Awhile back, I posed an important question on Instagram: what kind of recipes would you like to see more of? I got a lot of different responses, but some of the most common replies were:
- Gluten-free recipes
- Plant-forward dishes
- Savory comfort food
And today’s recipe for a Creamy Mushroom and Black Beluga Lentil Stew is all of those things! It’s vegan and gluten-free, heavy on plants, and definitely qualifies as delicious savory comfort food.
Why you’ll love this recipe
This stew boasts a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and protein from the lentils, mushrooms, garlic, and kale. And then gets hit with a flavorful mixture of tahini, miso paste, tamari, and coconut milk.
The resulting taste is electric and unique, packed with strong notes of umami and a rich, creamy mouthfeel. It’s the kind of comfort food you can feel good about eating without a single ounce of guilt.
Ingredient Rundown
Now that I’ve obviously sold you on this dish, let’s talk about the ingredients, shall we?
The heart of this dish are mushrooms and black beluga lentils. I use a combination of cremini mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms to balance out taste and cost. Shiitake mushrooms bring a bold, savory flavor, but since they are quite pricy, I only use a small portion and rely on inexpensive cremini mushrooms for the bulk of the stew.
And for the lentils, I absolutely adore black beluga lentils, which are tiny black lentils that look almost like caviar once cooked (hence the name beluga). They have a delicate yet full-bodied taste, absorb other flavors really well, and pair particularly well with meaty vegetables (hi, mushrooms).
I love using black beluga lentils because the lentils stay firm-ish in this stew, so it feels heartier and adds some textural differences (instead of having a one-note, soft, mushy stew). And second, the lentils take on the flavors of the remaining ingredients, including the earthy, umami-packed flavors of the mushrooms, miso, and tahini. And bonus: black lentils, like dark-colored fruits (i.e., blackberries and blueberries) contains anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant that prevents cellular damage caused by free-radicals. #antioxidants
Substitute: black beluga lentils are sold in most grocery stores (or online), but if you can’t find them, use French green lentils (also called Puy lentils). They’re similar in size and texture and also hold their shape well when cooked.
If you’re looking for more flavor-forward lentil recipes, you gotta try my Lentil Salad with Fresh Herbs! And if it’s the big umami flavors you’re after, my Creamy Umami Noodle Soup with Crispy Mushrooms is out of this world.
Tips for cooking this recipe
To cook the lentils, the easiest method is to pressure cook them in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker. Just pop the lentils in the pot with the vegetable broth or water and flavoring ingredients and pressure cook for 6 minutes. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, I’ve also included stovetop instructions below.
While the lentils are cooking, you can work on the other part of the stew, which is quite easy once you’ve prepared all your ingredients. If I can be a bit of a food snob for a minute, I recommend using a high-quality tahini and balsamic vinegar. If your tahini is chunky or bitter, the stew is not going to taste as great as it could. And for the balsamic vinegar, if all you have is a cheap $2 vinegar, you’re better off adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice instead.
Serving suggestions
This Creamy Mushroom and Black Beluga Lentil Stew is hearty enough to serve on its own, but if you want to spread it across more mouths (or more days), serve it over a bed of your favorite grain (my choice would be millet or quinoa). Or, it’s great with a side of rustic, freshly baked bread (duh).
If you try this recipe out, be sure to leave me a comment below and tag me with your creation on Instagram!
Big Vegan Flavor
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Creamy Mushroom and Black Beluga Lentil Stew
Ingredients
Lentils
- 1 cup (~200g) black beluga lentils (can substitute French green lentils)
- 1 3/4 cups (420mL) low-sodium vegetable broth or water (2 cups (or 480mL) if cooking lentils on stovetop)
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 spring of fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon if cooking lentils on stovetop)
- 8 whole black peppercorns
Mushroom Stew
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (you can use less if you’re using a nonstick pan)
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 16 ounces (~450g) cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 4 ounces (~110g) shiitake mushrooms (caps only), sliced
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup (60mL) dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
- 1 ½ tablespoons white or yellow miso paste
- 3 tablespoons good-quality tahini
- 1 ½ tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
- 2 cups (480mL) low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup (120mL) “lite” coconut milk or unsweetened oat milk, cashew milk, or soy milk
- 1 head of Tuscan lacinato kale, tough midribs removed and leaves sliced
- 1-2 teaspoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Sift through the lentils to remove any debris or pebbles. Then place them in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear.
- To make the lentils in the Instant Pot, combine all of the Lentils ingredients in the inner pot and stir to combine. Select the Pressure Cook setting (or Manual setting, depending on your model) at high pressure for a cook time of 6 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release.
- To make the lentils on the stovetop, add the lentils to a large saucepan or Dutch oven and add the 2 cups of vegetable broth or water. Add the remaining ingredients (thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black peppercorns). Bring the water a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and add a pinch of salt. Simmer the lentils for 20-25 minutes until just tender.
- While the lentils are cooking, prepare the ingredients for the mushroom stew (chop the vegetables, measure out the ingredients, etc.).
