Ethiopian Lentil Stew -A healthy Vegan Ethiopian-spiced Stew with lentil. Laced with berbere spice and Niter kibbeh. You will love this protein and fiber packed meal!
To some people, Lentils may be synonymous with “dull and boring.” However, dull and boring doesn’t even come close to describing this spiced Ethiopian stewed lentils. It’s rich, layered and full of complex flavors.
One of my favorite Ethiopian Side dish, can eat this any day of the week without complaining and you would too, once you’ve tried it. It’s great with when served with this injera here
accompanied with this spiced collard green and tastes even better with served with rice, or quinoa
If you are not familiar with lentils, they are a tiny little legumes with… guess what? 13 grams of protein and a great source of fiber.
The easiest way to make a flavor packed Ethiopian meal is to just use the quintessential spice mix – Berebere. You can purchase some at an Ethiopian market, or make your own here. I always advocate homemade spice, because you know can customize to suit preference an even go easy with the chili. That is, if you have an aversion to hot peppers.
And don’t forget to include this spiced Ethiopian Clarified butter, it’s sure does add some flavor into this stewed lentils or Switch it out for coconut oil instead. If you want a paleo friendly meal.
Enjoy!!
Ethiopian Lentil Stew -A healthy Vegan Ethiopian-spiced Stew with lentil. Laced with berbere spice and Niter kibbeh. You will love this protein and fiber packed meal!
- 1 -2 Tablespoons Spiced butter /Coconut oil/
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons berbere spice Homemade here
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 Tablespoon fresh minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon coriander or cumin
- 1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 cup dry lentils soaked for 2 hours
- 1 Tablespoons Tomato paste
- 2 cups or more broth Vegetable /Chicken or water
- 2 tablespoons or more chopped parsley/Cilantro
- Salt and Pepper to taste
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Heat up large sauce-pan with oil, spiced butter, then add onions,berbere spice, garlic, ginger ,cumin, and smoked paprika, stir occasionally for about 2-3 minutes until onions is translucent.
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Then add soaked lentils, tomato paste, stir and sauté for about 2-3 more minutes. Add stock or water . Salt
- Bring to a boil and let it simmer until sauce thickens, it might take about 30 minutes or depending on how you like your lentils. Throw in some parsley, adjust for salt, pepper and stew consistency. Serve warm
Thank you Imma for this recipe!! It was absolutely delicious and so easy to follow. I’m from Melbourne in Australia and have recently discovered Ethiopian food. My local fruit market started selling Injera bread and my husband has been nagging me to try my hand at a dish! Thanks to your recipe it was a hit!
Hi Nathalie, I am from Melbourne too! Just wondering which market you get your injera from?
Why ¼ cup cooking oil?
I thought it’s either niter kibeh or coconut oil.
I had lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant for the first time and my favorite food there was their lentil stew so I Googled its recipes and your site came up. I like how your readers have actually tried your recipes and posted comments not just mention how they should try it because it looks good. Anyhow, I had all the ingredients to make your berbere spice mix from scratch and I used it to make your lentil stew. I have to say yours tasted SO MUCH better than the one I had at the restaurant. I love your spice mix. Thank you so much for this recipe. I am looking forward to trying your other recipes.
Thank you so much for the kind words and for taking the time to let me know.
This is so amazing! I made the collards and the lentil stew. The flavors were absolutely perfect! I did order some berbere seasoning off of Amazon since it wasn’t available here. I used to love to go to Meskarem in the Adams-Morgan section of DC and this was so very close! I can’t thank you enough! Do you have a lamb dish to accompany this?
Awesome! Thanks Aline. I absolutely do. Here are two https://www.africanbites.com/slow-cooker-lamb-leg/ and https://www.africanbites.com/grilled-lamb-chops/. Enjoy!!!
Simple to make, tastes just like the restaurant if not better! This is definitely one of my go-to recipe sites. Thanks Imma!
