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Spicy Kung Pao Lentils with a delicious kung pao sauce, veggies and cooked lentils. Easy 30 minute weeknight dinner. Gluten-free Vegan Recipe. Note: If you find lentils too earthy, double the sauce, or use other legumes like chickpeas.
You knew this was coming right. a spicy kung pao sauce and vegetables and lentils!
The whole meal including the brown rice came together in like 40 minutes. The Lentils were put in their saucepan, brown rice in a pressure cooker. then I chopped up veggies, made the sauce, listened to some songs. Then when the lentils were almost done, I heated up the skillet for cooking the vegetables. While the vegetables got cooked, the lentils were ready and the brown rice was off heat and waiting on natural pressure release. Lentils and sauce cooked up for a few minutes then on the table.
Spice from the whole chilies, crunchy red pepper, celery and cashews/peanuts, earthy lentils and brown rice. perfect.
Use pre-cooked lentils, or other cooked beans like green mung beans, use Chickpeas! or seitan or Tofu. Add them at the step to add lentils. Use other vegetables like broccoli, snowpeas, eggplant etc. Double the sauce, add more chilies for more heat! This recipe is inspired my other popular Sweet and sour Lentils with mango.
This recipe is
Easy
spicy, sweet and sour
has least processed ingredients
is perfect for weekday meals.
More lentil recipes and asian recipes from the blog.
Sweet and sour lentils lettuce wraps
Massaman curry Vegetables
Spicy Orange Tofu and Peppers
Crispy Orange Cauliflower
Teriyaki Tempeh and shiitake mushrooms
Pad Thai
Kung Pao Lentils
Ingredients
For the Lentils:
- 1/2 cup dry brown lentils, washed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups water
- a generous pinch of salt
For the Sauce:
- 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp dry sherry or rice wine
- 1 tsp hoisin sauce, or use more soy sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2-3 tsp raw sugar, or use 1 to 2 Tbsp maple syrup or other sweetener
- a generous dash of lime zest, 1/4 tsp
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 3 Tbsp water
For the vegetables:
- 2 tsp grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
- 1/2 cup chopped white or red onion
- 4 dried red chilies like arbol or red chinese, broken into halfs (or use red pepper flakes to taste)
- 3 Tbsp cashews or peanuts
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch knob of ginger, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- lemon juice and black pepper, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the Lentils: Combine the lentils, water, and salt in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender to preference. Let the lentils sit for 5 minutes before using. Drain excess water if needed and keep aside. Or use 1 1/4 cup cooked lentils or beans.
- Make the Sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients into a bowl. Mix well to combine and keep aside.
- Cook the Veggies: Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add onion and chilies and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cashews or peanuts and mix for a few seconds. Add garlic and ginger and mix in. Add the peppers and celery and mix well. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add in the sauce and cooked lentils and mix well. Add a few more tbsp water, if you like extra sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens and some is absorbed by the lentils. Taste and adjust spice and sweet. Add red pepper flakes to taste, if needed, and mix in. Garnish with a dash of lemon juice and black pepper. Serve with cooked rice or grains of choice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this tonight and it was yummy. Thank you
Awesome!
Made this tonight. So good! Used same amount of lentils. For the vegetables: 3 baby bok choys (leaves too), 1 whole onion (tennis ball sized), 4 carrots, 3 stalks celery, 1 package mushrooms, 1 yellow pepper. I doubled the sauce. It was great! Also plenty of left for my lunches this week. Thanks Richa!
yay!
I made this today and it was superb! I made a huge pot of lentils so I’ve got some cooked to freeze and use next time, the prep and sauce were superb and it came out well (as in spicy enough) using red chile flakes rather than the arbol peppers. Great idea and something new for the idea box! Thanks for sharing!!
Awesome! Lentils definitely can do more than soups and stews 🙂
Found this on Pinterest a good while back now, and have made it several times. It’s quick and easy to do, and tastes fantastic. I cheat and use tinned lentils sometimes when I am in a real hurry, but we all love it 🙂
Awesome!!
This recipe is amazing! Tastes just like restaurant kung pao, and the lentils are a perfect substitute to meat. My husband, who is the ultimate meat eater (and was highly skeptical when I told him what I was making) LOVED this dish!
Yay! Thats awesome!
Made this for dinner tonight. It was super tasty, though I think next time we may kick up the heat with some chili paste.
great! Yes, add some red pepper flakes to taste if needed or a few more hot red chilies. Be sure to break into half before adding for extra heat.
The photography on this recipe is so beautiful, I just must make it! But, as we have a little one, I will have to remove the “pow” factor, to make it not spicy. Looking at the rest of the ingredient list, I imagine it will still be wonderful without the heat.
You can add cayenne later to your bowl, or heat up a little oil and cook red pepper flakes in it until fragrant and mix it into your helping.
Made it tonight for a party of 4. Everyone loved it! Thank you!
Awesome!!
Richa, you have outdone yourself! This meal was SO delicious!
Awesome! so glad you loved it!
Love the veganized version of a Chinese classic dish. I spent 2 months backpacking through China in 2012 and while I had plenty of kung pao chicken dishes while traveling around – definitely never saw a vegan kung pao lentils on the menu. Would love to try this. Only have red lentils on hand so will give it a go with those!
Awesome! red lentils cook quickly, so cook until al-dente then add to the sauce.