Easy meals for a week. Serve over rice or quinoa. This recipe is a good starting point, but recommend experimenting with more spices. It’s a little bland as is. Gets better after sitting in the fridge overnight.
Red Lentil Chili
Ingredients
2 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1 White or yellow onion, diced
1 Red pepper, diced
1 Jalapeño, diced with seeds
4 Cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tsp Sea salt and black pepper (plus more to taste)
2 Tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp Chipotle chili powder
2 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tsp Smoked paprika
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (150ml) can tomato paste
1 3/4 cups water
3/4 cups dry red lentils
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1-2 Tbsp Maple syrup
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
Optional
Garnish with fresh jalapeño, cilantro, red onion, and/or avocado
Instructions
Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil, onion, and red pepper. Season with a healthy pinch each salt and pepper and stir. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add jalapeño and garlic to the pot.
Add 1/2 of the chili powder (1 Tbsp, 1/2 Tbsp smoked), half of the cumin (1 Tbsp), paprika, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and water, and stir to combine. Bring to a low boil over medium high heat.
Once boiling, add lentils and reduce heat to medium-low or low, so it’s at a gentle simmer. You want to see bubbles, but you don’t want it boiling. Cook for 15 minutes, or until lentils are mostly tender. As it’s cooking you may need to add more water if the mixture is looking too dry and the lentils aren’t submerged.
Add kidney beans, black beans, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper, and remaining cumin (1 Tbsp) and chili powder (1 Tbsp, 1/2 Tbsp smoked), and stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat slightly to low (or medium-low), add corn (optional), cover, and gently simmer for 20 minutes to meld the flavors together. Stir occasionally.
Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more chili powder or cumin for smokiness, salt for saltiness, or a little coconut sugar to balance the heat and draw out the other flavors.
Serve as is, or garnished with fresh jalapeño, cilantro, red onion, and/or avocado (optional).
