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Cheesy Vegetarian

Vegetarian Lentil Recipes (Easy + Delicious!)

Is there a single ingredient more versatile than lentils?! I think not – and if you don’t agree, this collection of vegetarian lentil recipes might just convince you. The humble lentil can do absolutely anything – from lentil burgers to lentil stew, lentil pasta to lentil tacos, lentil salad to lentil curry… basically, you can put the word ‘lentil’ in front of basically any food type, and it will make total sense. Go on, try it. I’ve even made lentil pizza!

If you’re new to lentils, you might want to start by reading my posts about the different types of lentils, and how to cook lentils. Or, if you’re already a lentil fangirl (or fanboy) like I am, read on for all the vegetarian lentil recipes (and vegan lentil recipes too!) you’ll ever need.

Collage of vegetarian lentil recipes with bold yellow title.

😕 What’s so Good about Lentils?

  • Lentils are the little black dress of the food world – they can be dressed up or down to fit any meal, any cuisine, any occasion… You can bring them to life in totally different ways.
  • Lentils are small but mighty – little powerhouses of nutrition. Despite each lentil being absolutely tiny, they’re absolutely packed full of goodness – 100g of dried lentils contains approximately 11 grams of fibre, 25 grams of protein and 7 grams of iron (source: USDA).
  • They’re also easy to cook, seriously cheap to buy, and an absolutely delicious way to make hearty, comforting meals.

I’ve organised these recipes depending on what type of lentil they use – red lentils, green or brown lentils (which I’ve grouped together as they can usually be used interchangeably), or canned lentils. So if you have a pack of lentils hanging out in your kitchen cupboard, you can skip straight to the right section for all the inspiration you’ll need.

Let me know which one you’ll make first!

❤️ Recipes using Red Lentils

Cheesy Lentil and Veggie Slice

This cheesy lentil and veggie slice is absolutely packed with flavour, and it can be made with store cupboard ingredients, using whatever veggies you have in the house!
Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 6 people

Get the recipe here!

Seriously Easy Red Lentil Soup

A seriously easy red lentil soup recipe that can use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge to make a delicious, smooth, creamy soup.
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 5 people

Get the recipe here!

Easy red lentil soup topped with Greek yogurt and red pesto.

Easy Tarka Dal (Vegan Red Lentil Curry)

Tarka dal is the ultimate simple lentil curry – just a few aromatic spices can transform a few lentils into a creamy, richly flavourful dish!
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 people

Get the recipe here!

Bowl of tarka dal topped with fresh cilatro.

Vegetarian Moussaka

This vegetarian moussaka is a classic Greek dish made with aubergine and lentils in a rich tomatoey sauce. The perfect healthy vegetarian comfort food!
Total time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 5 people

Get the recipe here!

Portion of vegetarian moussaka on a plate.

Easy Lentil Pizza (with Regular Crust)

Adding red lentils to a pizza not only makes it extra hearty and comforting, but also adds a whopping 13g of additional protein and 4g of iron, per pizza!
Total time: 50 minutes
Servings: 2 individual pizzas

Get the recipe here!

A lentil pizza topped with tomatoes and red onion, cut into quarters.

Easy Vegan Lentil Loaf

An easy vegan lentil loaf that couldn’t be simpler to make, and ends up moist and full of flavour! Perfect for Christmas or Thanksgiving.
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6 people

Get the recipe here!

A slice of vegan lentil loaf.

Goat’s cheese and potato lentil gratin

This lentil gratin is hearty enough to be your main meal – with thinly sliced potatoes, cream, and crispy goat’s cheese!
Total time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Get the recipe here!

Creamy roasted carrot dal

This creamy roasted carrot dal ticks all the boxes – it’s simple and cheap to make, but has so much flavour!
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 2 people

Get the recipe here!

Cheesy Potato and Lentil Pie

What could be better than a cheesy potato pie?! This one has creamy red lentils for added goodness and a crispy pastry crust.
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6

Get the recipe here!

Cheesy Lentil Pasta

This cheesy lentil pasta is the perfect hearty comfort food – made in just 20 minutes, with 6 store cupboard ingredients! Plus it’s kid friendly and full of goodness.
Total time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Get the recipe here!

A portion of cheesy lentil pasta with peas in a bowl, served with garlic bread.

