This One Pot Mujadara with leeks and greens checks all boxes: it has the healthy goodness of lentils, rice, and beans, it is a mess-free recipe that comes together in minutes, and it is absolutely delicious. Vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free recipe.
Mujadara, a Lebanese medley of onions, rice and lentils, is delicious proof that the simplest of recipes can sometimes be the most satisfying and flavorful.
I have been making this One Pot Mujadara in my kitchen for years, after seeing a recipe in the New York Times that used leeks instead of onions. I have tweaked the recipe a bit over time, and it's even more delicious now.
There are many reasons I love it. Chief among them, this mujadara is:
-Delicious
-Easy
-Versatile, you can switch up the greens with whatever you have handy
-A complete meal
-Healthy, of course
-Kid-friendly! Yes, Jay loves it and polishes off his plate in minutes.
There are healthy greens and lentils and rice in the recipe, so it is truly a complete meal. All you need to do is to ladle it out into bowls or on plates and serve. I sometimes serve it with some fresh summer veggies, like cherry tomatoes or cucumbers.
You do need to cook the lentils a bit first, but you can do it in the same pot. You can also use any greens. I often use kale but this time I had some baby spinach and spring greens sitting in the refrigerator, so I went with those.
This is an almost foolproof recipe and it packs so much flavor for so little work that it's almost criminal. Oh, and did I say it was quick? But you don't have to take my word for it. Here's the recipe for my vegan One Pot Mujadara.
More vegan rice recipes:
- Vegan Paella
- Vegan Jambalaya
- Masala Khichdi
- Khichdi with Mung Bean Sprouts
- Mixed Beans Masala Bowl with Turmeric Rice
- Curried Chickpeas Bowl with Turmeric Rice and Garlicky Chard
One Pot Mujadara with Leeks
Ingredients
- 2 leeks, cleaned thoroughly. Trim the roots and slice the white and green parts into thin ribbons (use a large onion if you can’t find leeks)
- 1 cup brown lentils (whole masoor, sabut masoor).
- ¾ cup basmati or other long-grain rice
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon allspice powder
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-inch stick of cinnamon
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups leafy greens(use any combination of vegetables. I used 3 cups of spring greens and 1 cup of baby spinach). You can chop larger leaves into smaller bits.
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a large pot and add enough water to cover by an inch. Place the pot on the stove and when the water boils, cover and cook the lentils for seven minutes. Drain immediately and reserve.
- Heat the oil in the same pot. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring, over medium-high heat until the leeks start to caramelize.
- Remove half the leeks to a bowl and set aside.
- To the pot with the remaining leeks, add the garlic and bay leaves, stir for about 30 seconds, and then add the cumin, allspice and cayenne. Stir for a few seconds to coat with the oil and then add the rice. Saute for a few seconds until the rice turns opaque.
- Add the drained lentils, cinnamon, and salt to taste. Stir well, then add 4 cups of water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to low until the water just simmers. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pot and let it steam away for 15 minutes.
- Open the pot, arrange the greens on top in an even layer, cover, and cook for five more minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Let the mujadara stand at least 10 minutes before opening the pot. Garnish with the reserved leeks and serve hot.
Nutrition
Love this Vegan Mujadara? Check out more vegan rice recipes at Holy Cow Vegan!
Renee
So glad I bought those leeks and went looking for a way to use them today! This was definitely a comfort food on this cold, hungry day. My husband loves leeks all by themselves so I was thankful for a recipe that had some of them saved for the end, where the flavor is so very good. We ate them all today but have leftovers of the lentils and quinoa (I subbed it in for the rice) so next time we have this, all I'll have to do is fry another batch of leeks. Besides this being tasty and filling, I loved the way it comes together. With a few stages of uninvolved cooking time, It didn't matter so much that I was prepping along the way.
After dinner, I checked out your blog intro and will be visiting again to make a few other recipes I saw on the site. You have some interesting ideas.
Anonymous
so tasty with the cinnamon and all spice! I used green lentils, added golden beets, and used the beet tops for my greens. delicious, satisfying, and the whole house smells good!
Anonymous
Made this with green lentils. Delicious! Had me farting for days after!
Vaishali
😀
Kate Tordoff
Just made this, but, instead of the reserved leeks on top, I used fewer leeks and topped with the fried green tops of the leeks. Yum.
Great recipe.
Thanks x
Tom
Made this this evening and it was absolutely delicious! Didn't have brown lentils to hand but green lentils seemed to work fine. I see it becoming a staple dish here. Thank you.
Vaishali
Yay! So happy to hear.
Sheri
Thank you for this recipe!! I made it tonight and it is wonderful!!!
Valerie
This was delicious! I added tomato on top as the picture showed, as well as some chopped cashews. This was my first experience with leeks and I was very happy with the results. Thank you for working so hard on this website, I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Valerie
Vaishali
Valerie, so glad you liked it!
Lola
How tasty does this recipe look! Thanks for the share, love checking out your blog for weekly dinner ideas.
Subhashini
I love such one pot meals and this is different and inviting. I am saving this to my try list. Can we even use spinach or methi as for greens?
Vaishali
Yes, spinach would be perfect!
Remya
This looks great and i want to try making it.
But I dont have whole masoor dal.. Would split masoor dal work? Or can you suggest some other which might?
Thanks in advance!
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Remya, split masoor will get mushy and won't have the same texture. You can try with another small whole bean like moth or matki, if available.
Lindsay
This was so easy and delicious. I used puy lentils and they worked just fine. Great tip about leaving half the leek for the top, nice to reserve some of that fresh 'leeky' flavour for the end. Thankyou.