Lentejas in Spain always means a simple delicious traditional lentil stew with vegetables. It’s so tasty, with tender but not mushy lentils in a savory broth and chunks of delicious perfectly cooked vegetables. Make it on the stovetop or in your Instant Pot.
Note that these are Spanish-style lentejas, not Mexican-style. I lived in Spain for over 14 years and these were a staple in our household. Many Spanish lentejas recipes add chorizo but we’ve omitted them here and used smoked paprika instead.
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⭐Why you’ll love it
- These lentils are “accidentally” vegan, and as such are suitable for everyone to eat.
- You’ll only need simple ingredients and pantry staples to make them.
- It’s a very economical recipe.
- It’s super satisfying and filling.
- Lentejas freeze well so it’s perfect for meal prep or to cook once and eat twice.
And if you like this then you might want to try some other fabulous Spanish recipes like potatoes with salsa brava, a delicious traditional tapa like Spanish fava beans, or a modern fusion dish like this gorgeous Spanish tomato salad.
🛒Ingredients and substitutions
To make lentejas, first, we’ll make a simple sofrito, and then add in the lentils, stock, and vegetables. High-quality ingredients are key in Spanish cooking as it isn’t very heavily spiced, so there’s nothing to “hide” the flavor of any flavorless components.
Sofrito
Red bell pepper: Any ripe red bell pepper, preferably a deep red color. Don’t substitute with yellow or green peppers.
Onions: Any type will do, in Spain the most common onions used tend to be the brown ones.
Tomatoes: I used some ripe plum tomatoes here, but any very ripe medium-sized red tomato will do.
Leeks: Don’t omit or substitute, they add a lot of flavor.
Cumin: Don’t omit or substitute, it’s one of the very few spices used in Spanish cooking.
Smoked paprika: High-quality smoked paprika is essential here. If you can get it, I highly recommend purchasing pimentón de la Vera, a fabulous Spanish paprika. It’s made from ñora peppers, the same ones that give Spanish chorizo its characteristic flavors, and doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste unlike regular smoked paprika.
Olive oil: Use quality olive oil, but no need to break out the extra virgin olive oil, reserve that for salads.
Garlic: If you hate garlic, you can omit it. Otherwise, you can only substitute it with frozen chopped garlic, about four teaspoons.
Stew Ingredients
Uncooked lentils: If you can get Spanish pardina lentils, these are the best to use as they retain their shape better than other lentils when cooked (no mushiness). Otherwise, any brown lentils will do.
Potatoes: Any type will do.
Salt: Use regular table salt. If using kosher, double the amount.
Carrots: If you don’t like carrots you can leave them out and substitute with extra potatoes, parsnips, or turnips instead.
Bay leaves: If you don’t have any you can omit them.
Rosemary: Another commonly used classic Spanish herb. I’ve used dried rosemary here, but if you have fresh you can finely chop it and use triple the amount of instead.
Vegetable stock: Make sure you use a high-quality stock you like the flavor of.
Vinegar: Use mild white wine or red wine vinegar. In a pinch, you can use apple cider vinegar instead.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact quantities.
👩🍳How to make it
- Make the sofrito by adding the olive oil to a large pot and heat on medium-high. Chop the leeks, onion, and pepper and add to the pot. When the veggies are sizzling, reduce the heat to medium and sweat the vegetables for ten minutes.
- In the meantime, grate the tomatoes by rubbing them against the large holes in a grater. Throw away the leftover large pieces of skin, but don’t worry too much about a few bits getting in.
- Chop the garlic, add, mix, and fry for one minute more, stirring once or twice to prevent it from sticking and burning.
- Add the grated tomato (including its juices) and the paprika and cumin. Mix well and fry for five minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
- Peel the potatoes and carrots and chop them into half-an-inch pieces. Add to the pan along with the lentils.
6. Add the bay leaf, rosemary, vegetable stock, salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-high and keep at a lively simmer, stirring often, for 25-35 minutes until the lentils are tender. Done!
Instant Pot
Do you have an Instant Pot and are wondering how to make this? It’s quite straightforward. Follow all the frying steps to make the sofrito, using Saute mode.
Once you’ve added all the ingredients (only use 8 cups of stock instead of 10), instead of boiling until the lentils are done, you’ll then seal your Instant Pot. Set to high pressure for 6 minutes. Once done cooking, let it naturally release for ten minutes, and then do a quick release.
💡Expert tips
- Lentil cooking time can vary depending on which type you use (pardina, brown, or green), how hard your water is, and how old the lentils are. Be sure to check package instructions. Some will cook through in 25 minutes, and some will take up to 35 or 40.
- Lentils continue to release starch even after they’re cooked, so the cooking liquid will continue to thicken. If the stew thickens too much for your liking, just thin with a little water.
🍽️Serving suggestions
A bowl of Spanish lentejas is a pretty complete and filling meal with plenty of fiber, protein, and complex carbohydrates. To be honest I’d only recommend serving it with some fresh crusty bread and butter.
