This colourful black lentil bowl recipe makes a tasty, comforting and nourishing main meal. Umami rich lentils nestle together with wholesome grains, sweet vegetables and nutritious greens. They’re dressed with a herby, zesty and zingy chimichurri parsley sauce that brings everything together in the most delightful way.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my cookie and privacy statement for further details.
I know I’ve only recently published a lentil recipe and a most delicious one it was too. But quite honestly, given how many lentils I eat, I surprised myself at how few lentil dishes there are on Tin and Thyme. Time I reckoned for one of my favourite bowl recipes.
Dive Right In
- Why Make This Black Lentil Bowl Recipe?
- Black Lentil Bowl
- Ingredients
- How To Make A Black Lentil Bowl
- Why Soak Lentils?
- Other Lentil Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- The Recipe
Why Make This Black Lentil Bowl Recipe?
There are many good reasons to make this black lentil bowl recipe. It’s not only delicious and nutritious, but it’s also easy to make and excellent comfort food.
- Chimichurri Boost – With its herbal and zippy notes, the addition of chimichurri elevates the overall satisfaction of this black lentil bowl. However, the sauce also adds a nutritional boost, as it includes ingredients like fresh parsley, garlic, lemon and olive oil.
- Colourful – The contrasting vibrant colours of orange sweet potato and greens, coupled with the earthy tones of the black lentils, make this dish particularly appealing to the eye.
- Nutrient-Rich Ingredients – Packed with nutrient-dense black lentils, whole grains, sweet potato mash and greens, this power bowl provides a well-rounded mix of vitamins, minerals, protein, fibre and other essential nutrients. It also gives a balanced mix of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats which helps to keep us sated and energised.
- Plant-Powered Goodness – This black lentil bowl is a fantastic way to try out or embrace a plant-based diet. It offers a satisfying and flavoursome alternative to traditional meat-based dishes.
- Quick and Easy – Although there are a few elements to this dish, none of them require much in the way of preparation. It’s mostly about making sure everything comes together at more or less the same time. With this in mind, it’s a convenient option for busy days when you want a wholesome and delicious meal without spending overly long in the kitchen.
- Satisfying Comfort Food – Despite its health giving qualities, this black lentil bowl doesn’t compromise on flavour or comfort. It’s a satisfying and hearty meal that most can enjoy, regardless of dietary preferences.
Black Lentil Bowl
The best bowl recipes have a number of contrasting elements that give varied colours, flavours, textures and nutritional richness. This black lentil bowl covers all bases. It’s also surprisingly easy to make.
The black lentils themselves are very simple. In fact, you only need five ingredients in total. They have a rich umami flavour, but it’s the other elements in the bowl that combine with them to make the whole so delicious and satisfying.
Pair the lentils with a whole grain of choice. Then add vegetables. A sweet vegetable, such as sweet potato and a leafy green one creates a bowl of beautiful colour, contrasting flavours and nutritional excellence.
The chimichurri is a must in this black lentil bowl. With its vibrant herby, zesty and zingy notes, it brings everything together. It’s also the only element in the bowl that contains fat. This is needed, not only for flavour, but also to help the body absorb vital nutrients.
Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients for the black lentils, but there are a few other elements required to make up the whole bowl.
Black Lentils
Black lentils are small in size, flavoursome and retain their shape after cooking. They come in varying shades. Beluga are probably the best known and easiest to get hold of. They are the blackest of them all.
In fact beluga lentils get their name from their likeness to shiny black beluga caviar. They come from America and are mostly grown in the cool dry climates of Canada and the Northern States of the USA.
It’s fine to swap the black lentils for other small firm lentils such as Puy lentils, but don’t use brown, continental or split red lentils. They are perfect for Indian dhals, but don’t retain their shape when cooked.
Garlic
Use fresh plump garlic cloves for this recipe. The lentils only have a few flavourings, so they need to count. They’re meant to taste garlicky.
