I’ve been loving making lentils for dinner – they’re inexpensive, filling, and so comforting. I like being able to throw in a couple meatless meals during the week, too, and lentils with rice are the perfect meal for that. My husband loves curry so most of the time when I make lentils, I make them curry-flavored. But sometimes, I don’t feel like the spice of curry . . . so I like making them a little more calm and comforting.
This lentil recipe is a quick and easy meal so it’s perfect for those busy weeknight dinners! I love easy meals like this ๐
For this lentils and rice recipe, I used green lentils and basmati rice. I love the flavor and texture of basmati so I would definitely recommend that type of rice!
The rest of the ingredients are pantry staples so you should have everything on hand for this yummy dish!
Start by heating some oil in a Dutch oven. Add the sliced onions and saute on medium-high heat until translucent. Season with salt and pepper. (Start cooking your rice now so it will be done around the same time as the lentils – here’s how I *always* cook my rice!)
Add chopped carrots. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of dry lentils, 3 1/2 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, and salt and pepper.
Cook covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft.
Uncover and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
Remove bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve over cooked rice and top with optional toppings: plain yogurt, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped chives, salt, and pepper.
So so yummy! The warm lentils with the creamy yogurt is just wonderful ๐ I forgot to add the halved cherry tomatoes to the lentils and rice (!!!) but I did add them to the leftover lentils I sent with my husband for lunch the next day, and he loved them with the lentils.
Easy Weeknight Lentils & Rice
Creamy, warm, comforting lentils and rice that only takes 30 minutes to make!
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup dry green lentils
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- plain yogurt, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped chives (optional topping)
- prepared basmati rice
Instructions
- Saute sliced onion in olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add chopped carrots. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add lentils, water, bay leaves, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir everything to combine.
- Cook covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft.
- Uncover and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve over cooked rice.
- Top with yogurt, chopped chives, halved cherry tomatoes, and salt and pepper.