Simple spiced red lentil spread with sun-dried tomatoes and miso.
This spicy, sweet-savoury red lentil spread with maple syrup, fresh herbs, sun-dried tomato and miso is my current favourite thing to put on my toast in the mornings. It’s a great budget-friendly recipe, super easy to make and most importantly very delicious. Plus it’s gluten-free and oil-free, and full of protein, vitamins and minerals. This red lentil spread is great on toast and in sandwiches, or as a dip for veggies, crackers and chips. An absolutely foolproof recipe that everybody will love.
Kinda surprising, but one of the most common questions I get when I say I’m vegan is where do you get your protein what I put on my bread. Seriously, just last week 3 people asked me. I often can’t even answer suddenly, because the answer seems so obvious to me…But I understand that it’s not the case with everybody. I have the exact same uncomprehending questions when someone has a special food allergy. Wow, what do you eat then, if you can’t have peanuts/gluten/tomatoes? Stupid of me, I know….Anyhow, one of these conversations went something like this:
Vegan? Cool! But what do you eat for breakfast?
So many things! Smoothies, smoothie bowls, tofu scramble, muesli, porridge, fruits, breakfast burritos, quesadillas, pizza from the day before, lasagne from the day before, anything from the day before, sandwiches, toasts….
-Cool! But what do you put on your bread?
-Hmmm….Whatever I like, I guess.
-Cool, but what exactly?
-I don’t know. Veggies….?
-Ok, cool, but I really can’t imagine this. What did you have for breakfast for example?
-Gosh, I don’t remember. Can we change the topic???
So I thought I’ll make this post today, so I can carry around a QR code linking to this URL and that will make my life just so much more easier. Feel free to do the same to avoid stupid questions. Nah, just kidding, questions are always good and I looooove to talk about my breakfast bread, but honestly, sometimes I’m just too dumb to answer these questions.
So, what I put on my toast in the mornings?
- Avocado! Sometimes sliced, sometimes mashed, other times diced, occasionally as a guacamole, but usually with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
- Hummus. Of course. With beetroot, pumpkin, black beans, bell pepper, sun-dried tomato,
- Cashew cheese. Or sunflower seed, macadamia, walnut and almond cheese.
- Nut butters. Homemade or store-bought, creamy or crunchy, love them all!
- Veggie spreads. With apple and onion, carrot, mushroom, pumpkin or kale. Raw, cooked, baked, steamed, usually made of leftover veggies.
- Mustard or vegan mayo. That’s the
trashiestlaziest version, but who cares. - Antipasti and baked or grilled veggies.
- Store-bought vegan butter and cream cheese. Though I don’t really eat these myself, I like to keep these in my fridge for guest and friends and boyfriends. Super convenient options.
- Tahini, usually mixed with a bit of lemon juice and garlic.
- Jam, fruit preserves, jellies and chutneys.
- Mashed bananas, berries, or any other fruit that’s in season.
- Baked beans or refried beans.
- This millet spread.
- Tzatziki. Or drained soy yogurt, mixed with nutritional yeast.
- Pesto. Red, green, purple, gold, you name it.
- Mashed baked sweet potato. With maple syrup and cacao nibs for a sweet breakfast, and with sea salt and herbs for a savoury version. (Also leftover mashed potatoes. Sounds a bit odd, but it’s so good!)
- And last but not least: Legume spreads. Made of beans, lentils, whatever I feel like. In the last days I always felt like this red lentil spread with lots of maple syrup and fresh dill!
And on top of these I put veggies, fruits, spices, fresh herbs, vegan cheeses, faux meat and lox, nuts and seeds. Oh, I love my breakfast toasts!!! <3
Do you like a slice of toast for breakfast as much as I do?
What do you put on your bread?
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎
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Simple Red Lentil Spread
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup of red lentils
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 cups of vegetable broth or water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 3 sun-dried tomatoes
- 1–2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp maple syrup + more to serve
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 lemon, juice
- 1 tbsp white miso (optional)
- 1 tbsp of fresh chopped lovage (optional)
- 1 tbsp of fresh chopped dill (optional)
- salt, pepper
Instructions
- Mince garlic and chop onion. Add to a large bowl and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until onions turn brown. Stir frequently and add 1-2 tablespoons of water at a time to prevent sticking.
- Add lentils and vegetable broth and cook for 10-15 more minutes until lentils are soft and liquid is absorbed.
- Transfer cooked lentils to a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth and well combined. Adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve warm or cold with additional maple syrup and chopped dill. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Spread and Dip
- Cuisine: Vegan
Totally LOVE This Evi! So easy and perfect summer flavor! Love how simple this is! Easy and delicious is right up my alley!
Thank you, Anu 🙂
Will you believe me if I say I JUST finished whipping up a quick red lentil hummus/spread :O Hahaha!
So perfect and exactly what I spread on sammies and bread!
Oh, yum! I hope you’ll post the recipe for it, I can’t get enough of red lentils <3
I love the list of inspiration of things to put on bread! Let’s put on all the things!! 😉 But now I’m seriously craving a hearty red lentil spread…. this just looks fantastic! 😀
Thanks, Sarah!
If I could I’d really put all of those things on a slice of bread 😀
Red lentil spread is one of my favorites, but I’ve never put dried tomatoes or miso in it before, have to try that. The millet spread sounds great as well, I love millet. And actually what to put on your bread when you’re vegan would be the easiest for me if I was a vegan. I put mostly vegan spreads on my bread anyway, they’re so much better than wurst, even though I have to say I could never give up cheese…. 🙂
I love to add miso to everything, it makes this spread so yummy too 🙂
And I also prefer veggie bread spreads. Even before I went vegan (and when I was 1000% sure I could never give up cheese too) I mostly ate those, especially hummus! Oh, and the wurst thing, I don’t even understand that 😀 😀
Ohh sweet and savory is where it’s at! Throw in a little spice and I’m in heaven! I loooove lentils so this dip is calling my name! The addition of sun-dried tomatoes and miso is perfection!! Cheers!
