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.
This is delicious and I’ll be making it again with a few changes. I think it’s more attractive unblended so I won’t feel compelled to do that next time. Also, if you want to retain the good nutrients in miso, add it at the end with the vinegar. Boiling miso destroys the probiotics and digestive enzymes that make it healthy for you. Also, used Szechuan peppercorns instead of black and aleppo pepper in place of flaky red, but this recipe is excellent whichever you use!
Hi Carolyn, we appreciate the feedback and are thrilled you enjoyed the stew :)
Made this tonight and it is delicious! Smelled wonderful cooking. Hubby is very impressive
Hi Becky, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!
I made this recipe this past spring and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. Stupidly, I didn’t save it. I’m so very happy to have found it again – I spent at least 8 hours over many days searching the internet for the recipe. My husband is going to be so excited that I found it again.
Awww, we’re honored this recipe is such a favorite, Rebecca! We’re happy you found it just in time for soup season :)
Just WOW! This stew is a perfect warm, savory, mushroomy filling meal. It hits all of the buttons. Delicious, will be putting this into rotation, and serving this at family gatherings and dinner parties…..
Hey Lisa! Wow, I can feel your enthusiasm about this recipe through the screen! Love it!
This us an all time favorite recipe. I’ve made it with with the coconut milk and no wine, with wine and no coconut milk, Amy combination. Definitely worth making it!
Hi Lisa, we’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe. Thanks!
Any one tried making a big batch and freezing part for future use?
It was served by a friend and was delicious.
Hi Kathy, yes you can do that! We recommend using souper cubes to freeze invidivual portions :)
Tasted good, maybe slightly too much tahini for my liking, just the presentation is not there only for that reason I gave 4 stars. The dish looked strange, especially after blending some of it. Will I make it again? Maybe, one or twice a year.
Hi Julia, we appreciate your honest review and are glad to hear you enjoyed the soup overall. We hope you get a chance to try some of our other soups and enjoy them a bit more. Cheers!
It’s a good recipe, very tasty. I didn’t have white miso so I used red and it worked fine. However I think it’s important to note that miso is madefrom soy, so this recipe is not soy-free, even though it’s tagged as such.
Hi Michelle, we’re happy to hear you enjoyed the stew! And good catch on the soy-free tag, thanks!
Most pleasing result. Family loved it 😁thankyou
Your positive feedback is the best reward for our hard work. Thank you, Stef!
Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious, thank you!
Hi JoJo, thank you so much for your kind review!
Excellent! I’ve been meaning to cook this dish for a while and I’m so glad that I finally did. It manages to be rich and multi-layered without being heavy. I would never have thought to combine these ingredients in this way. This has given me the confidence to put beluga lentils into our legume rotation. Thanks so much
Thanks for the lovely review, Ade! :)
A delicious, savory, lucious meal. Absolutely wonderful! Kale, or similar vegetable is a must to counter this rich stew that is infused with so much umami flavor.
Hi Michael, Thank you so much for such a fantastic review! Appreciate you taking the time!
I wanted to try a recipe with beluga lentils and found yours so made this dish along with my husband – only substitute I made was to add some spinach because I didn’t have enough kale. It was so delicious! We both loved it and will definitely make it again! Thankyou!
Hi Pamela, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!
I love the flavours in this! Not ingredients I would usually think to combine, but they work together perfectly for a hearty meal. Already looking forward to making this again :)
Hi Hannah, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!