This hearty Vegan French Onion Stew is packed with plant-based flavor, and also doubles as a gravy!
Today is the next recipe in my #WellandFullThanksgiving series! This Vegan French Onion Stew is INSANELY good. It absolutely amazes me how flavorful it is – the caramelized onions are so savory and umami. But what I love most of all is that this stew can be also used as a gravy on top of my vegan mashed cauliflower or millet stuffing!! The mashed cauliflower especially is such a fantastic flavor combination, I highly recommend giving it a try!
I’ve been having a little bit of writer’s block when it comes to what I’d like to share here on the blog. Well, that’s not entirely true – it’s not really writer’s block, it’s more of a desire to not sound like a downer! I’ve had one bad circumstance after another occur in my life over the past year, and there’s unfortunately not a lot of positivity to share.
When I first started blogging, I shared a lot of my life in every post. I remember during the time, I felt like I was always coming to realizations and learning things about life. But now, I don’t feel that I’m learning anything (other than that bad things will always happen to you when you least expect it). I think that I’m still so close to everything that happened that I haven’t had time to learn or grow from it all. Once I do, I’ll be sure to share my lessons. But I will need to put some distance between me and this past year before I can do that.
So for now, please accept the recipes! It means so much to me to have cooking as a creative and therapeutic outlet. I love developing recipes to share here, and it’s so awesome seeing people tag me in their creations on Instagram. Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving recipes this week and next! :)
Vegan French Onion Stew
Ingredients
- 2 Medium Red Onions cut in half and sliced
- 1 Yellow Onion cut in half and sliced
- Neutral Vegetable Oil for sauté
- 2 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Cup French or Green Lentils
- 6 Cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 Tsp Fresh Thyme
- Generous Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add some neutral vegetable oil to a large pot and bring to medium-low heat. Add in the sliced onions and cook down for about 30 minutes, covered. Stir occasionally until onions are soft and caramelized. Be careful not to burn your onions!
- Then, add in the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Then add in all other ingredients and simmer for about 30-45 minutes, uncovered, until lentils are fully soft.
- Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary. I added more salt to really bring out the flavor!
- Enjoy!
Notes
P.S.
If you make this Vegan French Lentil Stew and post it on Instagram, be sure to tag me @wellandfull and #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your takes on my recipes :)
47 Comments
Julissa
November 12, 2018 at 9:22 pmYummy! Sounds delicious! I have to try it! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah
November 13, 2018 at 8:40 amThanks Julissa! I was happy to share this recipe :)
Tim
January 3, 2020 at 11:24 pmThe entire family loved this recipe! Well done.
Sarah
January 4, 2020 at 11:52 amI’m so glad you and your family liked the recipe, Tim! Thanks so much for leaving a review :)
Katya
November 13, 2018 at 2:46 pmOnion soup with lentils—how cool :D I remember having issues with onion soup not being hearty enough for cold winter nights-and I ended up throwing a bunch of pinto beans in it ;) so obviously I will have to try out your version too.
Don’t worry about writer’s block, it will go away on its own at one point. You can’t rush it anyway, so why worry?
Sending lots of hugs :)))
Sarah
November 14, 2018 at 11:25 amOoh pinto beans sound really good in French Onion soup too! I’ll have to try that one out :) Hugs, Katya!!
Katya
November 15, 2018 at 3:12 amTo be perfectly honest, I only chose pinto beans because I had them in my fridge but the combination was really neat. You wouldn’t want black beans in your onion soup, would ya? ;) I’m weirdly obsessed with the fact that foods must have a nice colour scheme, so either they must match in colour (like your onion soup and lentils), or they must be in contrasting colours (like, dunno, kale and cranberry).
Sarah
November 15, 2018 at 11:08 amI do a similar thing with whatever beans I have on hand too ;) And thank you for your kind words about the photos! I try to have enough colors in my photos so that it’s pleasing to look at, whether it’s from the food itself or from the bowls and napkins :)
Katya
November 16, 2018 at 6:06 amI’ve always loved the way your photograph food! Top-notch! :))) A good food photo is guaranteed to make me lust after this particular dish :)
Renee
November 19, 2018 at 7:13 pmHi Sarah
I’m sorry things have been tough! Your strength (as I know it) is in your great blog and recipes! I am saving these Thanksgiving recipes for my Christmas dinner! I have so loved the many recipes I have tried since discovering you!
😊 thank you
Sarah
November 19, 2018 at 8:16 pmHi Renee, thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful comment. I’m so glad to hear that you’ve liked the recipes you’ve tried, and I hope you like this one too :)
R.H.
December 6, 2018 at 1:18 pmI made this last night and it was a huge hit in our house. Thank you for the recipe!
Sarah
December 6, 2018 at 3:32 pmI’m so glad to hear that!! This was one of my favorite recipes to develop :) Thanks so much for leaving a note!
