This is a lentil bowl that eats like a real meal, not a sad side of dal. Cooked lentils carry a blitzed red-pepper-and-tomato sauce, and a scatter of pumpkin seeds does the heavy lifting on texture. Fully plant-based, and one bowl lands 22g of protein for around 360 calories.

Nothing fancy in the technique — you simmer lentils in one pot, blend a five-ingredient sauce in another, and fold them together. The book listed this at 43.5g carbs a bowl; the honest number from dried lentils is closer to 49g, so that’s what’s here.

Ingredients

  • For the lentils
  • Dried lentils — ⅔ cup, rinsed [P 32 C 80 F 1]
  • Water — 2 cups
  • Onion — 1 small, chopped [P 1 C 6 F 0]
  • Olive oil — ½ tsp
  • Salt — to taste
  • For the red pepper sauce
  • Red bell pepper — 1 medium [P 1 C 7 F 0]
  • Garlic — 3 cloves
  • Canned crushed tomatoes — ¼ cup [P 1 C 4 F 0]
  • Sriracha (or any hot sauce) — 1 tsp
  • Paprika, chilli powder, pepper — to taste
  • To top
  • Pumpkin seeds — ¼ cup [P 10 C 3 F 16]

Method

  1. Soften the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a high-sided pot and cook the onion 2 minutes until soft.
  2. Simmer the lentils. Add the water, salt and rinsed lentils. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft and most of the water is gone.
  3. Blend the sauce. While the lentils cook, blitz the red pepper, garlic, crushed tomatoes, sriracha, salt, pepper, paprika and chilli powder until thick and smooth.
  4. Combine. Fold the red-pepper sauce through the cooked lentils and warm through. Top each bowl with pumpkin seeds.

What to eat it with

  • On its own — a complete 360-cal, 22g-protein bowl.
  • Spread on toast — the author’s move when you want extra carbs; a slice of sourdough or whole-wheat adds ~80–120 cal.
  • With a squeeze of lemon and fresh cilantro — brightens the whole thing; costs nothing on the macros.

Variations

  • Higher protein: stir in a scoop of unflavoured soy protein or an extra 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds.
  • Milder: drop the sriracha and chilli powder; the roasted-pepper sweetness carries it.
  • Chunkier: blend the sauce only halfway for more texture.

Honest notes

  • Fibre: about 10g per bowl — most of it from the lentils. That’s a big part of why it fills you up.
  • The carb correction: dried lentils are ~63g carb per 100g, so ⅔ cup dry works out to ~49g carbs a bowl, not the 43.5g in the original. Protein, fat and calories were all close, so only the carbs moved.
  • Lentil type: brown/green hold their shape; red lentils go softer and saucier — both work, cooking time may drop ~5 min for red.