I recently bought a red bell pepper dip at the store, and while it was good I thought I could make it healthier and tastier. Mission complete!
This delicious and nutritious dip consists of red bell pepper, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and comes with slightly crunchy green lentils for added texture and protein!
This dip comes together very quickly and requires just 10 basic ingredients.
Green lentils are first cooked until tender but still slightly crunchy. In the meantime, we sautée the aromatics: shallots and garlic, until fragrant. Next, add the tomatoes and red bell pepper, and cook for about 20 minutes.
For extra flavor, I added tomato paste, balsamic vinegar for acidity, yellow mustard for some heat, and lime juice for freshness. Process the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and seasonings in a food processor until you get a chunky texture.
Finally, add the cooked green lentils to the dip and stir to combine. Refrigerate and serve chilled with your favorite chips! I went with plantain chips, but tortilla or sweet potato chips would be great too!
Looking for more dips? Check out this Easy Spinach & Sunflower Seed Dip, Vegan Pesto Swirl Cream Cheese, or this Caramelized Shallots Hummus!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Green Lentil & Red Bell Pepper Dip
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dry green lentils
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 2 shallots minced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 4 medium tomatoes diced
- 2 red bell peppers diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoon nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Bring the ¾ cup of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the green lentils and cook for 18-20 minutes, or until lentils are cooked but still slightly crunchy. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add shallots and garlic, and sautée for 5 minutes. Next, add the diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, salt, and maple syrup. Cook for about 20 minutes. The tomatoes will first release juice and then will thicken.
- Once there is no more juice and the tomatoes are cooked, add the maple syrup, tomato paste, and balsamic vinegar. Stir, and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked tomatoes and red bell peppers to a food processor. Add the yellow mustard, lime juice, and nutritional yeast. Process for about 5-7 seconds, you don't want to process too much to keep some texture. Transfer to a bowl and add the cooked green lentils. Stir to combine and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Serve chilled with your favorite chips, or raw crunchy veggies! This dip will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
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