30-Minute Lentils with Tangy Tahini Sauce

If you’re working on nutrition for heart health, you’ve likely heard that it’s helpful to eat more legumes, including lentils. But what to do with them? How to keep them from being chalky and tasteless? Creamy lemon tahini sauce!

This dish is perfect for when you’re really in the mood for something healthy. You’ll saute onion, bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic, while preparing the tahini sauce in a food processor. Then you’ll add the lentils, tomato, and sauce to the pan. When it’s all hot and bubbly, you’ll fold in spinach and voila! Done.

Serve it over farro, a chewy, nutty, high fiber whole grain made from ancient varieties of wheat, or brown rice or barley if you prefer. You can also swap in or add different vegetables. The magic is the sauce.

Selecting and substituting ingredients

Lentils

Surprisingly, I prefer canned lentils for this, because of their firmer texture. And the convenience doesn’t hurt! Look for a no-salt-added product, and if you can’t find it, check the sodium, because there’s often quite a difference. If you rinse them well, you’ll get rid of about half of the sodium.

But if you prefer to cook brown or green lentils from scratch, that works too! They’re so budget-friendly.

(This post isn’t sponsored. Just helping with your shopping!)

Farro

Farro is relatively new in the North American market, but a well-stocked grocer or natural food store should have it, near the rice or in the bulk section.

(If you’re local, Calgary Co-op and Superstore carry it, Walmart doesn’t.)

Farro is a higher priced whole grain, so if cost is a concern, use barley instead, at about a third of the cost. It’s also very high in fibre. Brown rice is the least expensive, although with less fibre. All good!

Cooked farro, like other grains, can be frozen. If you do a big batch and then freeze them in small containers, you can pull one out and thaw in the microwave for a weeknight meal like this.

Tahini sauce

Tahini sauce is made of ground toasted sesame seeds. The consistency is like creamy peanut butter, while the taste is milder and earthy.

You might find it near the nut butters, in the international aisle, or in the “health food” section. If you’re not sure where it is, it could be worth asking!

When you first open tahini, there might be a layer of oil on top, like natural peanut butter. Just mix it together as well as you can. Store it in the fridge, which will keep it from separating and from getting rancid.

Sun-dried tomatoes in oil

Sun-dried tomatoes in oil can be a sodium bomb, so read the label, and choose the lowest one you can find. I talk about different brands and amounts of sodium in the post for my Crunchy Chickpea and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta.

Vegetables

Everything else is straightforward! Substitute or add mushrooms, zucchini, snow peas, or a different leafy green like kale or swiss chard. Or serve with pre-washed mixed greens if you prefer.

How to store and reheat

This dish should stay fresh and safe to eat for four days. Simply reheat in the microwave until it’s piping hot.

If you won’t eat it all within a few days, it’s fine to freeze. Just label it so you aren’t left wondering what on earth it is.

What to serve with it

This is just about a well-rounded meal all on its own! But it only has about 17 grams of protein per serving, which is a bit low for most adults. You might want to pair it with a glass of soy or dairy milk, or yogurt for dessert. Something for extra protein.

If sodium is a concern

People are often worried when a recipe uses salt, but trust me, you’ll use a lot less than a typical restaurant!

By my calculations, this has 335 mg of sodium per serving, even using the half-teaspoon of table salt (or one teaspoon of coarse salt). That will vary depending on the sun-dried tomatoes and lentils you use, but either way, it’s well within my 500 mg per meal rule of thumb.

I would use the salt in the tahini sauce for sure, to balance the lemon. But for the other addition of salt, after everything is blended, taste first and see if you need it.

Other plant-based recipes you’ll love

If you’re experimenting with vegan or vegetarian meals, you might like these Pantry Burritos which, as the title implies, can be made from ingredients you can stock in the pantry (and fridge).

Or try this Mediterranean Sofrito and Lentils. Sofrito is a sauce made of tomato and onion, often including garlic and aromatic herbs, and slowly simmered with olive oil.

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

30-Minute Lentils with Tangy Tahini Sauce

A meal that really hits the sweet spot – nutritious and delicious. If you’re efficient in the kitchen you can make it in 30 minutes (I do), but best to allow a few more minutes the first time.

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

• 3 cups cooked farro (start with 1 cup uncooked farro)
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (don’t worry about draining – you’ll cook the veggies in this oil)
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 red, yellow, or orange peppers, thinly sliced, with the slices cut in half
• 1 medium-sized tomato, diced
• 1 540 mL/19 oz can lentils, drained and rinsed well
• 3 cups pre-washed spinach (about half of a 142g/5oz container)
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt (optional) (or 1/4 tsp fine salt)

Tangy Tahini Sauce

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp coarse salt (or 1/4 tsp fine salt)
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

• Cook the farro or other whole grain per package directions, if it’s not already cooked.

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, garlic, and peppers. Saute until the onion and peppers are soft, 7-10 minutes, adjusting heat if necessary.

• Meanwhile, blend all sauce ingredients In a food processor until smooth.

• When vegetables are ready, add the tahini sauce, tomato, and lentils to the pan. Stir to combine and warm it all up until it starts to bubble, stirring occasionally.

• Remove from the heat and fold in the spinach. Mix well.

• Taste and add the optional extra salt and more ground black pepper if needed.

• Serve over the cooked farro.

Credit where credit’s due

If this dish looks familiar, that’s because it’s my quicker, simpler variation on the Protein Power Goddess Bowl from the Oh She Glows blog, which is adapted from The Coup Cookbook’s Greek Goddess.

Share your pics!

If you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes! Bonus points for a picture. Comments and questions always welcome in my free Facebook group. Bon appetit!