Very Veggie Lentil Bake

One of my most popular recipes ever, with almost entirely 5 star reviews! Its appearance doesn’t do it justice – this lentil bake is incredibly tasty, and so easy to adapt!
Total time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Get the recipe here!

💚🤎 Recipes using Green or Brown Lentils

Cheesy Slow Cooker Lentils

These cheesy slow cooker lentils are almost zero effort to make, they’re tasty served in a million different ways, and you can use whatever veg you have on hand!
Total time: 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 3 people

Get the recipe here!

Vegetarian Lentil Sausage Rolls

These vegetarian lentil sausage rolls are packed with rich, earthy flavours, and they’re perfect for a kids’ party or a lunchbox!
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: 16 small rolls

Get the recipe here!

Enchilada Lentil Casserole

This Tex-Mex lentil casserole is the perfect healthy comfort food – packed with veggies, and full of protein and fibre, but still cheesy and irresistible!
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 3 people

Get the recipe here!

Easy lentil and halloumi curry

This lentil and halloumi curry is really straightforward to make, and absolutely full of flavour – halloumi curry is a revelation!
Total time: 45 minutes
Servings: 3 people

Get the recipe here!

Slow cooker lentil and quinoa tacos

These slow cooker lentil and quinoa tacos are a super low effort dinner that’s also healthy, full of flavour, and endlessly customisable!
Total time: 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 6 people

Get the recipe here!

🥫 Recipes using Canned Lentils

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s pie is proper British comfort food, and this vegetarian version is absolutely packed with flavour and wholesome ingredients.
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 people

Get the recipe here!

A portion of vegetarian shepherd's pie on a plate served with fresh arugula.

Cheesy Lentil Burgers

If you’re looking for a straightforward, easy to make veggie burger that’s completely delicious and hearty too, these cheesy lentil burgers are the recipe for you!
Total time: 55 minutes
Servings: 5 burgers

Get the recipe here!

Vegetable Moussaka Casserole

This vegetable moussaka casserole is a much easier version of a vegetarian moussaka – but is just as tasty, with a luxurious creamy topping!
Total time: 2 hours
Servings: 4

Get the recipe here!

A large spoon taking a scoop of vegetable moussaka casserole.

Warm lentil and halloumi salad

A warm, hearty salad with herby lentils, grilled halloumi cheese and roasted veggies – great for any time of year!
Total time: 25 minutes
Servings: 2 people

Get the recipe here!

Walnut and Bean Bolognese

This walnut and bean bolognese is an easy veggie version of spaghetti bolognese, made only with store cupboard ingredients!
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 3 people

Get the recipe here!

Black bean and lentil vegetarian koftas

These tasty vegetarian koftas couldn’t be easier to make, with no pre-cooking required! Plus, they can be served in all sorts of different ways.
Total time: 40 minutes
Servings: 3 people

Get the recipe here!

❓ Lentil Recipe FAQs

Can I use a different kind of lentils in one of these recipes?

It depends on the recipe, but as a general rule, brown and green lentils are interchangeable. Canned lentils are usually green or brown, so they can be used in place of these lentils in some recipes too – just bear in mind that tinned lentils are already cooked.
Red lentils, on the other hand, have a texture that is quite different from green and brown lentils – they cook down a lot softer, and eventually cook down to mush, which can be really helpful in some recipes. Therefore, red lentils are generally not interchangeable with green or brown. You can read more about different types of lentils here.

What do lentils taste like?

Honestly… not a huge amount. Much like lots of other ‘staple’ foods, like rice, beans, chickpeas or pasta, they don’t have an enormous amount of flavour on their own – but that’s what’s so great about them! Dress them up however you like, with your favourite spices, veggies, or anything else you like.

Are lentils good for vegetarians?

Yes! Lentils are a great source of plant-based protein and fibre. They’re also a great source of iron, and can provide a really amazing base for a healthy vegetarian meal.

Are lentils gluten-free?

Yes! Lentils are naturally gluten-free.

The post Vegetarian Lentil Recipes (Easy + Delicious!) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

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Cheesy Vegetarian

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

If you’re not familiar with homity pie, let me introduce you:

Homity pie is a traditional British recipe, which is essentially a cheesy potato and leek pie. It’s just the sort of thing we Brits do perfectly – simple ingredients, combined to make incredible comfort food. Say what you like about British food, but it’s hard to argue with buttery sautéed leeks, cheesy crushed potatoes, and a flaky shortcrust pastry case.

