The Happy Little Accident
This recipe exists because I forgot I had lentils in the oven.
By the time I remembered them, I was convinced I was too late. But considering what came out of the oven, apparently I was right on time.
So, here’s what happened.
I went to make my Bone Broth Baked Rice and discovered one tiny problem:
I had no rice.
I did, however, have red lentils.
I’d never baked lentils before, but I figured they’d behave somewhat similarly to my baked rice. Which, in hindsight, was based on absolutely nothing other than confidence.
So I dumped two cups of red lentils into a casserole dish with bone broth, butter, garlic and seasonings, covered it, put it in the oven, and went back to tending to my newborn twins.
Funny thing about newborns—especially when there are two of them—time basically stops existing. Somewhere between feeding, burping, changing, soothing, and then doing all of it again for the other baby, I completely forgot about the lentils.
Eventually it hit me.
THE LENTILS.
I ran to the oven, pulled back the foil, grabbed a fork and started to fluff them like I would rice.
Except…
They did not fluff.
They mushed.
And the more I moved my fork through what I was fairly certain was a failed side dish, the more I realized the texture was becoming this incredibly creamy cross between mashed potatoes and polenta.
Wait.
This isn’t giving failure. This is giving new side dish.
So I leaned into it.
I added nutritional yeast, a little more salt and a splash of bone broth, stirred everything together and took a bite.
WAIT.
This was good.
Like, really good.
Creamy. Buttery. Garlicky. Ridiculously savory.
Apparently I’d made Lentil Mash.
I had also just finished making my Smoky Pumpkin Beer Chili, so naturally I spooned that directly over a big bowl of my accidental creation—and that was it. The recipe officially went from well, let’s see if this is edible to I need to write this down immediately.
And nutritionally? Red lentils bring plant protein, fiber and iron to the party, so this isn’t just something delicious to put underneath chili. It’s a pretty substantial little side dish all on its own.
Move over, cauliflower mash.
There’s a new veggie mash in town, and she was created entirely by accident.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite things about cooking. Sometimes you carefully develop a recipe.
And sometimes you run out of rice, wildly overestimate how similarly two completely different ingredients will behave, get distracted by two newborns, and accidentally make something better than what you were trying to make in the first place.
Cooking is an adventure. Lower your expectations and occasionally you’ll impress yourself.
Garlic Butter Bone Broth Lentil Mash
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Add the rinsed red lentils to a large casserole dish. Pour in the bone broth and add the butter, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together.
- Cover tightly and bake for 45 minutes.
- Carefully uncover and stir. The red lentils should be extremely soft and beginning to break down into a thick, creamy consistency.
- If they’re still too loose or the lentils aren’t completely tender, cover and return to the oven for another 10–15 minutes.
- Once the lentils are completely tender, stir them vigorously. Red lentils naturally break down as they cook, so they should transform into a thick, creamy mash without needing a blender.
- Stir in ¼ cup nutritional yeast. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed.
- If the mash becomes thicker than you’d like, stir in a splash of warm bone broth until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- Serve warm anywhere you’d normally reach for mashed potatoes, rice, polenta, or another cozy base.
Notes
Red lentils are split and naturally break down as they cook—that’s what gives this recipe its creamy, mash-like texture. Green, brown, or black lentils won’t behave the same way, so I wouldn’t substitute them and expect the same result. Your bone broth will determine your salt.
Homemade bone broth can range from completely unsalted to pretty salty. Start conservatively, then taste and adjust after adding the nutritional yeast. Adjust the consistency.
I like this thick enough to use as a base for chili or roasted chicken. If yours gets thicker than you’d like, stir in warm bone broth a little at a time until it’s exactly where you want it. Don’t skip the nutritional yeast.
This was actually an afterthought when I accidentally created this recipe, but it ended up being one of my favorite parts. It adds a savory, nutty, almost cheesy depth without actually adding cheese. Make it vegetarian or vegan.
Swap the chicken bone broth for vegetable broth and use your favorite plant-based butter. What to serve it with:
Think of this anywhere you’d normally use rice, mashed potatoes, or polenta. It’s especially good underneath my Smoky Pumpkin Beer Chili, but I’d also serve it with a Weekly Roast, roasted vegetables, mushrooms, or anything with a sauce worth soaking up. Storing & reheating:
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The lentils will thicken considerably as they cool. When reheating, add a splash of bone broth or water and stir to bring the creamy texture back. Freezer friendly:
Portion completely cooled lentil mash into freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat from frozen, adding a splash of broth as needed.
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