This Lentil Chili is cozy, hearty, and packed with flavor. It’s a versatile recipe that can be made on the stovetop in under an hour or in a slow cooker. We add chorizo but show how to make it plant-based. Video.
I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.
John o’donohue
This hearty lentil chili is packed with smoky, savory spices, carrots, and bell peppers for rich flavor, satisfying texture, and a nourishing boost of protein. Made with chorizo (easily vegan-adaptable), it can be cooked on the stovetop and ready in about 45 minutes, or prepared in the slow cooker (crockpot) for an easy, hands-off meal.
Like most soups and stews, this lentil chili tastes even better the next day as the flavors deepen and meld. It's a perfect make-ahead chili recipe for healthy, comforting meals you can enjoy all week long.
For a more traditional Chili, take a peek at this Instant Pot Chili recipe.
Ingredients In Lentil Chili
- Dried lentils - We use both red split lentils (which naturally thicken the chili) and brown lentils.
- Onion and Garlic - Form the savory base of the chili, adding sweetness and depth as they cook down.
- Ground meat or chorizo (veggie meat, turkey, beef, or chicken) - Adds richness and heartiness; chorizo brings extra spice, while other options keep the flavor flexible.
- Veggies: Carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes, and jalapeno
- Spices: Ancho chili powder, Cumin, Mexican oregano,Smoked paprika - Adds subtle smokiness and warmth without overpowering the other spices. - Grounds the chili with earthy, nutty depth and classic Southwestern flavor.
- Cinnamon sticks - Infuse gentle warmth and subtle sweetness, adding unexpected complexity.
- Molasses - Adds deep, bittersweet richness that rounds out the acidity of the tomatoes and spices.
- Broth (vegetable, chicken, or beef) - Forms the liquid base, allowing the lentils to soften and the flavors to meld.
- Apple cider vinegar - Optional, but a splash at the end brightens and sharpens the finished chili.
*See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Chef’s TipS
You can make your own chorizo here, with a simple blend of spices and your choice of meat. This allows you to add more or less spice without any fillers or preservatives. You can easily adapt this to plant-based “meats” to create a delicious vegan chili! Feel free to use store-bought chorizo for ease and speed.
How To Make Lentil Chili
STEP ONE– Sauté the onion in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat with oil for 3 minutes until it softens. Add the garlic and chorizo; sauté for 5 minutes.
STEP TWO– Add both types of lentils, carrots, tomatoes, optional jalapeño, salt, ancho powder, oregano, smoked paprika, and cumin. Mix together.
STEP THREE– Add the broth, molasses, and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, and turn down to a gentle simmer with a vented lid for 30 minutes.
STEP FOUR – Add green pepper and simmer for 15 minutes more, letting the liquid cook off if needed.
STEP FIVE- Add the apple cider vinegar, then adjust the salt and seasonings to taste.
What To Serve With Lentil Chili
Serve in bowls with sour cream, shredded cheese, or avocado, with cilantro and extra chilies if you like. We love cornbread with the chili, and here are a few versions. The vegan cornbread muffins are delicious.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- In a skillet, sauté the onion in oil over medium-high heat for 3 minutes until it softens. Add garlic, stirring in, and add chorizo, sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the chorizo mixture into the crockpot along with the lentils, carrots, tomatoes, jalapeño, salt, ancho powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cumin, broth, molasses, and cinnamon sticks.
- With the lid on, cook on high for 4 hours (or on low for 6 hours). Add the green peppers in the last 30 minutes of cooking.
- Stir in the AC vinegar, adjust salt and seasonings to taste.
More Favorite Chili Recipes
Hope you enjoy!