I also added a clove of black garlic. This isn’t at all necessary, but a friend gave me a tub of them for Christmas and I’m really enjoying their sweet smoky flavour.
Herbs
Strong aromatic herbs marry well with pulses. In this instance they cut through and enhance the inherent earthiness of the lentils.
Bay leaves are really useful to add to pulses whilst they cook. It’s one of those herbs that not only adds flavour, but helps to make dried peas, beans and lentils more digestible.
The second herb I’ve used is fresh rosemary. It has such a joyous scent and flavour. However, fresh thyme leaves are a good substitute if you don’t have any rosemary to hand.
Tamari
Tamari is one of my super ingredients. I’ve written about it many times before. Suffice it to say, it’s generally considered to be the best quality of soy sauce you can get. It’s very rich in umami flavour, gluten-free and less salty than most.
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is an Argentinian green sauce made from fresh parsley, oregano, garlic, chilli, red wine vinegar and olive oil. I’ve swapped the vinegar for lemon juice in my recipe, but it’s fine to use either. I’ve also added some lemon zest for additional zing.
Swap the black lentils for other firm lentil types, if you like. But keep the chimichurri sauce. With its herby, zesty notes and tangy oil, it’s essential for complementing the lentils and it works well with the flavours in the rest of the bowl.
Click on the link to find my recipe for chimichurri sauce.
Colourful Veg
I’ve used sweet potato mash in the black lentil bowl you can see here. But it’s not essential. Nonetheless, for optimum taste, presentation and nutrition, choose something similar. You’re looking for both colour and sweetness.
Fried sweet red, orange or yellow peppers would work as would roasted cubes of squash or even carrot and swede mash.
Grain Of Your Choice
Whole grains provide both contrast and bulk. However, it’s up to you what you choose. Any grain combines with lentils to provide a source of complete protein needed for optimum human nutrition. Amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, farro, freekah, millet, teff or quinoa are all good.
If going for rice, do try brown rice, if you haven’t already. Not only is it a whole grain and much much better for you than white rice, but it’s pleasantly chewy in texture and nutty in flavour.
I’ve used fonio this time. Fonio is a particularly nutritious type of millet from West Africa. It’s rich in calcium, iron and the amino acids, methionine and cysteine. It also has the benefits of quick cooking and being gluten-free. In my opinion, it’s a lot nicer than millet. It has a nutty taste and a fluffy texture.
Simply boil or steam the grains. It’s fine to add a pinch of salt if you like, but as there’s so much else going on, it’s good to keep them plain.
Greens
Choose your favourite green veg to go in the bowl. As long as you like it, it’s good to go. And all greens are nutritious – cooked or raw.
I find broccoli goes particularly well with the lentils. It has just the right yielding nature and delicious taste. However, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, turnip tops or chard are all worthy bowl fellows.
As with the grains, just boil or steam the veg to your liking. I lightly boil mine in a little salted water.
How To Make A Black Lentil Bowl
All of the elements required to make a black lentil bowl are quite simple ones. However, the type of grains and vegetables you include will effect in what order you do the cooking and preparation. So for the purposes of this recipe, I’m concentrating on the lentils and the chimichurri sauce.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Soak Lentils
Place the lentils in a bowl. Cover them with water and leave to soak for a minimum of two hours, preferably overnight.
Drain and rinse thoroughly. You can do this through a sieve, but I tend to fill the bowl up with water, give it a swish, then drain. I repeat this process once or twice until the water is a bit clearer and any floating bits have disappeared.
Step 2. Cook Lentils
Finely chop the garlic and rosemary. I find a sharp chef’s knife best for this.
Place the drained lentils in a small to medium sized lidded saucepan and add just enough water to cover them.
Add the herbs and garlic, then bring the pan to the boil. Cover with a lid, lower the temperature and simmer for twenty to thirty minutes or until the lentils are done. They should be almost soft, but still retain their shape and a bit of bite.
