Lentils With Dumplings (Printable)
Hearty lentils with vegetables, topped with fluffy dumplings for a comforting meal.
# What you'll need:
→ Lentil Stew
01 - 1 cup dried brown or green lentils, rinsed
02 - 1 medium onion, diced
03 - 2 carrots, sliced
04 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
05 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
07 - 4 cups vegetable broth
08 - 1 bay leaf
09 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
10 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
11 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
12 - Salt and pepper, to taste
13 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
→ Dumplings
14 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
15 - 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
16 - ½ teaspoon salt
17 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced
18 - ½ cup milk
# How to make it:
01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion, sliced carrots, sliced celery, and minced garlic. Sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
02 - Stir in the rinsed lentils, diced tomatoes with their juice, vegetable broth, bay leaf, dried thyme, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 25–30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
03 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the cold diced butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk until just combined; be careful not to overmix.
04 - Increase the heat under the stew to bring it to a lively simmer. Drop spoonfuls of dumpling dough (about 1 tablespoon each) onto the surface of the simmering stew, yielding 8–10 dumplings. Cover the pot tightly and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid, until the dumplings are puffed and cooked through.
05 - Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley before serving, if desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The dumplings steam right on top of the stew, so you get a full meal from a single pot with zero extra effort.
- It costs almost nothing to make yet tastes like you spent hours tending something special.
- Leftovers reheated the next day are somehow even better, thick and rich and deeply satisfying.
02 -
- Lifting the lid during those fifteen minutes of steaming will let the heat escape and your dumplings will collapse, so resist the urge to peek.
- Make sure the stew is at an active simmer before you add the dumplings, because a sluggish pot will not generate enough steam to cook them through.
03 -
- Rinse the lentils under cold water and pick through them for tiny stones, because finding one with your teeth will ruin the entire cozy vibe you worked so hard to create.
- Keep the dumpling dough as loose and barely mixed as you can stand, because overworking it is the fastest path from fluffy clouds to rubbery hockey pucks.