Vegan Lentil and Pumpkin Stew

This Lentil Pumpkin Stew is made with nutritious whole ingredients and totally vegan.

Lentil Pumpkin Stew
Lentil Pumpkin Stew

We’re taking a bunch of veggies, cutting them up, and throwing them in a slow cooker. No flour, no dairy, we’re not adding any seasoning, and it should easily make enough to feed you for the week. How’s that sound? Sounds like a breeze to me!!

If you’re not familiar with the seasonal transitions of the North East / Mid Atlantic region (Philadelphia) let me explain. Two days ago it was 80 degrees with 99% humidity. Last night we hit a low of 58 degrees and later this week they’re saying it’ll be in the 30s. That may seem dramatic, and it is, but it’s also quite normal. I don’t think I’m alone when thoughts of cool weather stews smack you in the back of the head like a kid smashing pumpkins on mischief night. Cool weather stews, take one – Lentil and Pumpkin Stew.

Lentil Pumpkin Stew
Lentil Pumpkin Stew

In this hearty cool weather stew you’ll find; lots of Lentils, a wee Pumpkin, Mirepoix, Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Potatoes, Chili Peppers, Roma Tomatoes, Garlic, Herbs, Spinach, and Vegan Vegetable Broth. That’s literally all there is in this stew so it can’t be all that bad for you. Guilt free even? I’d say this is a stupendous super stew. It’s just the thing to fill you up and keep warm when the weather turns without feeling like you’re plunging head first in to winter weight gain.

You could use any sort of squash like acorn or butternut for this recipe. Even sweet potato will work. I picked up one of these little pumpkins at my local market over the weekend. I feel like we should be cooking with pumpkin more often than we use them for decoration. FYI – pumpkin does not exclusively come out of a can for your pumpkin pies. And they’re super easy to cut in to cubes for this recipe.

Lentil Pumpkin Stew
This is my pumpkin. There are others like it but this one is mine. Pumpkin, say hello to my little knife.
Lentil Pumpkin Stew
Attack your pumpkin from the top down. They cut very easily.
Lentil Pumpkin Stew
After your pumpkin is divided, scoop out its seedy guts. You could go through the slimy bits and toast the seeds with some neutral oil then salt them.
Lentil Pumpkin Stew
There’s more than one way to skin a pumpkin! Actually, no. There’s not. If you’re doing it any other way than with a vegetable peeler you’re doing it wrong.
Lentil Pumpkin Stew
Chop the pumpkin in to 1-2 inch pieces. Most of the pumpkin is going to dissolve in to the stew and make it sweeter.

You’ll notice that I didn’t add any seasoning to this recipe. Taste test your vegetable broth first and make a judgement call as you make this. I found that all these vegetables worked so well together releasing their natural juices and sweetness that salt and pepper wasn’t necessary. I suggest you season each serving individually. Or you might want to swerve in a different direction and impart unique flavors in the stew. This would work great with some curry powder and sumac or cumin and paprika. I used a small handful of herbs and chilis to give a little extra something to the sweet stewed veggies.

This is a great slow cooker recipe as long as you’re not too far away. At some point you’ll want to give this a good mix as things start heating up. I cooked mine for 6 hours on high stirring twice during the cooking. If you have less time and want to cook this in a dutch oven it should take roughly 3 hours in a 325 degree oven.

I absolutely love throwing a ton of veggies in to a pot and letting them do their thing. The flavors and aromas that come from this are amazing. There’s nothing at all that you need to do to this to make it taste incredible. Except maybe some sour cream. 100% NOT vegan but :eyeroll: yum!

Lentil Pumpkin Stew
Lentil Pumpkin Stew
Lentil Pumpkin Stew
Lentil Pumpkin Stew

Lentil & Pumpkin Stew [vegan]

Recipe by Anthony
0.0 from 0 votes
Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

5

Quarts
Prep time

25

minutes
Cooking time

6

hours 
Total time

6

hours 

25

minutes

This Lentil Pumpkin Stew is made with nutritious whole ingredients and totally vegan. We’re taking a bunch of veggies, cutting them up, and throwing them in a slow cooker. We’re not adding any seasoning and it should easily make enough to feed you for the week. How’s that sound? Sounds like a breeze to me!!

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Ingredients

  • 3 Cups / 1.25 lbs. Green Lentils

  • 1.5 – 2 lbs. Pumpkin

  • 28 oz can Whole Plum Tomatoes drained

  • 32 oz Vegan Vegetable Stock

  • 1 large Yellow Onion

  • 3 medium Carrots

  • 3 medium Celery Stalks

  • 1 lbs. White or Red Potatoes

  • 1 Red Bell Pepper

  • 4 cloves Garlic

  • 2-3 Chilis

  • 2 Sprigs Rosemary

  • 2 Sprigs Thyme

  • 1 handful Baby Spinach

Directions

  • To prepare the pumpkin cut it in half, scoop out the insides, and use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. Cut flesh in to 1-2 inch pieces.
  • Chop onion and chilis in to half inch pieces.
  • Cut carrots, celery, and bell pepper in to 1 inch pieces.
  • Cut potatoes in to 4ths or 6ths depending on size.
  • Roughly chop garlic cloves.
  • Layer your slow cooker with onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers, and chilis. Next layer the potatoes and herbs. Place the tomatoes, lentils, and pumpkin on top. Add vegetable stock and cover slower cooker.
  • Heat on high for 5-6 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Stir with a long wooden spoon occasionally to mix the vegetables around once they start to heat up and sweat.

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