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
Lentil Chili| 60-second video
Hearty Lentil Chili Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes (stove top)
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 3 quarts 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: crockpot, stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Packed with nutrients and comforting flavor, this lentil chili is perfect for fall, from weeknight dinners to weekend gatherings. It saves well, leftovers taste even better! Vegan adaptable.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4–6 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 pound ground meat or chorizo (or use plant-based “ground meat”, turkey, beef, or chicken)
- 1 1/4 cups dried brown lentils (8 ounces)
- 2/3 cup dried split red lentils (or sub more brown lentils, but red makes the chili thicker)
- 2 carrots, sliced into half rounds, about 1 1/2 cups
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 1/2–1 jalapeno, diced (seeds removed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (adjust salt to taste)
- 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder (or sub Mexican chile powder)
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon molasses (or maple syrup or honey)
- 6 cups broth or stock (veggie, chicken or beef)
- 1 bell pepper, green or colored, chopped
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (optional, add to taste)
Instructions
- Sauté onion in a pan over medium high heat with oil for 3 minutes until it starts to soften. Add garlic stirring in and add chorizo, sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add lentils, carrots, tomatoes, jalapeño, salt, ancho powder, oregano, smoked paprika, and cumin. Mix together.
- Add broth, molasses and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer with a vented lid for 30 minutes.
- Add green pepper and simmer 15 minutes more, uncovering it to cook off the liquid.
- Stir in the apple cider vinegar, then adjust the seasonings if needed.
Serve in bowls with sour cream, shredded cheese or avocado and cilantro.
Notes
Storage: Leftover Lentil Chili will keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or can be frozen for 3 months.
The Lentil Chili will have a thicker consistency when slow-cooked in the crockpot.
Slow Cooker Instructions: In a skillet, sauté onion in a pan over medium-high heat with oil for 3 minutes until it starts to soften. Add garlic, stirring in, and add chorizo, sauté for 5 minutes.
Add the chorizo mixture into the crockpot along with the lentils, carrots, tomatoes, jalapeño, salt, ancho powder, oregano, smoked paprika cumin broth, molasses and cinnamon sticks.
With the lid on, cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours. Add in the green peppers in the last 30 minutes of cooking.
Stir in the apple cider vinegar and adjust seasonings if needed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 281
- Sugar: 9.1 g
- Sodium: 774.9 mg
- Fat: 2.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 41 g
- Fiber: 7.9 g
- Protein: 24.3 g
- Cholesterol: 33.9 mg
I love this beautifully flavored lentil chili! It one of our favorites. I’ve also shared your recipes with family and friends.
Nice to hear Gina!
I’ve made this three times using Mulay’s chorizo. It’s so great, I would not skip a single step.
Glad you enjoyed!
Making this today and love all the comments – you are the kindest to reply to every one of them! Any tips when doubling the recipe? Or just literally double everything? Thank you!
Nice to hear Kelly. 🙂 It should be just fine to double.
The family really liked this chili. I made it exactly as written except I had to use green lentils (although they looked brown–maybe I mislabeled them) along with red lentils per the recipe. I forgot the apple cider vinegar, but I really don’t think my batch needed it (I used homemade stock that had some vinegar in it probably). So moral of the story, taste before you add vinegar, in case you don’t need it. Molasses was the perfect sweetener for chili. I had not used it before. In the past, I have used maple syrup or brown sugar, if a sweetener was needed, but molasses was better. I also really liked the spice combo. The chili is really flavorful and balanced. I added a little cilantro and sprinkle of cheese for garnish and it was delicious. I will make this again. (One note, if your lentils are older, like mine, you will have to cook longer. I was not in a rush so it wasn’t a big deal.)
Thanks for the helpful notes Lynn! So happy you enjoyed. 🙂
Wonderful recipe! I made a large Le Creuset Dutch oven batch for a backyard party, and it was a total hit! Making it again tonight. Thank you!
Glad you all enjoyed Alice! Appreciate your review!
Our favorite chili!
We use ground bison instead of chorizo, but I’m sure the chorizo is great too.
Sounds great! Glad you like this one. Thanks for taking time to review!
This was so flavorful and delicious! I did this on the stovetop with only minor deviations. I used a whole canned chipotle, finely minced plus a little of the adobo sauce it was packed in. I also added more red lentils. Once the entire cooking time was up, the chili seemed a bit too thin so I added a cornstarch slurry. My husband really enjoyed this recipe too. I might try adding red kidney beans next time. Overall, this was amazing on a cold snowstorm night.