Thanks, Cheyanna! I am totally addicted to sweet and savory things nowadays, so delicious 🙂
“Gosh, I don’t remember. Can we change the topic???” So much this!!! Oy, it is not fun to be put on the spot about your diet. No fun at all! So I know exactly what you mean. You’re just living and doing your thing, but then you have to answer these questions and while the answers were obvious in your head, suddenly it’s gone up in smoke. Lol. Meanwhile, I really enjoyed the very comprehensive list of breakfast ideas! <–see, you didn't need the subject change after all. Lol. Now I'm gonna have to memorize your list so I have so answers ready too. Hahahaha.
LOVING this simple red lentil spread. Totally the perfect combo of sweet, spicy and hearty.
What I put on my toast (not that you're putting me on the spot of anything… ;): mashed avocado, homemade nutella, hummus and tomatoes, etc. Um, can we change the topic?? Haha.
Have a great weekend, E! Pinning, of course. xo
Thank you so much, Demeter!
I really don’t have any problem with talking about my diet, however I hate when they challenge my short-term memory. And this here was definitely an attempt to make me feel like I’m old 😀
But now I feel a little bit better that you had to list your toast toppings too. BTW can we not change the topic?? Homemade nutella?? I haven’t seen a recipe on your blog yet, where is that??
Have a great weekend too, with lots of supermarkets and cooking and baking 🙂
Well, gee, that’s mean of them! And you are sooo not old. I tell my mom that all the time, “your memory’s not bad because you’re so-called old, it’s because it’s been bad from the start.” Lol. For me, I’ve had a terrible short-term memory since I was a kid. So… yeah. 😉 Does that make you feel better? 🙂
Girl, I was JUST thinking about whipping up a homemade nutella for the blog–but I really want it to be super clean, very smooth and just, perfect. No biggie. Lol. Working on it!
That is the best possible weekend. Ever. Muah!
Hahaha, I love that! It’s been bad from the start, so sad but so true 😀
And yes, it makes me feel better to know I’m not the only one with horrible short-term memory!
Regarding the nutella, I’m really looking forward seeing that recipe on your blog! You know, you can always post a first version then later a new and improved one 😉
Love this, I had never come across red lentil spread on this.
I have to say my go to is always hummus, I just cannot get enough of that stuff!
Thanks for sharing, giving this a go tonight!
Yes, hummus is my number 1 choice too. You just can’t go wrong with it 🙂
Let me know, if you tried it! Hope you’ll like it!
This looks completely delicious, Evi! I could eat this for breakfast every day (and lunch too, lol). The sundried tomatoes in there is brilliant…love them! I really enjoy avocado on my toast with some chili and arugula. So good! Pinning your recipe to try soon. Have a great weekend!
Thank you so much, Dawn 🙂
Évi, tök őszintén mondom, hogy ez a legeslegfinomabb krém amit valaha is próbáltam. Annyira imádom 🙂
Szia Lilla,
nagyon örülök, hogy ízlik!
Az az igazság, hogy én is csak ezt eszem egy-két hete 😀
Egy hete csak ezt eszem 😀
I can definitely see this being delicious on bread. I love dipping naan into red lentil dal, so why not spread atop toast? I hear you on the diet questions, I’m on the allergy end though. My allergies are so weird and random, and now that my allergic daughter is in school, I get to deal with the moms who are pissed their kids can’t bring snacks with nuts, lol. 🙂
Oh, yum, lentil dal and fresh naan, such an amazing combo!
Regarding to allergies, it’s always a tricky question. I’m very lucky I don’t have any allergies, but I guess even if I had one I’d learn to cook that way pretty quickly. However right now it seems so difficult for me too, to cook and bake without nuts. Two weeks ago I had to make a cake for my boyfriend’s birthday so he can take it to the office and I really struggled. He said he has colleagues with gluten, nut and soy allergies, plus one didn’t like bananas, and of course I only make vegan things. Plus I can’t even bake, so it was really a struggle 😀
Anyways, next time I’ll go to your blog for such recipes for sure! 🙂
What a great list of things to put on bread for breakfast, Evi! And this red lentil spread could deserve I guess high place on my spread list, just behind the hummus and a bell peppers and walnuts spread…
Thanks, Jasmin 🙂
SUPER Greenevi, a recipe to keep the rest of my life! Ganz grosse Klasse ! Danke !
Danke, Esther!
I’m so so so happy you like it 🙂
This is fantastic! I don’t like onion and garlic and replaced those with celery and asofoetida, and the spread is phenomenal. Thanks!
I’m so happy you liked it! The celery is a super awesome idea, going to try it next time 🙂
Omg!!! This is delicious!!!! Thank you!!!
Cristel
I’m so happy you like it, Cristel 🙂
When I were in Romania, we tried a spread of “take it veggie”. It was sooo good. I came back home knowing I want to make something similar. So thank you, because i made this spread and it has nearly the same taste! From now on I won’t eat every day almond butter!
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂
What spread was that? ‘Take it veggies’ is from Kaufland, right? I’d love to try it!
Thank you for the recipe. We tried this spread with black miso. We loved it!
I’m so happy to hear you liked it! Black miso sounds amazing!
I made this last night and spread it on a roll with salad.
I used canned lentils and added some stock powder to make up for cooking the lentils in stock.
O M G – it was delicious.
I’m so happy you liked it, Patricia! Using stock powder is super clever, thanks for the great idea 😉