The lentils should have absorbed most of the water, but don’t worry if there’s a little bit left in the pan. The grains in the finished bowl will soak up excess liquid.
Add the tamari, stir and simmer for a further minute.
Step 3. Prepare Chimichurri
Whilst the lentils cook, prepare the chimichurri. You can do it in one of two ways. See my recipe for chimichurri sauce to find out how.
Step 4. Assemble Bowls
Remove the bay leaf from the lentils and serve in a bowl whilst still hot. Serve alongside your choice of grain, sweet potato mash and your choice of steamed or boiled greens.
Top with a few spoonfuls of chimichurri sauce.
For extra pizazz and nutrition, you can always scatter a few toasted seeds or dukkah over the top. But it really doesn’t need it.
Top Tip
The easiest way to make sweet potato mash, is to bake the potatoes in an air-fryer or oven. Once cooked, remove the flesh from the skins and roughly mash. Job done. If you like you can go one step further and make my sweet potato mash with miso.
You’ll want to get the sweet potatoes baking before you make a start on cooking the lentils.
Why Soak Lentils?
Although many recipes state that you don’t need to soak lentils, I always do. Yes, they will cook without soaking, but soaking them, then giving them a really good rinse makes them much more digestible and better for us. Soaking also decreases cooking time.
I try and get mine soaking the day before I want to use them for cooking. However, I don’t always remember. A couple of hours soaking will be a lot better than none at all. And if, like me you forget sometimes, you can soak them in just-boiled water for an hour.
Place the lentils in a bowl, cover with at least twice their depth of water, then put a plate over the bowl. Leave to soak at room temperature for as long as possible, but no longer than twenty four hours.
Other Lentil Recipes You Might Like
- Barley lentil dinner with walnut gremolata
- Easy vegan haggis
- Homemade vegan ravioli
- Roasted carrots & lentil curry
- Roasted tomato soup with lentils and carrots
- Vegetarian shepherd’s pie
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this black lentil bowl, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for cooking with lentils?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like more bowl recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Black Lentil Bowl. PIN IT.
Black Lentil Bowl With Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients
Black Lentils
- 125 g black lentils (4oz)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 clove black garlic (optional) finely chopped
- 2 tsp tamari (affiliate link) or your favourite soy sauce
To Serve
- chimichurri sauce made with 30g parsley as per my chimichurri sauce recipe
- 80 g your choice of grain boiled or steamed
- 1 large sweet potato mashed – or swap for other colourful veg
- 250 g cooked green vegetable of choice steamed or boiled
Instructions
Black Lentils
- Cover the lentils with water and soak for a minimum of two hours, preferably overnight.125 g black lentils
- Drain and rinse thoroughly.
- Place the drained lentils in a small to medium sized lidded saucepan and add just enough water to cover them.
- Add the herbs and garlic, then bring the pan to the boil. Cover with a lid, lower the temperature and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the lentils are done. They should be almost soft, but still retain their shape and a bit of bite.1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, 2 cloves garlic, 1 clove black garlic
- Add the tamari, stir and simmer for a further minute.2 tsp tamari (affiliate link)
- Remove the bay leaf and serve hot in a bowl with your choice of grain, sweet potato mash and your choice of steamed or boiled greens.80 g your choice of grain, 1 large sweet potato, 250 g cooked green vegetable of choice
- Top with a few spoonfuls of chimichurri sauce.chimichurri sauce
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
This post contains affiliate links which are marked with an asterisk* or (affiliate link). If you buy through a link, it won’t cost you any more, but I might get a small commission. Thank you for your support of the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.
sherry says
lots of great flavours here! i do enjoy lentils. they go well with chickpeas too ; I always have heaps of tinned ones in the pantry :=)
Choclette says
Tins of pulses are so very useful. I like all pulses, but I think lentils are probably my favourite.