Video Spanish Lentil Stew with Vegan Chorizo

Smoky, sweet and nutty flavours combine into this rich Spanish inspired vegan lentil stew. Vegan chorizo, plenty of veggies, green lentils and smoked paprika make this a nourishing and comforting dish.

Two green bowls full of rich red coloured vegan lentil stew

Whenever we travel in a country we love to pick up local produce and cook up a storm in our tiny campervan kitchen. This dish is full of fresh veggies and the classic flavour of Spain – smokey paprika! This tasty vegan lentil stew also features two other stars of Spanish cuisine:

Vegan chorizo, lentils, vegetables and spices

Spanish lentils

Lentejas de la Armuña are a geographically protected crop from the La Armuña region of Spain, to the north of Salamanca. Like their better known French cousin the Puy lentil they are also green, but the similarities end there.

Lentejas de la Armuña are lighter green and rather flat. They are also much larger, averaging 5-7 millimetres. This makes for a substantial and rich texture when you use them in a dish. They cook very well, without separating from their skins, which gives an even bite.

They are also remarkably rich in calcium, iron, protein and other nutrients when compared to other lentil varieties. Add to all that a full, nutty flavour, and these Spanish lentils certainly have a lot going for them!

If you can’t find Spanish lentils, then medium sized green or brown lentils, will work just as well for this stew.

Vegan chorizo

This spicy sausage is a Spanish speciality. Full of garlic and smoked paprika it packs quite a flavour punch! Vegan versions are typically made with soy, tofu, or seitan and are easily found in Spain and Portugal.

After much testing, we’ve finally cracked our own vegan chorizo recipe – it’s spicy, slices beautifully and tastes amazing! You gotta try it.

If you don’t want to make your own, or can’t find any vegan chorizo to buy, try substituting smoked tofu or vegan sausage and add a good amount of paprika and salt when you are frying it.

A bag of lentejas de la armuna, spices and vegan chorizo on a plate

Cooking tips

You can make our vegan lentil stew in a pan on the stove, or you can pressure cook it to make it even quicker.

We recommend soaking the lentils to reduce their cooking time. If you don’t have time to soak overnight, you can quick soak them in boiling water for half an hour.

The stew is pretty simple to make. Prep the veggies, start by frying the onions and garlic, then add the red pepper, tomato puree, paprika. Fry for another minute to coat everything in the spices, then simply add all the remaining ingredients and simmer until the lentils are tender.

The only other critical thing is the frying of the vegan chorizo. Vegan chorizo tends to behave quite differently from its non-vegan counterpart. So, instead of cooking the chorizo in the stew, we recommend frying the slices on their own before adding to the final stew. This allows the vegan chorizo to get nicely crisp, rather than going soggy from cooking in the stew.