By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 1, 2026
Serves 8
225 cal · 255 min
Crock Pot Vegetable Lentil Stew
Recipe GLPRf5b102a85444c9
A hearty and nourishing one-pot lentil stew loaded with tender vegetables, fragrant herbs, and a rich tomato base. This slow-cooker dish is perfect for busy weeknights—simply sauté the aromatics, combine everything in the crock pot, and let it cook low and slow until the lentils are perfectly tender. Serve warm and creamy with a dollop of yogurt if desired.
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Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste (optional, up to 2 teaspoons)
1 cup carrot, chopped
2 cups kale, chopped
2 cups chard, chopped
2 cups dried lentils
8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 can (14.5 ounces) low-sodium chopped tomatoes
Low-fat plain yogurt for serving (optional, 1 teaspoon per serving)
Directions
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before beginning preparation.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook until softened and lightly golden, about 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the minced garlic to the skillet and stir constantly for about 1 minute until fragrant.
Transfer the sautéed onion and garlic mixture to your crock pot.
Add the bay leaves, chopped carrot, chopped kale, chopped chard, dried lentils, vegetable broth, and canned chopped tomatoes to the crock pot and stir to combine.
Season with salt to taste, if desired.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours, or on high heat for 4 hours, until the lentils are tender and the stew has thickened slightly.
Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Ladle the stew into serving bowls and top each portion with a small dollop of low-fat plain yogurt, if desired.
Comments
Every ingredient is a staple at Charlotte grocers—kale and chard are standard produce year-round at Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and Kroger, lentils and vegetable broth cost pennies, and the whole dish runs $12–15 for eight servings, roughly $1.50–$1.90 per bowl. The stated 255 minutes (four hours fifteen minutes) is honest for slow-cooker time, though you need 10–15 minutes of prep beforehand, which the site likely didn't count. This is a forgiving one-pot meal that reheats beautifully and needs zero attention once it's in the cooker, making it solid for a busy weeknight family. The only minor friction is that kale and chard aren't Southern staples the way collards are, so a reader might swap them—which works fine—and the yogurt dollop at the end is a nice touch but optional.
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