Tracey
January 3, 2019 at 8:14 amI’m making this tonight but adding sliced mushrooms for a heartier soup for my non vegan, male friend.
Sarah
January 3, 2019 at 10:26 amMushrooms sound like a delicious addition! :) I hope you like the recipe!
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January 9, 2019 at 2:18 pm[…] Vegan French Onion Stew: Loving the addition of lentils! […]
J
August 11, 2020 at 6:41 pmHow long can this freeze for?
Sarah
August 13, 2020 at 4:56 pmHi, I would keep this in the freezer for about a month!
– Sarah
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January 13, 2019 at 2:01 am[…] Vegan French Onion Stew […]
Lidiia
January 28, 2019 at 1:32 amThanks for sharing! Incredibly delicious! It’s now my favourite way to cook lentils. I’ve used French ones, and added a bit of barley, mushrooms and kale. Yum :)
Sarah
January 28, 2019 at 10:19 amHi Lidiia, I’m so glad to hear you like this recipe! This is one of my favorite ways to cook lentils too :) Thanks so much for leaving a note!
Stephanie
February 14, 2019 at 9:06 pmSo beautiful, and delicious! The whole family LOVED this soup. Very easy to make as well! Thank you for sharing!
Sarah
February 15, 2019 at 6:37 pmHi Stephanie, I’m so glad to hear you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a note, I really appreciate it :)
Tom
February 28, 2019 at 7:40 amThnaks for the great recipe, can check how many sèrvings this makes?
Sarah
February 28, 2019 at 7:51 amHi Tom, I’m so sorry that the serving size is not showing, there is an issue with my recipe plugin that I am working to resolve. The stew should serve 3-4 :)
Tom
February 28, 2019 at 8:43 amNo problem at all!
Thank you so much :)
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Allie
September 9, 2019 at 4:32 pmIs this slow cooker friendly? Would love to leave it simmering while I’m at work :)
Sarah
September 10, 2019 at 1:39 pmHi Allie, I have not actually tried this recipe in the slow cooker, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!! :) Please let me know if you try it!
Kira
September 29, 2019 at 6:13 pmDelicious! A big hit with my traditionalist mom! (Although she did add gruyere cheese on top.) Super hearty but not heavy, perfect a cool autumn night. This will definitely be joining my rotation
Sarah
September 30, 2019 at 1:01 pmI’m so glad you liked the recipe!! Gruyere on top sounds delicious :) Thanks so much for leaving a review! :)
Jenna
September 30, 2019 at 4:08 pmMade this today. So so good. Burnt the onions. Try not to do that! Dipped vegan gf bread in it. Yum
Sarah
October 1, 2019 at 2:16 pmI’m so glad you liked this!! I’ve burnt the onions accidentally making this recipe too lol. Still delicious! ;)
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October 26, 2019 at 1:15 pm[…] Vegan French Onion Stew by Well and Full […]
Rachel Holmes
December 20, 2019 at 3:52 amSimple, delicious and hearty. Also good for using up onions! I didn’t have green lentils in the cupboard, so I used red ones…. perhaps it was a little mushier than if I’d followed the recipe exactly, but it was still lovely on a winter’s evening.
Thank you for sharing this!
Sarah
December 20, 2019 at 1:08 pmI’m so glad you liked the recipe, Rachel! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review :)
Alecia
March 11, 2020 at 8:33 pmI made this and added wild foraged Porcini Mushrooms and Shitakie Mushrooms… and served it over Polenta… it was and is famulous.. next time I will add Morel Mushrooms.
Sarah
March 14, 2020 at 11:12 amThat sounds amazing! :) I’m so glad you liked the recipe!
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Cat Jenkins
April 28, 2020 at 12:08 amTried this tonight. During quarantine I wanted a recipe I could shop quick for and this delivered. I actually loved the broth more before the green lentils became fully cooked, I might substitute a different legume next time but still it was great with some toasted bread topped with vegan chorizo. Yum!
Sarah
May 2, 2020 at 6:21 pmI’m so glad you liked the recipe, Cat! Thank you for leaving this review! :)
Star Foster
August 3, 2020 at 8:35 pmI’m Eastern Orthodox and our fasting seasons are vegan. I made this for a game night at church during Lent and everyone loved it! It’s become my favorite comfort food during fasts!
Sarah
August 11, 2020 at 10:19 amHi Star, I’m so glad everyone at your game night liked this recipe! It’s one of my favorites too :)
Emily
October 4, 2020 at 7:26 pmThis was simply lovely! I added a titch of horseradish because I love that little spicy kick and it hit the spot! This is definitely a keeper! I caramelized the onions in a crockpot beforehand to make sure I didn’t scorch them so I smelled the heavenly scents all day! This soup does not disappoint! Thank you for creating and sharing!
Sarah
October 6, 2020 at 3:05 pmI’m so glad you liked the recipe, Emily!! Thanks so much for leaving this review :)
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