Make this easy recipe for healthy chili with lentils and ground beef for dinner tonight using whatever you have in your fridge! This high-fiber high-protein ground beef recipe is great for meal prep or a family dinner idea that will satisfy most people (there’s always that one picky eater!). You can make the chili in around 40 minutes and it’s great for any season, but especially when it’s cold out.
I actually made this particular batch during summer and forgot I took photos until now. To make this ground beef and lentil chili recipe more cold-season friendly use canned tomatoes and seasonal vegetables instead of zucchini (cauliflower or even broccoli, or no additional vegetables at all!).
Easy Healthy Chili With Lentils & Ground Beef Ingredients
- Ground beef – or any other type of ground meat you have
- French lentils. Green or brown lentils will work too – they will keep their shape when cooked, while red lentils will provide a more creamy thick texture. I know some people don’t do it, but I always soak my lentils to make the cooking faster and to remove the anti-nutrients. This makes the lentils easier to digest and you can absorb more of the nutrients (like folate and iron) in them!
- Spices – You can use any kind of spices you like, but I went for curry powder, chili powder, cumin and oregano.
- Tomatoes. Fresh raw blended tomatoes or tomato sauce will both work in the recipe.
- Fresh vegetables and herbs. Peppers, carrots, garlic, onion, seasonal vegetables and fresh herbs (I used basil) will provide more flavor and texture to the chili recipe!
- Olive oil.
How To Make The Easy Healthy Chili With Lentils And Ground Beef
Rinse and drain the soaked lentils, thinly chop the onion, wash and chop the peppers and carrot, as well as the basil. Mince garlic.
Saute the onion with olive oil, curry and chili powder, cumin, oregano and one garlic clove for about a minute or two – until fragrant.
Add in the ground beef and start breaking it apart with a spatula, combining with the onions and the spices.
Add in the peppers and carrot and stir for a few minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
Then add in the soaked lentils, a good pinch of salt and the tomato sauce.
Cover the cooking pot with a lid and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
When lentils are ready, remove the lid and do a taste test and add salt if needed. Also, if desired – cook down without a lid for 5 minutes at a higher temperature, stirring from time to time.
Add in the rest of the garlic, the seasonal vegetables, olive oil and basil.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
How To Serve
Serve as is or if you wish with avocado, spicy peppers of choice, more fresh herbs, some cashew garlic sauce, rice or bread.
How To Meal Prep Store
This recipe makes around 3-4 servings, so if you want to meal prep it – adjust the recipe accordingly. To store, simply place the chili with lentils and ground beef in an airtight container, close it and store in the fridge.
More Healthy Dinner Recipes With Ground Beef
- 20-Minute Healthy Cabbage and Ground Beef
- Healthy Ground Beef and Broccoli Fried Quinoa
- Healthy Meatballs In Garlic Tomato Sauce
Easy Healthy Chili With Lentils and Ground Beef
Make this easy recipe for healthy chili with lentils and ground beef for dinner tonight using whatever you have in your fridge!
Ingredients
- 12oz/340g ground beef
- 1/3 cup lentils, soaked
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1-2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 onion, thinly chopped
- 1 pepper, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- handful basil
- seasonal vegetables (handful)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the soaked lentils, thinly chop the onion, wash and chop the peppers and carrot, as well as the basil. Mince garlic.
- Saute the onion with olive oil, curry and chili powder, cumin, oregano and one garlic clove for about a minute or two – until fragrant.
- Add in the ground beef and start breaking it apart with a spatula, combining with the onions and the spices.
- Add in the peppers and carrot and stir for a few minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
- Then add in the soaked lentils, a good pinch of salt and the tomato sauce.
- Cover the cooking pot with a lid and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
- When lentils are ready, remove the lid and do a taste test and add salt if needed. Also, if desired - cook down without a lid for 5 minutes at a higher temperature, stirring from time to time.
- Add in the rest of the garlic, the seasonal vegetables, olive oil and basil.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield 3 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 513Total Fat 30gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 18gCholesterol 101mgSodium 953mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 8gSugar 9gProtein 37g