This time of year there is nothing better than cooking in your crock pot. One single pot, slow cooking and great smells. Now that’s comforting and that’s what I love to cook during the winter. This lentils and beef stew is really easy to make and delicious over white rice. The perfect weeknight dinner. Enjoy it!
Ingredients
(4 servings)
1 1/2 pounds beef for stew, cut into cubes
1 cup lentils
3 1/2 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
1. In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients except the potatoes, cilantro, salt and black pepper.
2. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Add the potatoes and cook for 30 more minutes.
3. Stir in cilantro and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
4. Serve over white rice.
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
This is new to me. In Greece we do not combine dried legumes with meat but it sounds wonderful. Do you cook lentils together with meat on high for 4 hours?
Ivy- Yes!
I just returned from the store and thought the same thing- Today is a perfect day for crockpot beefstew. I have never tried it with lentils but use kidney beans, tomatos and olives (and wine of course)- My whole family loves stew!
Meat & legumes can be mixed and they always taste delicious (I usually mix lentils with chopped meat). This does look very yummy and today is a perfect day to cook in the crock pot! Thanks Erica.
Mmm…l want that delicious stew for dinner tonight!
That looks fabulously yummy
Thank you guys!
Oh the stew looks great! I love the lentils in it. yum!
Great Idea for this rainy and dreary day!
if i don’t have chicken broth i can just use goya right?? with water?
ooops i mean beef stock not chicken broth
Alicia- You can use water!
New to me to use lentils in stew…but it makes perfect sense and I love them!
that is one HEARTY stew, erica! i’d like to fill up on this before braving the bitter chill outside and hauling in firewood!
What a combination here! I can imagine how tempting it smells when cookng.
Thank you all for visiting my blog!
I love beef lentil stew! So hearty and filling, and I love how your recipe uses a slow cooker!
I love lentils…and good for you too!
I don’t eat beef but this pic looks v tempting!
The crockpot is definitely a key ingredient to keeping me sane! This dish looks delicious. So hearty.
This is delight full and Joanne being ur sweetfren too, am inviting u here for her little party(its her birthday dear -i know that u know dear) which is a suprise party for her …do leave her a wish in the sprinkles ok…..my feeds arent working so am trying my best to find all her pals to leave her a wish in the sprinkles before she gets there or even after….will ya help too to make it a little sucess….and leave her a wish too?
Mmm, this sounds simple yet hearty and delicious. As much as I dislike the cold, I must admit I’m looking forward to stew weather, especially when there are dishes like this around
Do you think the winter has been too long this year? Never too long with dishes like this. I’ve had lentejas con tocino, but never in an estofado like this. I am getting hungry now!
I can have lentils on everything. This is a great combination and on a day like today in New York its food for the soul.
Thank you all for the comments!
This dish looks so tasty – I love lentils and I think I have all the ingredients so I cannot wait to give it a try.
Love this, sounds great and I have everything to make it. One question–would it be better to quickly brown the beef cubes before adding them to the Crock Pot?
I am going to make it that way tomorrow unless someone tells me not to!
Mary- I wanted to keep it simple, but yes that sounds better!
Looks wonderful… I really love lentils for some reason, so I know I’d love this!
Erica,
Can I make this without a slow cooker, but cook it at a low temperature in a regular pot?
Isabel- You can make it in a regular pot a cook it over medium-low heat.
For 4 hours? I don’t have a slow cooker either and want to make this today!!!
thank you!
So we made this last night and it was wooooooonderful! The flavors were just amazing and it was really easy to make. The only problem we had was with the potatoes, we added them last as per the recipe but 1.5 hours later, they were still pretty hard. It was an easy fix though, we pulled them out and finished boiling them in a separate pot, once they were done, we added them back to the crock pot. We’ll be making this again and again this winter, we’ll just make sure to add the potatoes from the very beginning. Thanks Erica! =)
This looks great! Im planning to make this on a day when I wont be home to cook my family lunch…so Im going to see what happens when I add the potatoes at the beginning (instead of hoping someone remembers)! Im thinking a firm potato cut into large enough chunks should hold its ground!
Thank you!