Aw that’s so sweet, thank you Jennifer! 🙂
Hi. I’m a little confused. The recipe calls for 2 or more cups of broth/water, but the directions say to only add water if needed to prevent burns. But then it says bring to a boil. So should we add the 2 cups of water/broth?
Hello,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have updated recipe to make it clearer.
I LOVED this recipe! Lentils are sooo healthy. I could eat a 1/2 cup of this recipe 3 to 4 days a week.
I love lentils too! I am glad the recipe turned out well for you. Thanks for stopping by!
This recipe!!! OH MY GOSH!
I used coconut oil and it tasteeeee so good.
Even my husband said that it’s much better than the one in th restaurant!
Thank you so much! 🙂
You are welcome Stefie! Glad it was a hit!
I would like to make this dish but as I am Vegan, I will not be able to use the Ethiopian Spiced Butter. Is this dish still flavourful without it? If I used Coconut Oil instead would it overpower the dish with its coconut flavour? Also, is the parsley for garnish or does it get mixed into the stew? Can it be dried parsley or does it need to be fresh?
Hello,
Coconut oil works just fine and the parsley is primarily for garnish. Happy Cooking!!!!
hi Coco!
i’m vegan as well and HIGHLY recommend making the spiced butter with vegan/non-dairy butter. i cannot stress enough how WILDLY DELICIOUS it is and absolutely makes this, and any, dish.
ImmaculateBites, thank you so much for your magic in cooking! your recipes are every single thing and super easy to adapt to make any non-vegan dish vegan. i’m seriously so grateful.
This dish is amazing It is everything. I enjoy Ethiopian food. This was the first Ethiopian dish I made and yes I did that. I even made my own berbere spice. It is jammed packed with flavor and spicy. Love it. Awesome recipe Imma.
made these today and they were GREAT! this has inspired me to take the plunge and try a full ethio meal using your recipes. there’s an afro-caribbean market not far from me, so i’ll stock up on all the other spices and pantry items i need, then here i come!
Hi! Theres no recipe for the green vegies … ? injera bread need no recipe.
Hi. You may get the recipe for the Ethiopian Collard Greens here >>> https://www.africanbites.com/ethiopian-collard-greens/ and the Injera here >>> https://www.africanbites.com/injera/ Enjoy!
What type of lentils did you use? Brown? Green or red?
Any would do fine. I used the yellow ones for this recipe.
This recipe looks great! I will be using it for a school project and was wondering if you could provide the serving size for the nutrition facts that you have posted?
Thanks Rebecca, don’t have that feature yet. Will pass it over to the plugin developer.
This was really great. I added carrots before the onions for another textural element.
Nice addition. Thanks for the Tip
LOVED this recipe! I was thinking it would be good using chickpeas as well
It sure would kim. Thanks for the feedback!
What do you do with the green onions? I did not find I needed them. I used a special berber spice mix and it came out wonderful! Thank you! Will try your other recipes.
I have removed it from the list of ingredients. Not needed. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. So glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Made it with the collards recipe, loved it, plus this was a tasry & satisfying meal for vegetarians! I will definitely try more of your recipes !
I’m so excited to try this lentil stew & am also making the collards! I spent hours at the International farmers market buying all the fun spices! My lentils are soaking as I type! I’ll be sure to let you know how they turn out. Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Yaay! I’m excited for you Kjirsten! Please let me know how it turns out for you. Happy cooking! 🙂
This is so delicious! Jam packed with flavor. I made this with avocado oil for the cooking oil & used green lentils… then I crisped up some bacon in the oven & broke them into small bits & tossed that in… absolutely yummy!!
Yay! Thanks for the feedback Estee!
We made your Ethiopian lentil stew at our food festival in Taiwan. Here’s the pic: https://imgur.com/a/PmkNG. Thanks so much, we loved it!
Am SO thrilled! Thank you so much for sharing this . Means a lot to me .
