The 4-Ingredient One-Pot Dinner I Make on Repeat

Cumin and canned tomatoes give the lentils their craveable flavor.

By Amanda Blum
Updated October 16, 2025
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A pot of spiced lentils with carrots garnished with greens and a serving spoon inside

Simply Recipes / Jazzmin Kaita

I used to struggle with recurring food ennui. Bored with everything I’d ever made, I would spend hours surfing take-out menus and cookbooks, trying to find any dish that sparked my appetite. I learned to break my boredom by reaching for an ingredient I have little experience with. This is how I came to love beets, cannellini beans, and most of all, lentils.

I spent a month with lentils, trying every possible color and combination, dipping into any cuisine that had a lentil dish to offer. After all, lentils are meant to bring good luck, and I figured I could never have too much luck. Every guest at my home during that period, as well as my neighbors, was subjected to one of my lentil experiments.

A pot of cooked spiced lentils with diced vegetables and a ladle garnished with fresh herbs on top

Simply Recipes / Jazzmin Kaita

How I Came To Love Lentils

If you haven’t given lentils a fair shake, you’re not alone. I, too, wondered what the heck lentils were. A bean? A pea? (They’re part of the same legume family.) More interestingly, lentils are very hard to mess up. You can simply simmer them in water, and given enough time, they’ll become tender. If there’s too much water, drain the lentils after.

Much like rice and other grains, lentils take on the flavors around them spectacularly well. Unlike rice, lentils are packed with fiber, iron, and potassium.

Why I Love These One-Pot Lentils

Rice simmered in tomatoes is one of my favorite dishes to tuck into, and so it made sense to try swapping lentils for the rice. The result was just as filling and satisfying, but when I added cumin and carrots, it really came together. The cumin filled the house with an intoxicating smell and gave the tomatoes a warm complexity. The carrots offered sweet pops of contrast.

Now, this dish is part of my fall repertoire—it’s so easy to make, and it’s perfect reheated for lunch the next day. I serve it as-is, without any side dishes or accompaniments. Think of it like a thick spiced lentil soup. There’s almost no prep and very few ingredients, and once it’s on the stove, it requires almost no hand-holding.

Bowls of spiced lentils with carrots garnished with herbs

Simply Recipes / Jazzmin Kaita

One-Pot Spiced Lentils

Prep Time 2 mins
Cook Time 55 mins
Total Time 57 mins
Servings 4 to 6 servings
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided, or to taste

  • 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • 2 cups dry green lentils

  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in tomato juice

  • 4 cups water

  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin

  • Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Method

  1. Sauté the carrots:

    Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the carrots, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Shake the pan every 30 seconds or so to keep the carrots moving.

  2. Add the lentils:

    After 4 minutes, the carrots should have some nice browning at the edges. Add the lentils and stir to coat them with oil.

  3. Add the tomatoes, water, and cumin:

    Add the tomatoes and water. Swish some of the water around in the tomato can, which will help you get all the tomato goodness into the pot. Add the cumin and the remaining 2 teaspoons of the salt (or to taste) to the pan and stir.

  4. Cook the lentils and serve:

    Cover the pan, bring the lentils to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 50 to 60 minutes or until the lentils are tender, stirring them every 10 minutes. If the lentils get very thick before they’re fully cooked, add a little more water. Season to taste, and serve garnished with finely chopped parsley, if using. It adds a nice vegetal pop and a bit of color.

    Refrigerate leftovers tightly covered for up to 6 days. To reheat, microwave, with the cover vented, for 2 minutes, stir, and microwave for another 30 seconds at a time until piping hot all the way through.

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    A pot of spiced lentils with cubes of vegetables and a ladle inside

    Simply Recipes / Jazzmin Kaita
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
142 Calories
5g Fat
19g Carbs
7g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 142
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 7%
Saturated Fat 1g 4%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 523mg 23%
Total Carbohydrate 19g 7%
Dietary Fiber 8g 27%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 11mg 53%
Calcium 59mg 5%
Iron 3mg 19%
Potassium 464mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.