A slice of homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie).

I’m not going to lie, this homity pie is a bit of a labour of love. It’s not a quick weeknight meal like most of my recipes – this cheesy pie is definitely one to save for a special occasion (it would be perfect for a vegetarian Christmas dinner!).

Since cooking this pie takes a bit of time and patience, don’t try to cook it against the clock. Give yourself plenty of leeway – perhaps an afternoon where you’ve not got much else on. That way, it doesn’t matter if the potatoes have to sit for a little while so you can finish cooking the leeks, or if the pastry case is ready to fill before the filling is actually cooked – you can just potter away at your own pace, and it can all be assembled when you’re ready.

Overhead shot of a cheesy pie with a slice pulled away.

⭐ What’s in Homity Pie?

There are three parts to this recipe:

  • garlicky sautéed leeks and onion
  • buttery crushed potatoes (with a cheesy topping)
  • a crispy pastry case

These 3 elements can all be prepared simultaneously, or one at a time, depending on how good you are at multitasking. I’ve written the recipe in 3 separate parts, but if the timings work out (or if you have someone else helping you in the kitchen), you can prepare them all at the same time.

Once all three parts of the recipe are ready, they can be assembled, and baked one last time to complete your cheesy homity pie.

And by the way, I am 100% not a pastry expert. You may think my homity pie looks decidedly… rustic. But I like it that way 😆 If I wanted it to look perfect, I’d have saved myself a couple of hours, and bought one in a shop.

Becca’s Top Tip

Any extra scraps of pastry can be baked on their own, and eaten spread with strawberry jam – my kids love it when I cook with pastry as they always get little jam tarts!

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

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🥗 Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for homity pie laid out with text overlay.
  • leek – It’s hard to get the scale from the picture, but the leek I used was absolutely enormous – a proper monster (probably as big as my forearm!). If your leeks are a more normal size, you’ll probably need at least two.
  • potatoes
  • shortcrust pastry – I used a ready-rolled sheet of shop-bought pastry, as making pastry is not my forte. Feel free to use homemade pastry if you prefer!
  • cheddar cheese – If possible, use freshly grated mature cheddar cheese rather than the pre-grated stuff, as it melts more nicely.
  • onion – I used red onion, but regular onions would also be good.
  • fresh parsley
  • egg
  • garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar because I hate chopping large amounts of fresh garlic.
  • curry powder (optional, but it does add a lovely hint of warmth)

Becca’s Top Tip

If you’re using shop-bought pastry, take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you need to use it. This helps it to soften a little, and means it’s less likely to crack as you unroll it.

📹 Recipe Video





🔪 Equipment

I like to use a loose bottomed springform cake tin for homemade pies. It works really well because:

  • The clip on the side and the loose bottom make it so easy to remove the pie from the tin once it’s finished baking.
  • It gives a nice tall pie, which looks great, and also gives a wonderfully thick layer of filling.
  • The metal heats up nicely and helps to crisp up the pastry.

You can use a shallower pie tin to make homity pie if that’s what you have, but I would always recommend a cake tin if you have one.

Here’s a similar one on Amazon, with great reviews:

8-Inch Springform Cake Tin

8-Inch Springform Cake Tin

I love using a loose-bottomed springform cake tin to make homemade pie. If you’re in the UK or Australia, click ‘Buy on Amazon’ to view a local product.

$14.99

Buy on Amazon

A slice of homity pie with sautéed leeks, potatoes and cheese.

🖨 Printable Instructions

A slice of homity pie.

Print

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

How to make the classic British recipe homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie!) – a tasty vegetarian pie made with shortcrust pastry.
Course Main Course
Cuisine British, English
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 427kcal
Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 250 g (~ 9 oz) shortcrust pastry
  • 2 Tbsp flour (for dusting only)
  • 2 Tbsp butter, divided
  • 450 g (~ 1 lb) leeks, halved lengthwise then sliced
  • 1 onion (I used red onion), thinly sliced or diced
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon mild curry powder
  • 450 g (~ 1 lb) potatoes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Few sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 150 g (~ 5 oz) mature cheddar cheese, grated (~ 1 1/2 cups when grated)

Instructions

Part 1: The pastry case

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F). Lightly grease an 8 inch springform cake tin. Dust the pastry and work surface with flour, and roll out the pastry until it measures around 12 x 12 inches (even if you’re using pre-rolled pastry, I find it helps to roll it a little thinner).