- To make the mushroom stew, heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onion and cook until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the sliced cremini and shiitake mushrooms and let them sit undisturbed for 3 minutes to allow them to brown. Then stir the mushrooms, and add a generous amount of kosher salt and pepper. Add the garlic, thyme leaves, and crushed red pepper flakes, and stir to combine until the mixture is fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan for 2-3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits as needed. Then add the miso paste, tahini, and tamari and stir into the mushrooms to coat them. Add the cooked and drained lentils, 2 cups vegetable broth, and lite coconut milk. Stir well, and bring the stew to a boil.
- Once the stew is boiling, carefully pour half of it into a stand blender. Blend until the mixture is completely pureed and smooth, and then pour the mixture back into the pot and stir to combine. Alternatively, use an immersion blender directly in the pot to partially blend the stew.
- Once the stew has been blended, add in the sliced kale. Bring the stew to a boil until it is thick and creamy and the kale has wilted. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
Love this recipe! It’s easy to make and so tasty my son, who does not love mushrooms, ate it!
I enjoyed this very much. I recommend it to all
Thanks for the sweet review, Jane!
I made this tonight and I absolutely loved it! It’s delicious, creamy, rich and super easy to make. It Thank you! Just wondering, would this recipe be suitable for freezing?
Made this tonight after it popped up in my inbox last week as part of your newsletter recipe repertoire. Had to process the mushrooms down for picky eaters (my adult kids don’t like the texture) so it was more thick soup than chunky stew, but oh boy, DELICIOUS! Served on rice with salad and roast squash on the side. Thanks Nisha, I really love all your recipes!
We’re over the moon to hear everyone enjoyed the recipe, Shanee. Thank you for the kind words!
Delicious. Took the time to caramelize the onion at the start, and then again a slower, longer cook when adding the mushrooms. Used 450g of shiitake, rather than mixing shiitake and cremini. Added an equal amount of red kidney beans to lentils that I cooked separate and added at same time as lentils. Used dark toasted tahini for added flavour and regular coconut milk. Instead of adding kale to stew, roasted it in oven with a bit of oil to make crispy and added to top of each bowl for a bit more texture.
We’re so happy that the stew turned out well for you, B. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for trying out the recipe!
Made this tonight and YUM! Super flavorful. Definitely will be making this again!
We’re over the moon to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Erin. Thanks for your kind words!
This is AMAZING! Incredible flavor and I love the texture of the lentils. So easy in the instant pot!
Awesome, Elaine. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
Have made this twice, and I really enjoy it. Made a few changes such as soy milk and halved the tahini to bring down fats. Stupid question: What do you do with the first set of hearbs for the lentils? Do they get added to the final product or are they only used for cooking the lentils?
Happy to hear this recipe’s a favorite, Renee! Are you asking about the rosemary and thyme? Those are used for cooking the lentils!
Yes, but do you then pour it all in with the rest of the recipe or do to not add them to the rest of the recipe? Thank you. Also, just bought the latest book. What a magnificent tome!
Hi Renee, you can pick out any stems after the lentils are done cooking if that’s what you’re asking! And thanks for your support of the cookbook :) We hope you love all of the recipes!
Really flavourful, delicious, and hearty – the mushrooms and other ingredients have great umami but the texture was not a win for us – it was kind of like eating a bowl of mushroom gravy. Next time I think we’ll have it over rice or pasta or thin it out a bit to make it more soupy.
Hi Heather, sorry to hear the texture of this recipe wasn’t your favorite, but we’re glad you at least thought it was flavorful! We appreciate the honest feedback.
You mention, “I recommend using a high-quality tahini” and “If your tahini is chunky or bitter, the stew is not going to taste as great as it could.”
It would be hugely beneficial for those of us shopping for ingredients if we knew which brands of tahini you have in mind when you say “high-quality,” given the importance you assign to the tahini flavor. Thanks!
Hi Luke, our favorite brands of tahini include Soom Foods, Seed and Mill, Whole foods 365, Baron’s or Beirut. Enjoy!
OMG!! This is what we need on a cold rainy day! So delicious and hearty! I already made 2 lentil soup recipes and so far they have been YUMMY! Can’t wait to try some tofu recipes. Thank you Nisha for all your hard work and your team. And I might consider joining your meal plan soon.
Thanks for the awesome review, Sue! :) And we’d love it if you tried out our meal plan! You can get a free trial week to test it out by signing up here!
Amazing, so comforting and filling
i didn’t have miso or kale so I sub with soy sauce and a lot of spinach
it made me think of french food, like the wine and the umami bomb of the mushrooms and caramelized onions with the tahini makes this a deep complex dish
to be honest I haven’t tried a recipe of your blog or books that I didn’t love, but this is a banger
Thank you for the wonderful comment, Tania! We’re so happy you love the RPL recipes.
Delicious. Creamy and lots of flavour. My husband had no idea that it had coconut in it. Definitely will make it again. I didn’t have veggie stock so added grated carrot and broccoli stork and fried with last batch of mushrooms and browned them and added extra water.
Hi Ruth, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!
Made the stew minus the kale and served over whole wheat linguine topped with roasted pepitas for some crunch. Really really delicious, complex savory flavor! Definitely gonna make it again!
Sounds great, Eva! Thanks for taking the time to try the recipe!
Wow, this was so delicious! Hearty, earthy, comforting, and elegant. Perfect for this cold snap we’ve had here in central Tejas. I made it and sent the recipe to my BFF. Thank you, Nisha!!!
Hi Eva, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!