten and dairy free (so long as you don't add the suggested spoonful of yoghurt to the top of course)
Looking for some other lentil recipes? Then check out these:
- Spicy Sweet Potato and Lentils
- Lentil Cheddar Sweetcorn Bake
- Easy Red Lentil Dhal
- 4 Ingredient Quick Lentil Curry (Instant Pot)
- Spicy Carrot and Lentil Soup
- One Pot Sausage and Lentil Casserole
- Chicken and Lentil Soup
- Coconut Green Lentil Curry
- Lentil Curry (Instant Pot and Stove Top recipe)
- Lentil Bolognese
- Bacon and Lentil Soup
or head on over to my FULL RECIPE INDEX with over 800+ delicious Slimming Eats Recipes fully searchable by meal type and ingredients etc
How can I add a Vegatables to this Spicy Lentils and Spinach?
This delicious lentil dish already comes packed with onion, carrot, zucchini and spinach, but if you wanted to increase those vegetables even further you could serve with this Roasted Cauliflower Rice.
What Kitchen Items do I need to make this Spicy lentil and Spinach?
- Deep Saucepan or Instant Pot
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Jug
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
- Chopping Board
- Food Processor
LET’S CONNECT!
Find me ON FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER | and YOUTUBE, come and follow me TO MAKE SURE YOU KEEP UP TO DATE ON ALL NEW RECIPES
You can also subscribe to Slimming Eats to keep up to date on all new recipes.
IF YOU TRY THIS RECIPE, LET US KNOW! LEAVE A COMMENT, RATE IT AND TAG US IN YOUR PHOTOS @SLIMMINGEATS ON INSTAGRAM
Spicy Lentils and Spinach (Stove Top and Instant Pot) | Slimming Eats
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, Vegan and Weight Watchers friendly
suitable for freezing
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp of freshly grated ginger
- 2 carrots, chopped finely
- 1 courgette (zucchini) chopped
- ¾ cup (160g) green or brown lentils
- 360ml/1.5 cups water
- 120ml/0.5 cups of passata (or crushed tomatoes)
- 3 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
- 2 green chillis - sliced in half lengthways
- 1 tbs ground cumin
- 1 tbs of ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 teaspoon of garam masala
- 1 tsp of salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- cooking oil spray
- to serve:
- Fat Free Natural Yoghurt (optional)
- Fresh Coriander
Instructions
Stove Top:
- Spray a large saucepan over a medium-high heat with cooking oil. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry until slightly softened, add in a little water to prevent from burning if needed.
- Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala and mix into a paste.
- Add the carrot, courgette, lentils, green chilli's, passata, water and salt.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add spinach and stir until spinach is slightly wilted into mixture.
- Enjoy!!
- (optional) Top with a dollop of plain yoghurt mixed with chopped coriander and lemon juice.
Instant Pot:
- Set instant pot to saute mode, spray the inner pot with some cooking oil spray
- Once instant pot displays hot, Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry until slightly softened, add in a little water to prevent from burning if needed.
- Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala and mix into a paste.
- Add the carrot, courgette, lentils, green chilli's, passata, water and salt.
- Add lid, set to manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once it finishes cooking time, let the pressure release naturally for approx 10 mins and then release any additional pressure before removing the lid.
- Stir through the chopped spinach.
- Enjoy!!
- (optional) Top with a dollop of plain yoghurt mixed with chopped coriander and lemon juice.
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
If you wish to share this recipe, then please do so by using the share buttons provided at top of this post.
DO NOT COPY AND/OR PASTE FULL RECIPES OR SCREENSHOTS OF ANY CONTENT FROM SLIMMING EATS TO ANY SOCIAL MEDIA OR WEBSITE, IT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL IMAGES AND CONTENT ON SLIMMING EATS ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED
Nutritional information etc are an estimate and are to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary in values from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate values yourself by the ingredients you use and the tools provided to you as a member of the programme you are following.
It is the responsibility of the Reader to assure the products or ingredients they use in any recipes from Slimming Eats are allergen-free (gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free and/or dairy-free, for example). Slimming Eats assumes no liability for inaccuracies or misstatement about products, opinions or comments on this site.
Check Legal section, for Full Disclaimer, Disclosure and Privacy Policy.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 147Total Fat 0.7gSodium 750mgCarbohydrates 29.4gFiber 10gSugar 6.8gProtein 8.3g
Spicy Lentils and Spinach (Stove Top and Instant Pot) | Slimming Eats
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, Vegan and Weight Watchers friendly
suitable for freezing
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp of freshly grated ginger
- 2 carrots, chopped finely
- 1 courgette (zucchini) chopped
- ¾ cup (160g) green or brown lentils
- 360ml/1.5 cups water
- 120ml/0.5 cups of passata (or crushed tomatoes)
- 3 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
- 2 green chillis - sliced in half lengthways
- 1 tbs ground cumin
- 1 tbs of ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 teaspoon of garam masala
- 1 tsp of salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- cooking oil spray
- to serve:
- Fat Free Natural Yoghurt (optional)
- Fresh Coriander
Instructions
Stove Top:
- Spray a large saucepan over a medium-high heat with cooking oil. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry until slightly softened, add in a little water to prevent from burning if needed.
- Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala and mix into a paste.
- Add the carrot, courgette, lentils, green chilli's, passata, water and salt.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add spinach and stir until spinach is slightly wilted into mixture.
- Enjoy!!
- (optional) Top with a dollop of plain yoghurt mixed with chopped coriander and lemon juice.
Instant Pot:
- Set instant pot to saute mode, spray the inner pot with some cooking oil spray
- Once instant pot displays hot, Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry until slightly softened, add in a little water to prevent from burning if needed.
- Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala and mix into a paste.
- Add the carrot, courgette, lentils, green chilli's, passata, water and salt.
- Add lid, set to manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once it finishes cooking time, let the pressure release naturally for approx 10 mins and then release any additional pressure before removing the lid.
- Stir through the chopped spinach.
- Enjoy!!
- (optional) Top with a dollop of plain yoghurt mixed with chopped coriander and lemon juice.
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
If you wish to share this recipe, then please do so by using the share buttons provided at top of this post.
DO NOT COPY AND/OR PASTE FULL RECIPES OR SCREENSHOTS OF ANY CONTENT FROM SLIMMING EATS TO ANY SOCIAL MEDIA OR WEBSITE, IT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ALL IMAGES AND CONTENT ON SLIMMING EATS ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED
Nutritional information etc are an estimate and are to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary in values from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate values yourself by the ingredients you use and the tools provided to you as a member of the programme you are following.
It is the responsibility of the Reader to assure the products or ingredients they use in any recipes from Slimming Eats are allergen-free (gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free and/or dairy-free, for example). Slimming Eats assumes no liability for inaccuracies or misstatement about products, opinions or comments on this site.
Check Legal section, for Full Disclaimer, Disclosure and Privacy Policy.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 147Total Fat 0.7gSodium 750mgCarbohydrates 29.4gFiber 10gSugar 6.8gProtein 8.3g
Cindy says
yum, Yum, YUM!!! Even my hubby who is not a massive lentil fan.. LOVED it!
Moira says
This is one of my favourite cold weather dinners. Cheap too and full of speed veg. Perfect!
Karen says
delicious, will definitely be making this again.
Bahati says
This has become a family favourite, even my 11 year old who is fussy with eating fell in love with this lentil recipe! . We eat it with rice and sometimes for a change with Chapati, adding in an African twist. Thanks for posting this recipe .