I just finished making this for the first time. It was soooo good. This will be a staple in my kitchen. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
My pleasure! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback!
I made this recipe after my boss made it so many times!! It was incredible!! I put it on top of basmati rice and a big peice of salmon on top. OMG!!! MY HUSBAND was in awe of the flavors! ThankYou for sharing!!
Hi Noel! So happy it worked all so well for you. Thanks
I have adopted three Ethiopian kids 10 years ago and rarely make Ethiopian food. We usually just go to a restaurant. I made these lentils this week, and they were fantastic. Super easy recipe and I will definitely make it again. I tweaked a couple of ingredients since I didn’t have them on hand, such as using regular paprika rather than smoked paprika and having no green onions at the time. But otherwise everything else was pretty much following the recipe. And I chose to use red lentils. I made a double batch, since I had a pretty good idea we would love it. My kids said that I should’ve tripled that. They brought leftovers to school for lunch and said all their friends wanted to try it and loved it too.
So so happy to hear this Sharon, glad so hear it was a hit with your lovely kids. Thank you so much for taking the time out to share this with me . God Bless!!!!
Hello!
So I attempted to make this recipe and it was a total fail. Was I supposed to add 3 onions? Because it was pretty much just an onion dish. Lime me and my friend were only eating onions. The recipe calls for 2 green onions and 1 onion. When I looked at the picture I was thinking to myself I think j should have added just one but it was too late. Can you help? I want to attempt again.
Forget this comment! Ha! I read too quickly. It’s one onion and 2 two green onions! Sorry ! Made it again and it was fantastic!
so, defnitely new to cooking but I’m wondering are you soaking the lentils in water for two hours prior or in the spice blend with water?
Yes you are . Soak in water in make it tender.
Hi Imma,
Thank you for posting this! I had the cabbage wot + the lentil stew tonight, for whicxh I made a berbere mixture, and a vegan spiced butter. It was delicious! (a friend came over with injeera, so it was perfect – well next time I’ll add a collard greens wot, that I have my supply of berbere and spiced butter!) However, I am a little confused with this recipe, as the list of ingredients does not match the instructions, and vice-versa. There is berbere in the ingredients, but not in the instructions, and allspice in the instructions, but not the ingredients. Also, what is the ginger coriander spice? Thank you! I am so happy I happened upon your site!
Hi Regine! So Sorry about the confusion. I have rewritten the recipe to make it clearer. Am so glad to have you on board .Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
This recipe is great! And easy to make. I have served it to South Indian friends who loved it!
Thanks fro stopping by to let me know Daria! Have a great weekend !!!
I found your recipe while searching for some lentil recipes. I have just finished making them and they are wonderful. I will definitely try some more from this site. Thank you for sharing it.
Woo Hoo! Thank you so much Janet. Glad you enjoyed it . Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
Do you have a recipe for the flat bread/roti portrayed in the pictures?
Yes I do . Here’s the link to injera. https://www.africanbites.com/injera/.
made this today, but sort of combined it with another recipe that used berbere in a coconut curry with brocolli. recipe here http://getinspiredeveryday.com/food/ethiopian-inspired-berbere-chicken-curry/ . I left out the chicken and used the lentils from your recipe instead, then replaced the broth from your with coconut milk. added veggies from other recipe. very good! a lentil, brocolli, spinach coconut curry. Try it if you want another tasty way to use berbere. used your homemade berbere spice mix too!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!!!
Hi Imma, I am using this recipe for a school project. What is the significance of this dish?
I look forward to your reply.
Am not knowledgeable in that aspect. Might have to google for more details.
Great recipe.
Did it in an Instant Pot.
Sautéed onions with aromatics and spices in coconut oil. Stirred in a mixture of red and green lentils (two fold reason, one wanted to thicken stew and two had both red and green lentils) added liquid.
18 minutes on high pressure, natural release.
