Sweet, inviting, and made for sharing, Sweet and Sour Lentils is a vegan, vegetarian Asian lunch made with soy sauce, almond butter, and sambal oelek in about 15 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: lunch
  • Cuisine: Asian

Ingredients

For the Sweet and Sour Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce (Use tamari for gluten-free or coconut aminos for soy-free.)
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter (or peanut butter or tahini)
  • 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional, or add more sambal oelek, to taste)
  • 1/2 inch ginger (minced)
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

For the Sweet and Sour Lentils

  • 15 ounce can of brown lentils (drained and rinsed, or [adjustable]1 1/2 cups[/adjustable] cooked lentils. See recipe in notes for making the lentils from scratch.)
  • 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper (optional)

For Garnish

  • chopped ripe mango (or other juicy fruit, such as oranges)
  • cilantro or green onion
  • sesame seeds (or chopped peanuts)

Method

  1. Add the sweet and sour sauce ingredients to a skillet and cook over medium heat, and warm for a minute. Press and mix the almond butter until it mixes into the sauce. Stir in the lentils and bell pepper, and bring to a good boil for 3-4 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and flavor, if needed.
  2. Serve the sweet and sour lentils at room temperature stuffed into lettuce wraps with garnishes of choice. Or, serve them hot over rice with garnishes on top!

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.