Great Sarah! Love the adapting.
This was great! I followed the crockpot directions and it was great! The only change I made was to use the Better Than Bouillion Adobo stock in place of the chicken or veggie stock. This was really delicious!
Great to hear Heather!
So, so good! I used the crockpot version and the only change I made was to use the Better Than Bouillion Adobo stock in place of the chicken or veggie stock. We wanted chili to watch the UNC-Duke game, but wanted to be healthier. This recipe didn’t disappoint. My husband proclaimed, “This is really good!” Again, we’re so happy with a Feasting at Home recipe.
I haven’t even gotten to the simmering stage yet, and this already tastes incredible! I used my home ground chili powder instead of the cumin/ancho powder mix, as well as our homemade stock. I can tell this will be in the “keeper list”. Made in my trusty enamel Dutch oven.
Perfect Terry! Hopefully it will just get better.
You did it again with this super delicious recipe! I used our home raised heritage pork chorizo from the freezer. I rough chopped the garlic and used brown lentils. I didn’t have red ones), so I added 2 T of corn flour to thicken a bit. This is a keeper, thanks again!
Wow sounds amazing Celine, so happy you enjoyed!
Thank you for another awesome recipe. I have so many favorites from your site. When do you add the apple cider vinegar? At the end?
Hi Natalie, Thanks for catching this! Yes at the end, I updated the recipe.:)
Came out fantastic in the Instapot. Pressure on high for 12 min
Oh great to hear Greg!
Loved it 👍
So glad!
second time making this recipe with veggie-meat and it turned out delicious! This is my favorite go-to site for recipes as they are always a success!
Great to hear!
This is so good! How is it that you always get the seasoning just right? I’m never afraid to try one of your recipes because 99% of the time they are a hit with the whole family. I love all the healthy ingredients – many of which are new to me. Thank you for such a wonderful collection of recipes that have elevated my kitchen game and exposed us to fabulous new meals.
Thanks Jennifer, we love that these recipes are working for you!
Any recommended substitute for molasses?
Thank you
A teaspoon or two of maple syrup.
Sylvia, I found the texture of this recipe great made fresh. But rather mushy after freezing. Next time, I would defrost it, warm it up a little, blend it, and eat it like hummus with assorted crackers.
That is a good idea M Bee! Good to know on the freezing.
👍🏻🥰
I just found a jar in the freezer that I’d made in Oct. Oh my, it is sooooo good! Panicked for a moment as I didn’t recall from where the recipe came! Crisis averted. 😉 Thank you so much for all of the fabulous recipes. 🥰
Awesome Marla! What a nice find!
Can I sub green lentils in for the brown?
Yes that will work.
Do you use dried lentils or canned lantils for this recipe?
Thanks
Hey Brent, dried lentils.
I made this chili today in my Instant Pot using hot Italian sausage. It was delicious and I would definitely make it again. Thank you!
Great to hear Susan- can you share the pressure cooking time you used?
I used the slow cooker function on the Instant Pot.
oh great, thank you Susan!
Sylvia, Tonia and Suwannee…thank you for the Lentil Chili recipe. It was delicious! My tip is, if people use jarred dried vegetable broth instead of low sodium liquid variety broth be aware there is already salt in the dried seasoning. I use Plochman’s. So adjust the suggested recipe salt seasoning accordingly.
M.
Oh this is important advice Maureen! I will note the recipe. Thanks!
You’re so welcome! To add: the collaborative efforts by your team to offer easy, quick recipes often with an exotic twist has also restored my interest in cooking, which can get monotonous, lol.
I hear you Maureen, so happy you have felt some inspiration!
Lentils, vegetables and spices all together makes a hot dish. will definitely give it a try.
Great Anuradha, let us know what you think.
Brilliant, economical dish. We tried it tonight and it works so well, with or without the sour cream.
Thanks Erma, glad you enjoyed!