Still cooking, the house is full of delicious flavors. My empty bowl and spoon awaits, while my stomach rumbles.
Oh boy! I need to grab me a bowl.
Bon apetit!!!
Thanks so much for your recipes, Immaculate. I’ve made lots of your recipes in the past and they are all good. I made this one yesterday and it was ridiculously great! Very deep, complex flavors. Thank you so much! I doubled the recipe so that it lasts longer. One thing the readers should know: there are difference between the lentils. Some maintain their shape, while others don’t. Some take longer to cook… do the research and use the one that it best for your needs. I used the green one and before purchasing, I did not know the difference in the lentils. I was curious and did some research and found out the difference letter. On a side note, I was happy with the green lentils.
I shared the recipe and your site with my family and strongly encouraged them to give it a try!
Hi Naima!
I appreciate you taking the time to share this tip with us. Am sure a lot of readers would benefit from this. Thank you so much for spreading the word. I’m THRILLED!!!
This is so delicious – I made it last night for dinner, and now I’m eating it again for breakfast (I could not wait till lunchtime 🙂
I featured these lentils and a meatless version of your jollof rice recipe as the stars of my vegan bowl. Ethiopian Lentils, Jollof Rice, sweet potato for sweetness, cucumber for coolness, raw broccoli for crunch, all on a bed of tossed greens, with a little creamy sauce drizzled over. Yum.
I made your berbere spice from scratch (from your other page), so now I’m anxious to try it in other recipes too. Thanks for the great recipes. And your pictures are marvelous!
HIGH FIVE!!! Now that’s what am talking ABOUT! GURRRL you ain’t fooling around…. You’ve have got me salivating here . They all sound delicious!!!! Thanks for taking the time to share this with me Liza
This recipe is great. Thank you!
Awesome!
Hi, in step 1 on the instructions, you mention All Spice, but it is not listed as an ingredient. Should All Spice be used in addition to the other spices listed? If so, how much?
It’s not required. You can leave them out.
hello, I’d like to make your Ethiopian lentil stew and I’m not sure which lentil to use. Could you help me,please?
Monika
Any would do just fine. I used the yellow ones .
Oops, sorry! I see you answered the lentil Q above
What kind of lentils? Or am I overthinking it? 🙂
Oh this is fantastic! I love Ethiopian food but there are no Ethiopian restaurants nearby. This looks so easy.. Does it matter what kind of lentils??
No, it really doesn’t matter.
I cooked it today. it is delicious. Thank you for your blog. You are an excellent chef
AWESOME!!! And you are a great cook!!!
I am one of those people who sometimes find lentils soooo dull so I love finding new ways of cooking with them.
This is a very tempting recipe, but before trying it, I have a few questions:
1. You said that the lentil stew is laced with Niter Kibbeh. What is that? When I think of kibbeh, I think of the Lebanese dishes where various ingredients are mixed with fine bulghur, but I don’t see any bulghur in the recipe.
2. What is Ethiopian spiced clarified butter, and where do you get it? Can you make it at home? I know how to clarify butter, but not how to spice it in the Ethiopian manner.
3. When your recipe specifies spices included in the Berbers spice mix, is that in addition to or instead of? In other words, if you use the Berbere spice, do you also add an additional 1tsp cumin? Or is it a case of only using the additional spices if you do NOT use Berbere spice mix? Just want to be sure .
This recipe looks delicious!
Hi Susan,
Am loving all your questions.
First, I got you covered. Check out how to make Niter kibbeh here http://africanbites.com/ethiopian-spiced-butter-niter-kibbeh/.
In regards to your other question, you use the berbere spice together with 1 teaspoon of cumin. However, feel free to approximate the spices used in berbere spice blend and add according in this lentil stew. It’s so much easier though to just use berbere spice and then add cumin and other spices. Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks
Thank you! I did search your site for niter kibbeh, but came up with nothing. I am guessing that auto correct was the culprit. Am eager to put all this together and make the recipes!