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Lentils popped in a skillet and tossed in spices then paired with an easy cauliflower-potato mash, have amazing texture and flavor! You can make the mash smoother or chunkier based on your preference. Serve it with the lentils on top and a good drizzle of olive oil. soy-free, gluten-free, nut-free with oil-free option
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These crispy popped lentils with smooth mashed potatoes are full of amazing texture and flavor!
If you’ve never made popped lentils before, they are so much fun! Add cooked lentils and a little bit of oil to a skillet, cook them over high heat until they fluff up and pop like a popped grain, and then they crisp up a little bit. Then, we add some savory and smoky spices to flavor them.
Then we try not to eat these delicious lentils all by themselves! And serve them over some creamy mashed potatoes. I served these as topping over a simple cauliflower potato mash flavored with herbs and paprika. You can use all potato or all cauliflower. These bowls make for an amazing holiday or even weeknight side dish!
These popped roasted lentils are very versatile. Add whatever herbs or spices you like and add them to your salads, bowls, tacos, pasta and everything! Think spicy Cajun lentils, Jamaican curry lentils and more.
Serve these with a side salad or rustic bread, or some gravy and biscuits, or as a side in a spread
Why You’ll Love Lentil Mashed Potatoes
- creamy, cauliflower mashed potatoes with crisp, popped lentil topping
- lentils add fiber and protein!
- Everyday ingredient and quick recipe, perfect for the holidays or any day!
- soy-free, gluten-free, nut-free
- can be made oil-free
More Vegan Lentil Recipes
Popped lentils with Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
For the Potato Cauliflower Mash
- 1 heaping cup cauliflower florets, or use potatoes
- 1 heaping cup peeled and cubed potatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
For the Popped Lentils
- 15 ounce can lentils, drained, or 1 1/2 cups of cooked lentils
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional
For Garnish
- lemon juice
- chopped parsley or green onion
- olive oil
- black pepper
Instructions
Make the cauliflower-potato mash.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the cauliflower and potatoes and cook until they are tender. This will take anywhere from 7 to 9 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes and cauliflower florets.
- Drain and transfer to a bowl. Mash with a potato masher. Then add in all the spices, 2 tablespoons of the milk, and all of the oil. Mix in with a fork or the masher. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Adjust the consistency by mashing more or Add more of the non-dairy milk if you want a smoother and thinner mash. Then, transfer to your serving dish or plates.
Make the popped lentils while the potatoes and cauliflower cook.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the well-drained lentils and cook until the lentils start to pop and crisp up a little bit. This will take anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes. Keep stirring the lentils and flipping them with a spatula occasionally.
- Once the lentils have started popping, add the other teaspoon of oil and all of the spices and herbs. Toss well so that the spices stick to the lentils and switch off the heat. Serve the lentils over the cauliflower potato mash.
- Garnish with parsley or green onion, a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice and black pepper and serve. You can also serve these lentils over pasta or a salad.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- cauliflower florets – For the mash. Or use more potatoes
- potatoes – For the mash. Make sure to peel these for the creamiest texture!
- seasoning – You season the cauliflower-potato mash with garlic powder, Italian herbs, and nutritional yeast. For the popped lentils, we’re using more Italian herbs, nutritional yeast, and garlic powder, plus smoked paprika and onion powder.
- oil – For the mash and to sauté. Omit for oil-free, and just be sure that when you are popping the lentils, you add little bit of lemon juice at the end to help the spices stick.
- non-dairy milk – For the mash.
- lentils – Use canned or cooked brown lentils, drained very well.
- garnishes – Garnish this dish with lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, and black pepper
Tips
- You can make the mash thinner/creamier if you like! Just mash more and add a little more non-dairy milk.
- For the best results with the lentils, keep cooking after they’ve popped, until they get a little bit crispy, too. Yum!
How to Make roasted Lentils and Mashed Potatoes
First, make the cauliflower-potato mash.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the cauliflower and potatoes and cook until they are tender. This will take anywhere from 7 to 9 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes and cauliflower florets.
Drain and transfer to a bowl. Mash with a potato masher.
Then add in all the spices, 2 tablespoons of the milk, and all of the oil. Mix in with a fork or the masher. Taste and adjust salt and flavor.
Adjust the consistency by mashing more if you like. Add more of the non-dairy milk if you want a smoother and thinner mash. Then, transfer to your serving dish or plates.
Make the popped lentils while the potatoes and cauliflower cook.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the well-drained lentils and cook until the lentils start to pop and crisp up a little bit. This will take anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes. Keep stirring the lentils and flipping them in the pan.
Once the lentils have started popping, add the other teaspoon of oil and all of the spices and herbs. Toss well so that the spices stick to the lentils and switch off the heat.
Serve the lentils over the cauliflower potato mash.
Garnish with some parsley, a drizzle of olive oil or lemon juice or both, and black pepper and serve. You can also serve these lentils over pasta or a salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is soy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free depending on the non-dairy milk that you use.
To make the potato cauliflower mash oil-free, just omit the oil. If you use a good, nonstick pan, you don’t necessarily need the oil to cook the lentils. You can just pop them in a dry skillet and add a few drops of lemon juice in the end to help the spices stick.
Serve with a side salad or toasted seeded bread, or some gravy and biscuits, or as a side in a spread with nut loaf or grilled portobello.
The idea, great. The mashed potatoes recipe, great, I learned a new way to season them (I always do butter, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper). But the popped lentils were a total miss: the lentils never popped, they burned, the spices never mixed, so I had to throw them away and open a new can, which I did my way and ended a lot better: I just heated them up with 2 tsp of olive oil, mixed in 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, 1/2 tsp of salt, voila.
Oh no. The lentils (brand and pan) can make the process a bit iffy and not pop. All lentils in the batch don’t pop, most do but there’s a bunch they don’t. As soon as they are slightly crisp, you can add the spices and take off heat.
5 stars indeed! My son requested this be on THE list. I made double mash and might have popped the lentils more than stated in the recipe, but it was still a hit as usual.
You know it’s good when the kids like it. Thank you!
So delicious — and easy.
Did anyone actually get lentils to pop? I cooked those poor things until they were dry as a bone (sorry) and browned. No pops, just some cooked seasoned lentils. Weirdly disappointing.
I think they needed higher heat and maybe a bit more oil. They pop open and get crisp on the outside. The inside might still be softer. So it’s a mix of crisp and somewhat soft but not moist middle. I’ll post a video soon.
This is pure comfort food on a cold winter’s day! It was ready in less than 30 minutes, and made a delightful lunch with some steamed broccoli. I didn’t have scallions on hand to top the dish, but chopped cilantro worked really well instead. This is another keeper!
So good to hear!
Another Vegan Richa recipe that is another firm favourite. Easy to make and so very tasty 😋 leftovers waiting for me in the fridge…
I used dried mixed lentils and served with leeks and carrots.
Yay!
This was good! I didn’t have, nor wanted to use potatoes, so I subbed celeriac root, and added 2 garlic cloves to the pot when cooking the cauliflower/celeriac mix. The popped lentils were good- nice easy, healthy dinner. I have been wanting to cook more with lentils. Thank you!
Awesome!
Perfect combo of flavors! I love the Mashies with the crunchy lentils. Do not omit the lemon as this ties it all together. I’ll definitely make again. Yummy!!
Thanks!