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Square cropped image of two plates of stir fry with lentils and cashews, garnished with a lime wedge and black sesame seeds. Front plate has a pile of stir fry over a pile of rice and back plate, which is slightly blurred, has stir fry on half the plate with rice on the other half.
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Lentil Stir Fry (Vegan)

This easy lentil stir fry recipe creates a hearty and flavorful vegan dinner (can be made gluten free). It’s loaded with veggies and coated in a tasty soy, sesame and lime sauce.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Vegan
Keyword Lentil stir fry
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 424kcal

Ingredients

Stir Fry

  • ¾ cup onion , sliced or diced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger , minced or finely grated
  • 1 ½ cups bell pepper , sliced or diced (about 1 medium pepper)
  • ¾ cup celery , sliced
  • ¾ cup carrots , sliced
  • ¾ cup zucchini , sliced
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups lentils , drained and rinsed (about 19oz canned)
  • ½ cup cashews

Sauce

  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce , low sodium*
  • 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons mirin **
  • ½ tablespoon lime zest (about 1 lime)
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons corn starch

To Serve

  • green onion , sliced
  • white sesame seeds (and/ or black sesame seeds)
  • rice (or rice noodles)
  • cashews (extra)

Instructions

Step 1: Prep the Vegetables

  • If you’ll serve this stir fry with rice, start that now since it can take some time to cook rice. If you’re serving with rice noodles, they cook quickly and can be prepared anytime.
    rice
  • Before you begin, wash and cut all the vegetables. You can cut the vegetables however you like; I slice all the veggies for this recipe.
    ¾ cup onion, 2-3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 ½ cups bell pepper, ¾ cup celery, ¾ cup carrots, ¾ cup zucchini
  • Drain and rinse a can of lentils. You can also use freshly cooked lentils if you prefer. Any type of lentil can work for this recipe (brown or green are best).
    2 cups lentils

Step 2: Prep the Sauce

  • Add all the sauce ingredients to a bowl or jar and mix thoroughly by whisking (or shaking a jar that has a lid). Set aside.
    4 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons mirin, ½ tablespoon lime zest, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons corn starch

Step 3: Cook the Stir Fry

  • Warm some vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Begin stir frying by adding onion and cooking for 1-2 minutes, or until they start to soften and turn translucent.
    ¾ cup onion
  • Next, add garlic, ginger, celery and carrots. Cook, tossing the ingredients around regularly, for about 2 minutes.
    2-3 cloves garlic, ¾ cup celery, ¾ cup carrots, 1 tablespoon ginger
  • Then, add bell pepper and zucchini and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until the vegetables are almost cooked (to your liking; this may take longer if you’re looking for softer vegetables).
    1 ½ cups bell pepper, ¾ cup zucchini
  • When the vegetables are almost done, add your lentils, cashews and sauce to the pan.
    ½ cup cashews, 2 cups lentils
  • Cook for another minute or two, until the sauce thickens. Stir regularly once the sauce is in the pan.

Step 4: Serve

  • You can serve this stir fry with a side of rice or over cooked rice noodles. You could also serve with quinoa or another grain. Cauliflower rice can also work if you want a lower carbohydrate option.
    rice
  • Top with extra cashews, sliced green onion, white and/or black sesame seeds, or any other topping of your choice.
    green onion, cashews, white sesame seeds

Notes

*Can substitute soy sauce for tamari for a gluten free option
**Can substitute for cooking sherry or white wine
Nutrition information calculated based on stir fry only (ingredients listed above) and does not account for additional ingredients used to serve, like a rice or noodle base.
Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving (¼ of recipe) | Calories: 424kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 1474mg | Potassium: 939mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 7011IU | Vitamin C: 101mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 6mg