Oh, January. Your detoxes, cleanses, juice fasts, diet commercials, and cellulite cream jeans are starting to get on my nerves. Just so you know I’m tuning you out, so don’t bother trying to lure me in with 6 easy payments or strict diet plans. It’s just not my thing. My approach to January – or any other month for that matter – is to eat food that makes me feel good and less of what doesn’t. But this approach doesn’t really sell, does it?
Soup, chili, and casseroles – these are the warm, comfort foods on my mind most days. Today, I’m sharing my take on maple baked beans, using hearty, chewy lentils for a fun twist. Lentils may seem boring to many, but I find them just the opposite. Their subtle flavour can blend into just about any vegan dish. Much like tofu, lentils are a great canvas for many different flavours, spices, and cuisines. I even adore them plain with a dusting of Herbamare and splash of vinegar. It’s a rather homely snack, but I’d devour the entire bowl before noticing.
Adding more fuel to my lentil loving fire – Canada is the world’s largest producer of lentils. It’s in my blood, eh? Their relative proximity, along with being a super cheap protein source, make them a regular staple in my diet. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they are nutritional powerhouses too. One cooked cup provides around 17.86 grams of protein, 6.5 mg iron, and 15.64 grams of fibre (source) making it a stick-to-your-ribs plant food that can go the distance. Pair them with Vitamin C rich sweet potato and you’ll boost your iron absorption even more.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Maple Baked Lentils with Sweet Potato
Yield
4-6 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
My spin on maple baked beans using hearty, chewy lentils! A bit of apple cider vinegar rounds out the sweetness of the dish and I encourage you to adjust the amounts to your own taste as you may like more or less pop from the vinegar. Serve this over some toasted bread, or even with a salad, and you have yourself a budget-friendly vegan meal during the peak of winter. To save on cook time, make the lentils beforehand and simply mix everything together and pop into the oven.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry green lentils
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 sweet apple, peeled and diced (I used Gala)
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced small*
- 14-oz can diced tomatoes (about 1.5 cups)
- 2.5 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 2 tsp regular mustard
- 1/2-1 tsp fine grain sea salt + ground pepper, to taste
- 1-2.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar, to taste
Directions
- Rinse and drain lentils. In a large oven-safe pot or Dutch oven*, add lentils along with 4 cups of water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for about 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring often. Add more water if necessary. Lentils are ready when they are just tender (but not mushy) and most of the water is absorbed.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Add onion, garlic, apple, sweet potato, tomatoes (with juice), maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, mustard, salt, and pepper to the pot with the lentils. Stir well to combine. Add half of the apple cider vinegar (you’ll add the rest later if desired).
- Cover with lid (or tin foil in a pinch) and bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover, and stir. Bake for another 8-12 minutes, uncovered, until the sweet potato is tender. Stir in the rest of the apple cider vinegar if desired and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
- Serve over toasted bread or with a salad.
Tip:
If you don’t have an oven-safe pot or Dutch oven, simply transfer the mixture into a casserole dish and cover with tin foil before baking.
Dice the sweet potato small to decrease cook time.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
What are your favourite vegan comfort foods?
More of what feels good and less of what doesn’t –> TOTALLY agree Ange! And I’m also with you on the lentils. I recently made a lentil-based dinner that was totally delicious, and provided the photos actually look half decent on my camera when I transfer them to my computer, it just might be Wednesday’s recipe of the week! Your recipe sounds amazing!
I am on my way home from work on the Metro and was JUST thinking of what new recipe I was going to try this weekend when I refreshed your website on my phone and literally shouted, “OH MY GOSH!!!” out loud on the train. Haha so needless to say I am pretty excited to make this. :)
I’m in the OMG camp….my kitchen smells great, and, yes, in a baked bean kind of way. I’m going to put it over linguine (more for my guest than for myself). Thank you!!!!
This looks amazing! Also where did you get the bread? I love how seedy and grainy it looks.
My favourite vegan comfort foods are chili, sweet potato & black bean soup, and ratatouille with tempeh.
Great site here!! I have heard about you from some of my clients and now I see why you are well loved:) I’m totally making this for dinner, yum!
Jannine
Pinto beans mashed up with avocado and salsa then scooped out with slices of roasted squash is one of my favorite stick to my ribs quick meals.
Also brown rice, avocado and tomato with salt and pepper. We need heartier meals in this Northern winter, save the salads and juices for spring!
Can’t wait for your cookbook!
Gorgeous recipe Angela! I am with you and adore lentils for their amazing versatility. Crazy that Canada does produce so many lentils, even crazier that we export the vast majority to the middle east! Have you ever found a source for buying Canadian lentils? I’d love to get my hands on some!
This recipe combines three of my favorite foods: lentils, sweet potatoes, and apples. It absolutely has to be a winner! :)
That recipe is so up my alley! I can’t wait to dig in and feel the comfort!
This dish looks amazing! I’m such a fan of all of the star ingredients, so I couldn’t possibly go wrong! Thanks for the great recipe!
Do you this would work with other, say red lentils?
I’d really love to try this recipie…anything with sweet potato is a winner n my books :)
Angela, I made your Maple Baked Beans soooo many times last year and they were delicious! I’m so glad to see a new recipe with (it looks like) a similar flavor palate…I’m looking forward to making this!
This looks delicious, vegan soups in cold weather are so awesome
I need to buy some more of the Blackstrap Molasses and then make this, I have a huge butternut squash waiting to be attacked in the kitchen :-D
My favourite vegan comfort foods are multiple! haha
I like salads on hot days, recently gotten into making huge leafy green plates with dandelion greens, endive, watercress, spinach, kale etc
And then vegan vanilla lattes with dried fruit and nuts is my favourite comfort snack
I also learned to make turnip fries and butternut squash chips, I make a low-fat vegan pesto to go with those with some chopped tomato on top
One of my favourite salty snack comfort foods is roasted seeds from all the squash I buy. I just roast them on the skillet/stove-top with salt and garlic powder and then eat them like I used to eat potato chips and Cheetos [I used to love Cheetos. I wish there was vegan Cheetos haha]
^ I wish there WERE vegan Cheetos I meant…
I’m going to turn the leftovers into a burger.
Yum!! What a great dish and the bread with it makes me want it all the more!! Beautiful photos!
Thanks Angela for the great recipe. I have to say thank you also for the very helpful nutritional info!! I haven’t noticed it before, but wanted to say how wonderful it is to see…very important info if you happen to be a diabetic. You are amazing!!
I`m glad you find it helpful…I hope to keep posted it for those who need it.
I made this for dinner last night right after I saw the post. We loved this dish! The lentils were extremely flavorful and the little bit of broth that was created by the tomato juice was delicious when soaked up with a bun. I will make this again for sure. Thank you!
This looks *so* good. I can’t wait to make it.
Mmmm maple syrup =)
I wish your approach worked… people would be a lot happier, I’d imagine!! Unfortunately, instead of listening to their bodies, most people are trained that some highly-calculated, expensive approach sold off of a t.v. will make them happy and healthy!
Anyways, this recipe is totally getting pinned to my health/food board. Hearty food is just what I need right now with the cold Kansas City weather!!
Yum Angela! Definitely making this tonight ;) I have a random question and I couldn’t find your email to ask you directly… What is the website that you recommend to get bulk from? I know you’ve mentioned it before but I can’t find it. Specifically bulk chia. Thanks for being so amazing!!