    Lay the pastry over the cake tin, and gently ease it into the corners, pressing gently (see the video below if you need more guidance). If you end up with any tears, just press the pastry back together. Trim off any extreme excess, but leave an inch or two extra around the edge of the tin, to allow it to shrink a little during baking. Prick the pastry a few times with a fork. Place the pastry case in the oven to blind bake for around 15 minutes.

    Uncooked shortcrust pastry draped over a cake tin.
  • When the pastry case is lightly golden brown, remove it from the oven. If the pastry has puffed up at all, just press it back down gently. When it is cool enough to touch, trim off any excess pastry by running a knife around the top edge of the cake tin.
    A cake tin lined with trimmed, cooked pastry.

Part 2: The garlicky leeks

  • To make the leek mixture, melt 1 Tbsp butter in a large frying pan, and add the sliced leeks and red onion. Cook over a medium heat, stirring regularly, until softened and just starting to brown. Add the minced garlic and curry powder, and cook for a couple more minutes. Set aside to cool for at least 5-10 minutes.
    Sautéed leeks and red onion in a frying pan.
  • When the leek mixture has cooled a little, add the chopped parsley and the egg, and thoroughly mix it in.
    Sautéed leeks and red onion in a frying pan.

Part 3: The buttery potato topping

  • To make the potato topping, cut the potatoes into chunks, and boil them for around 10-15 minutes, until just softened.
    Pieces of potato cooking in a pan of water.
  • Drain the potatoes, and add a Tbsp butter and a little salt. Use a fork to coarsely crush them – don’t make mashed potato, just break down any large chunks.
    Roughly crushed boiled potatoes in a saucepan.

Part 4: Assemble

  • Transfer the leek mixture to the blind baked pastry case, and spread it around into an even layer.
    A pastry case filled with sautéed leeks and red onion.
  • Add the smashed potatoes on top, and distribute them evenly.
    A pastry case topped with crushed potatoes.
  • Finish the pie with a generous amount of grated cheddar cheese.
    A pastry case topped with grated cheese.
  • Bake in the oven for around 30-40 more minutes, until the cheese is golden. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
    A cheesy pie in a cake tin.
  • Run a knife around the edge of the pastry to ensure it is loosened from the tin, then undo the clip. I like to take the pie out of the cake tin by placing it onto an upturned mug or bowl – the tin will slide downwards and the pie will rise out of the top. Alternatively, you can tip the pie out upside down onto your hand or a plate, then turn it the right way up again.

    Slice to serve.

    A cheesy potato and leek pie with a slice removed.

Video





Notes

The three parts of this recipe can be prepared one at a time. Or, if you’re good at multitasking, they can all be prepared simultaneously to save time.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 427kcal | Carbohydrates: 42.9g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 23.9g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 408mg | Potassium: 520mg | Fiber: 4.1g | Sugar: 4.8g | Calcium: 245mg | Iron: 3mg

💭 Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare this pie in advance?

Yes! The pie is best eaten fresh from the oven. However, if you need to prepare it in advance, it’s best to assemble everything, then keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to do the final bake just before serving.

How should I reheat any leftovers?

The most convenient method is to reheat any leftovers in the microwave – however, this does cause the pastry to lose its crispiness. Alternatively, you can reheat in the oven at about 180°C (Gas Mark 4 / 350°F), but it may dry out a little (make sure you’ve got some gravy to hand!).

How should I serve homity pie?

Homity pie is pretty versatile. It’s great simply served for lunch with some salad. Alternatively, it also makes a great vegetarian main course for a special occasion, e.g. Christmas or Thanksgiving.

🥧 Other Veggie Pie Recipes

Vegetarian Christmas Recipes
A slice of homity pie.

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

Mushroom pie with chestnuts and a suet crust.

Creamy Mushroom Pie with Chestnuts (and Easy Suet Crust)

A slice of smoked cheese and broccoli tart being cut on a board.

Smoked Cheese and Broccoli Tart

Vegetarian Lentil Sausage Rolls

Vegetarian Lentil Sausage Rolls

The post Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

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