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?
Hi Angela!
Should the diced tomatoes be drained?
Thanks!
Nope – it says in the directions to add the juice along with the tomatoes. Hope this helps!
Made this today it’s yummy! Had to bake it twice as long as the recipe states to get the sweet potatoes soft. Delish!!!
This looks aaaammmmmazing!! Getting my ingredients and making this ASAP
Hello, I have purchased dry green lentils to make this dish, the packet says I need to soak them for 12 hours or overnight, but your recipe says to just simmer them for 30mins. Do I still need to soak them prior to making this? Thanks.
Generally lentils do not need to be soaked before hand, although you are welcome to if you`d like!
To me this looks like it would make a great breakfast burrito, with a good mixture of carbs and protein. Oh please bring on the healthy comfort food dishes!! I’ll start a fan club for you :) Have a great Sunday, Angela!
So, I made this up and then proceeded to eat it by my self for lunch and dinner two days in a row. We were sitting at McDonald’s where the rest of my family was having their dinner and I said hurry up and finish your meal so I can go home and eat my lentils!!! A recipe I will definitely be making again, thank you!
hah that`s awesome :)
Hi Angela! I’m a long time follower, and first time commenter. You have essentially taught me to cook with your excellent recipes, so thank you for teaching me that there is no bad vegetable, just lots of badly cooked veggies. Anyway, I’ve recently found out that I am sensitive to dairy, eggs, peanuts, and mustard. This recipe looks fabulous, but what would you recommend as a substitute for the mustard? Or, do you think it would be delicious without it? Also, what substitution do you think would work for your cheeze sauce (since I’m sure cheese will be the hardest part of this)? Thanks for your advice, and I can’t wait for your cookbook.
Just made this tonight and it was AWESOME. Seriously delicious and wonderful comfort food for a cozy Sunday indoors. Thanks so much for posting such wonderful recipes.
so glad to hear that Kelsey!
This looks delicious! I am currently loving veggie chili with pumpkin puree!
Made this tonight but subbed in some butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes because that is what I had. Cooking time increased quite a bit but it turned out amazing! Thanksagain!!
Looks amazing! I will definitely try it!
This was truly scrumptious to have on a Sunday evening snowed in in London. Really easy too – looking forward to seconds tonight!
This is absolutely the kind of recipe I hope you’d keep posting more frequently!!!
Simple, easily accessed ingredient, uncomplicated cooking method, healthy and tasty.
I really look forward to making it and for more of such posts to appear on this blog!
Just a feedback and suggestion though, no pressure :)
This looks so delicious and satisfying. I love it and can’t wait to make it. I’m pinning this one for sure.
This looks so yummy, I will be trying it ASAP. I hear you on the juice cleanse. I love juice, I am a huge supporter of it, and I drink one everyday, but spring is a much better time of year to cleanse. I actually tried to host a January cleanse, just to try to get people on board with juice and healthy eating, but we had to postpone it (luckily!) until March. Root veggies, and warm spices are perfect for this time of year! Super warming and awesomely delicious. And right in tune with nature :)
Made a double batch of this last night for my college house. SO SO good. We didn’t have molasses so we just added more maple syrup, and it still turned out great! We also added some cinnamon and nutmeg, which really took it to the next level.
Fantastic recipe! I didn’t have sweet potato in the house, and didn’t want to venture out in the snow, so I subbed about 1/3 of a large rutabaga. (Seriously, I can’t get enough rutabaga lately! I just recently discovered it, and can’t believe I went so long without it!) Added about 1/4 tsp of cayenne, but otherwise stuck true to the recipe. Once cooled down for a few minutes I wrapped in some lettuce and ate up!
Your website is fantastic, and I really appreciate what you do for us! I am trying to switch from a vegetarian to vegan diet, and your website provides so much inspiration. Thank you.
oooh… i have never tried a rutabaga! what do you normally use it for? can you eat it cooked or raw? any recipe or suggestions for how to use it? thanks!
I have never eaten rutabaga raw, but it looks like you can based off of a google search. My favorite way to eat it is cubed up tossed with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and onions, and then roasted at 425F until cooked through, kind of like you would make roasted potatoes. It’s sweeter than a white potato, but kind of has the hint of a brussel sprout flavor in the background. Next I think I will try it whipped up like mashed potatoes!
I’m thankful for coming across your blog. I am slowly but faster transitioning to a vegan diet for health reasons-nothing as of yet but a strong family history of cardiovascular disease. With so many resources available, it was rather overwhelming but then found your blog on a random google search for a vegan lunch ideas only to find that you started the new year talking about your transition. Thank you!!
hi! first time commenter here, but i love love love you and your website. thank you for everything you do!
i made this recipe tonight, but something was off for me… i thought maybe it was the vinegar in the recipe, but now i am thinking it is the apple & vinegar combo. (i made sauerkraut with apples a few weeks ago, and that recipe had the same taste…) anyway, i added some cinnamon, and it seemed to help by cutting out the weird sour flavor! any other ideas or suggestions?? can i ask why you added the vinegar/what the purpose of that ingredient is? i am not complaining at all! i love your recipes, it might just be my personal taste like i said. next time i might leave out the apple and see what that does to the flavor…maybe i just don’t like baked apples in savory dishes!
either way, thanks for everything you are and everything you do. you’re an inspiration <3
Hi Elle, Thanks for your feedback! It could’ve been the ACV that threw you off, I added it to add some brightness to the dish. I love a bit of vinegar to round out the sweetness of the other flavours. Glad that your tweaks improved the flavour to you! I will have to try it with cinnamon next time.
Hi Angela – I’m a long time reader but don’t comment too often. I love lentils (and bread) – haven’t cooked lentils in a while, its time to try this recipe soon! :)
Hi Lily, Thanks for your comment! Hope you enjoy the recipe :)