Today I decided to share my French Lentil Bake recipe. This is a favourite amongst guests on retreat and serves perfectly with roast potatoes, tamari gravy and vegetables or slaw.

It’s remarkably easy to make with relatively simple ingredients. I’ve created a video here to show you how to make it step-by-step. Please do let me know if you try this and how you get on…

What are French lentils?

The French lentil is a browny green type of legume that tend to be smaller than regular red, green or brown lentils.

They are also sometimes called…

• Puy lentils
• French type lentils
• French green lentils

What is a good swap for French lentils?

A good swap would be green or brown lentils. These alternatives cook faster, which means you need to reduce over all cooking time.

Why are French lentils so good in cooking?

What makes French lentils so special is their ability to hold their shape when cooked. While most lentils go mushy, French lentils hold their shape and texture beautifully. This makes them a perfect legume in a recipe where you want shape to be a feature in the dish rather than mush.

Nutritional benefit from French lentils

Lentils are an excellent source of quality plant-based amino acids. They weigh in with about 25% protein. In addition to protein they are also a good source of fibre, minerals and B vitamins, making them a valuable addition to a balanced diet.

Where do I get French lentils from?

In the UK we can find them online or in most supermarkets along with the dried pulses and grains. It can however, be slightly confusing however as they might be called Lentilles Vertes, French Type Lentils, or Puy Lentils.

French lentil bake is excellent for a vegan a roast dinner

This recipe works very well as part of a gluten-free or vegan roast dinner such as Christmas, Sunday Dinner (does anyone still have those?) or Thanksgiving.

This vegan lentil bake is also very versatile in that you can add extras such as peas, spinach, mushrooms, onion, leek or brocolli. In fact you can add whatever you like and it will probably work.

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Vegan French lentil bake

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

A vegan lentil bake using French lentils with an oat, seed crumble topping.

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Ingredients

• 200g (1 cup) french lentils (see notes for swaps)
• 500ml (2+ cups) water
• 1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes
• 1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 heaped teaspoons onion powder
• 1 large sweet potato

Crumble Topping

• 75g (¾ cup) oats
• 75g (½ cup) sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
• Pinch of sea salt
• Twist of black pepper

Instructions

1. Please see video below for a helpful visual guide.
2. Put the lentils, water, tinned tomatoes and seasonings into a large suace pan. Bring the contents to the boil.
3. In the meantime, chop your sweet potato into cubes. Peeling is optional. I like cubes around 1 to 1.5cm cubed (or half an inch) for this recipe.
4. Add the chopped sweet potato to the pan.
5. Once the contents are boiling, turning down to a simmer with the lid on.
6. If the water steams out too much, then add a little extra.
7. Cook for about 40 minutes. It is ready when the lentils are soft to the bite.

Make crumble topping...

1. Prepare your cumble topping by blitzing the oats and seeds in a bullet blender for a few seconds. This will create a rustic meal.
2. Add two tablespoons of oil and a tablespoon of water, the seasoning and herbs.
3. Mix together until you create a crumble. If needed add a tiny extra dash of water.

Finish the bake...

1. When cooked, put the lentil base into an oven dish and add the crumble topping.
2. Pressing down the crumble evenly and firmly.
3. Put into a pre-heated oven at around 190C (375F) and bake for about 40 minutes.
4. Serve and enjoy
5. If you want to batch make this into smaller portions it keeps well in the freezer.

Notes

French lentils are also sometimes called...

• French type lentils
• Lentilles vertes
• Dark speckled lentils
• Puy lentils

If you can't get french lentils then swap for regular green or brown lentils. They will cook faster, so reduce the cooking time if you use these.

Using oil and alternatives?

You can use any oil for this.

If you don't want to use oil, simply swap out for water.

Additions

You can add any extra veg to this mix!

Oat alternatives

If you don't want oats you can swap for quinoa flakes, buckwheat flakes or any flour.

Did you make this recipe?

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