❄️Storage
When cooled you can store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to three months. As mentioned above, lentejas thicken the longer they sit so just thin with a little water as needed until at your preferred consistency.
❓Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Lentejas! Even though this dish can be called called potaje de lentejas (lentil potage), guiso de lentejas (lentil stew), or lentejas con verduras (lentils with vegetables), in Spain it’s just shortened to saying lentejas.
Traditionally lentejas stew always includes lentils (especially pardina lentils), onion, potato, tomato, olive oil, garlic, bay leaf, and paprika. Everything else added is for variety and it can change from one region to the next. Some places also add one or a mixture of carrots, leeks, chorizo, and bell peppers.
Pardina lentils are lentils that were traditionally grown near the Pyrenees. They are smaller than regular green or brown lentils and hold their shape much better once cooked.
🍲More soup and stew recipes
Did you make this dish? Let me know how much you loved it with a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Traditional Lentejas (Spanish Lentil Stew)
Equipment
- 1 large sharp knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 box grater
- 1 vegetable peeler
- 1 wooden or silicone spoon
- 1 set measuring spoons
- 1 measuring jug
Ingredients
Sofrito
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 leeks
- 2 onions medium-sized
- 1 red bell pepper
- 5 cloves garlic
- 4 tomatoes large
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika Preferably Pimentón de la Vera dulce.
- 2 tsps cumin
Stew
- 2 potatoes medium
- 4 carrots medium
- 14 oz lentils pardina, brown or green
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 10 cups vegetable stock
- 2.5 tsps table salt
- 1.5 tablespoon red wine vinegar Can substitute with white wine vinegar or ACV.
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Make the sofrito by adding the olive oil to a large pot and heat on medium-high. Chop the leeks, onion, and bell pepper and add to the pot. When the veggies are sizzling, reduce the heat to medium and sweat the vegetables for ten minutes.
- Grate the tomatoes by rubbing them against the large holes in a grater. Throw away the leftover large pieces of skin.
- Finely chop the garlic, add to the pot, mix, and fry for one minute more, stirring once or twice to prevent it from sticking and burning.
- Add the grated tomato (including its juices) and the paprika and cumin. Mix well and fry for five minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
- Peel the potatoes and carrots and chop them into half-an-inch pieces. Add to the pan along with the lentils.
- Add the bay leaf, rosemary, vegetable stock, salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-high and keep at a lively simmer, stirring often, for 25-35 minutes until the lentils are tender. Taste and check for salt, add more if needed.
- Serve warm or hot by itself or with some fresh crusty bread.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Make the sofrito by adding the olive oil to the Instant Pot liner and press the Saute button. Chop the leeks, onion, and bell pepper and add to the pot when the oil is hot. Fry for ten minutes.
- Grate the tomatoes, removing large pieces of leftover skin.
- Finely chop the garlic, add to the Instant pot, mix, and fry for one minute more, stirring once or twice to prevent it from sticking and burning.
- Add the grated tomato (including its juices) and the paprika and cumin. Mix well and fry for five minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
- Press the Cancel button. Peel the potatoes and carrots and chop them into half-an-inch pieces. Add to the pan along with the lentils.
- Add all the remaining ingredients (reduce vegetable stock from 10 to 8 cups). Seal the Instant Pot, and set to high pressure for six minutes. Once done, allow to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then do a quick release. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Notes
- When cooled you can store the lentil stew in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to three months. Lentejas thicken the longer they sit so just thin with a little water as needed until at your preferred consistency when reheating.
- Lentil cooking time can vary depending on which type you use (pardina, brown, or green), how hard your water is, and how old the lentils are. Be sure to check package instructions. Some will cook through in 25 minutes, and some will take up to 35 or 40.
PaulaR
An absolutely delicious soup that I plan on putting into regular winter rotation. The flavors are complex without being overwhelming. It’s a healthy recipe that’s easy to make.
I ordered the Spanish lentils and pimenton de la Vera online, as I wasn’t able to find them locally. (I accidently bought spicy rather than sweet, so I used 1/2 Tbs of that and 1/2 Tbs of a sweet paprika I had on-hand. I’ll go with the full Tbs of the spicy pimenton de la Vera paprika next time.)
I did end up adding two more cups of broth the day after I made the soup as the lentils soaked up a bit more liquid.
My only complaint is that the timing listed. The prep time is probably closer to 20 minutes and the cook time is incorrect; it’s closer to an hour. (10 minutes to cook the veggies, 5 minutes of cook time after adding the tomatoes, time to bring 10+ cups of soup to a boil, plus 25/35 of simmer time ends up being around an hour.)
Regardless – you need to make this soup! You’ll be as delighted as I was. My boyfriend said that it was the best soup I’ve ever made, and I cook frequently.
Deirdre Gilna
Hey Paula! I chop the rest of the veggies while the sofrito is cooking so it doesn’t take me as long, but those are some good notes. Delighted you enjoyed it, had you used pimentón de la Vera before? Isn’t it wonderful? Yes I’d recommend using a full tablespoon of the spicy next time as well as it isn’t very hot.