10-Minute Italian Lentil Bowl

Easy | Servings: 2 | Ready In: 10 minutes | Yield: 2 big bowls

A healthy, vegan bowl in under 10 Minutes? Yes. A quick mix of sautéed vegetables, Italian spices, and hearty lentils come together for this easy, delicious dinner for 1 (or 2). Watch and learn how to make this oil-free, plant-based meal a part of your go-to fast weeknight meal.

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and diced
3 cremini mushrooms, sliced
½ teaspoon each: dried basil, oregano, thyme, and red chili flake*
1 tomato, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup frozen leaf spinach
1 (15-ounce) can lentils, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

How it’s Done:

To make the Italian Lentil Bowl: Preheat a medium sauté pan over high heat. While the pan pre-heats, dice the onion and slice the mushrooms. Once the pan is hot, add the mushrooms and onion to the pan. Spread into a single layer. Now leave them alone! Let them brown 1-2 minutes before stirring. Stir, spread into a single layer again, and let them keep browning. The browning will take about 3-4 minutes total.

While the onions and mushrooms brown, dice the tomato and mince the garlic. Once the mushrooms are brown, add the dried Italian spices. Cook just 20-30 seconds, until the spices become aromatic.

Add the diced tomato and minced garlic, along with 1 cup of water. Use your spatula to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture come to a boil and simmer. While this cooks, drain and rinse the lentils.

After the mixture has simmered a couple of minutes, add the spinach, drained lentils, and nutritional yeast. Stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and serve.

Yield: 8 cups

Chef Katie’s Tips

Use as a Lasagna Filling: You can use this lentil mushroom mixture as a filling for Italian stuffed peppers or layer between thinly sliced zucchini for a super-veggie lasagna.

Frozen Veggies: You can swap out any type of frozen green for the spinach. Frozen broccoli, kale, or even frozen Brussels sprouts are all tasty.

Quick Spices: You can swap out the dried spices for 2 teaspoon of a basic Italian spice mix.