Here’s a very cheesy lentil chili that’s easy to make. Extremely large amounts of melted cheese are always a good compliment to heart-healthy lentils! It’s important to note that my kids don’t usually eat lentils, but they ate this, because it was swimming in cheese.
Why all the cheese? I wanted to add some extra protein, and reduced-fat cheddar is a good way to do that. Without the cheese, this could easily be a vegan chili. I used beef broth because I had to use it up, but you could just as easily use a veggie broth to make this vegan.
Lentils get kinda sweet and delicious when you cook them for a really long time, which is why I recommend not skimping on the full one-hour cooking time. This chili is really easy to make, but be aware of / plan ahead for the one-hour cooking time.
I served this soup with a side of Whole Grain Corn & Flax Muffins, which were definitely fantastic — for dinner, and breakfast the next morning!
Cheesy Lentil Chili
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ onion (chopped)
- 1 green bell pepper (chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups vegetable broth (chicken broth & beef broth also work)
- 1¼ cup uncooked lentils (rinsed)
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 scallions (chopped)
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cheddar or jack cheese
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a dutch oven or large stockpot.
- Cook the chopped onion and bell pepper for about 3 minutes, until the onion and pepper begin to soften.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
- Rinse the lentils in a colander and add them to the pot.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, spices, and chopped scallions. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- When the chili begins to boil, put the lid on the pot, turn the heat down to "medium-low" and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Are the lentils soft at this point? If not, simmer for another 30 minutes. Add more broth if necessary.
- The lentils should be soft enough at the 1-hour mark, but test them — might need some extra simmering time. Continue adding extra broth to get the chili to the desired consistency.
- Spoon the chili into bowls and top each bowl with 1 ounce of shredded cheese.
- Pop the bowls in the microwave for 30 seconds to get the cheese really super-melty, and stir it into the lentils.
