A Syrian-inspired red lentil skillet bread, bursting with flavorful spices, herbs, and roasted red pepper. Gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan, this easy lentil skillet bread will wow your guests and make dinner memorable.
December’s Theme – Grab A Book & Cook: We’re repeating last December’s theme due to popular demand: It’s the end of the year and we’re taking a moment to reflect – The Recipe ReDux has been around for 54 months! To celebrate, we’re playing a little party game this month: Grab your nearest cookbook and ReDux the recipe on page 54 or 154. We can’t wait to see the books you’re cooking from these days. (Recipe ReDux)
MY LATEST VIDEOSOkay, if a recipe could “win” the Recipe ReDux, I think this would be the one! First, let’s back up! Last year for December we did the cookbook theme. That’s how I developed my family’s beloved favorite of my Indian Christmas Rice. That recipe was fantastic and all because I grabbed a random book from my massive collection and flipped to the specified page number. I had high hopes for this year as well; I grabbed a random cookbook and flipped to said page, 54.
The cookbook I grabbed first is called, Bean by Bean, written by Crescent Dragonwagon (hehehehe!). I bought this cookbook back in 2013 and I’ve looked through it numerous times.
It’s a cookbook all about beans with over 175 recipes for every type of bean, cuisine, and food type imaginable! If you love beans…well, this is the cookbook for you 😉 What I love most about it is the various cultural recipes and information. It’s not just a “hummus and sweet potato black bean salad” cookbook. It has some killer beany (and legumey) ideas!
On page 54, there was a fabulous super simple recipe for a Syrian-Style Red Lentil Soup. Surprise, surprise, I’d never cooked red lentils, only brown and green. But I’m all about color and Middle Eastern flavors so this sounded like it could be interesting. I wasn’t sure how I would redux it; it was so simple, really just red lentils, onion, garlic, and herbs, but I set out to the grocery, determined to find some inspiration. Now, you know soup isn’t my thing; only sometimes (i.e. recently). But I had my mind set on this soup and I love lentils, so I was thinking a creamy soup, with some roasted red peppers to flare it up.
When I got home from the store (this was last weekend), I threw some red lentils in a pot to cook. I’m used to every other type of lentil taking about 30 minutes to cook, well red lentils are DIFFERENT! They take about 10 minutes to totally cook and basically become a porridge. They already created a “creamy” soup texture without me even doing anything but boiling. So when I re-looked at the recipe, I saw this this was the case and the soup was already a “creamy soup. Major bummer. So my next idea to was make some falafel or veggie burgers depending on how everything formed in the food processor. When you add wet roasted red peppers, those creamy lentils, and other simple flavors, a falafel/burger dough does NOT form. WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO NOW!!!! I had this entire mixture and no idea. I almost left it as it was and use it as a hummus, but that was boring. So…
I started throwing in chickpea flour and arrowroot to try and make it more doughy, but it was just a no go for the texture I wanted. Since I threw so much chickpea flour in there, I decided, “Hey! Let’s get out my trusty dusty cast iron!” The oven was already prepped and so I knew what I had to do! My beloved cast iron came to the rescue! (Now you can tell why I love it so much!) So, I poured my sad mixture into the skillet, crossed my fingers, and put it in the oven to bake…
Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread
- 1 Cup Dry Red Lentils
- 1 Cup Roasted Red Peppers (about 3 peppers)
- ¼ Cup Diced Sweet Onion
- ¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
- ¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
- 1½ Cup Chickpea Flour
- ½ Cup Arrowroot Starch
- 1 Tsp Minced Garlic
- 1 TB Lemon Juice
- ½ Tsp Coriander
- ½ Tsp Cumin
- ¼ Tsp Allspice
- ¼ Tsp Black Pepper
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a medium sauce pan, boil 2 cups of water, then add the lentils. Cook (covered) for about 10 minutes over low heat until the water is absorbed.
- In a large food processor, add the lentils, onion, peppers, herbs, lemon juice, and spices. Blend until smooth, and then add the chickpea flour and arrowroot.
- In a 10-12in cast iron skillet (mine is 10.25in), pour in the lentil mixture and smooth out evenly.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
So did I redux a random cookbook recipe? I think I can say mission accomplished! Soup > hummus > falafel > veggie burger > skillet bread! I think this recipe is the most reduxed you can get! The simple flavors of this lentil skillet bread are surly Syrian-style inspired, but the form? Not so much 😉 Maybe I should call it soup bread though! I’m thinking this would make a killer bready side with some soup!
So, Recipe ReDux winner? I humbly am accepting that title 😉 This Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread smells so good, even straight from the processor before you even bake it! It also gave me so many more ideas for red lentils! I think I have a new legume love! Red lentils would make a killer breakfast porridge too; totally protein packed!
So tell me:
+ Have you ever intended on making a certain recipe, but scrapping the idea completely (half-way through!) and making something totally crazy instead?
+ Do you like Middle Eastern food? Harissa, falafel, o the joys!!!
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This looks so comforting and hearty, perfect for these winter months!
Totally!
This looks delicious! Thank you for sharing it! It also seems like it would be low-carb for my diabetic husband who misses bread so much. 🙂 Or I’ll just eat it all by myself. :p
Beans and legumes are not very low-carb :/
Well, that’s true… I forgot myself in the tasty prospects. 😀
This gluten-free skillet bread sounds completely delicious! What a way to save the lentils!!
I’m pinning =)
Thank you dear!
This bread looks beautiful! The flavor sounds amazing too! 🙂
O thank you so much!!
Love this and the fact it is vegan too as I’m doing veganuary.
Fantastic! I hope you try it out!
This looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing it!
Thanks!
Fantastic! And it could so nearly have been a complete disaster!
Near disasters can be the greatest things 😉
This is definitely a very interesting recipe.
Ha, well thank you!
Rebecca, this is so a winner in my book! You have my vote! My daughter is a vegetarian and I am gluten free and this looks delish! I haven’t ever used red lentils before, but I am eager to try this recipe. And I agree, it would be a great accompaniment to a bowl of soup! Thanks, pinned!
Thank you!
You will fall in love with red lentils! They are just so quick and easy to cook up! Brown and green are great, but red lentils are just something special!
Hi Rebecca,
What a unique delicious and healthy recipe!
Thank you!
You always have such neat recipes. This bread looks so colorful and spicy!
Flavorful but not spicy! Thanks Val!
This looks so interesting! I love red lentils so I’ll have to give this a try. Pinning it to my recipes folder.
They rock! I’m excited to keep using them!
Such an interesting and flavorful recipe! We are adventuresome and might try it. Thanks for sharing!
I hope you do! The flavor isn’t what’s out there, just the form 😉
I love Middle Eastern food, and I LOVE the idea of cooking a random recipe out of one of my many cookbooks. Your creativity is amazing, I never would have thought of making bread out of soup!
The wonders that can come out of randomness and failed attempts!
Thanks Wendy!
this is so unique! i’ve never used lentils in this way but i’m sure that the resulting bread is flavorful and hearty and delicious!
Of course it is!
ooh this looks great I love lentils and I love to pull out a real cookbook sometimes.
I love just scanning through cookbooks when I’m bored!
Lentils in bread sounds delicious, I never would have through of that!
Lentils never let you down!
I never would’ve thought to put lentils into bread! :O This sounds awesome!
Gotta bean it up!!!
Oh, middle eastern food… all that comes to mind is AMAZING. My husband adores the savory things, I adore the sweets (naturally 😉 ). I’m really loving this skillet. I think I’m going to give it a try. Sounds delicious and not overly complicated. <3
It’s such an outstanding cuisine! Never too complicated if it was supposed to be a soup 😉 hahaha!
I adore Bean to Bean, I’ve cooked from it countless times, and everything always turns out fantastically 🙂
The red lentil soup however is one recipe I hadn’t tried yet – so it looks like it’s time to heat up my cast iron skillet for this bread AND then to flip my book open to try that recipe too at some stage!
Ah! A Bean fan! It is a fantastic book! Totally make some bread and the soup 😉
What an interesting way to use lentils, which I happen to love! Pinning to try!
Thanks Joanie!
Pinned for later! My mom would love this! 🙂
Awesome!! Thanks sweetie!
Wow what a creative re-imagining of a recipe. Looks really wonderful. I would not have thought to use lentils to make bread.
Thank you Diana!
Wow, this looks good!
But…. There is no Arrowroot Starch where I live (in the Middle East). Can I use something else? I really want to try this.
I bet; try some tapioca.
Thanks, I’ll try that 🙂
Really love the idea of a skillet bread but haven’t yet tried it! And yes, I’ve shifted gears halfway through a recipe and sometimes it’s the best thing ever, other times not at all!
It tends to happen a lot, so I’ve learned to embrace the “shift” 😉
I love red lentil soup!! It’s one of the only soups I ate while growing up and it’s very popular in the Middle East. I love how you turned it around and made it something entirely different! Looks and sounds delicious 😀 definitely need to give this a try! I cut out gluten from my diet a few weeks ago so I need this kind of recipe in my life 😀
Turning one of the best soups into bread just so we can eat it even more!! Thanks dear xoxo
Red lentils, Middle Eastern flavours and roasted peppers? Yes, please. You turned a cooking disaster into a very intriguing dish.
That book sounds like a winner, too. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of legumes. A can of chickpeas in a day? It happens.
Beans for life girl! Beans for life!
This looks like such a unique recipe! I’ve never even tried skillet bread before, so I’m very intrigued. Need to make this soon!
I can tell you right now, you will love it!!
This recipe is right on time! I have been trying to find ways to add more beans in our diet, and lentils are on the experiment list. There have definitely been a few mistakes, re-dos, and throw aways when we have experimented in the past, but what’s life without a little adventure? Thank you for sharing your’s!
Haha, that’s exactly right!! The more adventure, twists, and turns, the more fun!
Ohhh this looks so delicious!
Thanks Jessica!
Just heard of this challenge at Sprouted Fig, it sounds so much fun!
This skillet bread looks fantastic, I would love to have it for breakfast with guacamole 🙂
Happy holidays, Rebecca!
O now that would be awesome! Middle Eastern + Mexican fusion 😉
These are seriously my kind of spices, and I love the creativity behind this dish! You’ve convinced me I NEED this Syrian Red Lentil Skillet Bread in my life 🙂
Haha, thanks dear! You will love it!
Love the story behind this recipe! And it looks great – perfect for 2016’s year of the pulses! I also recently made red lentils for the first time and was surprised that they cooked so quickly. I ended up with more of a spread than solid lentils!
Right! They’re so creamy and totally make for a blended creamy soup or puree! Nothing whole!
Rebecca!!!! Not only do we have this cookbook, but the Syrian Red Lentil Soup is a FAVORITE recipe of ours!!! No joke, we make it a couple of times a month! My hubby is going to flip when he sees this!!
OMG!!!! NO WAY!!! Hahahaha! That i incredible!!! You guys have to make this then! I say you serve the soup version and bread version together!
That looks delicious, easy and nutritious – it’s a winner!
Yes it is! Thank you Kathy!
This sounds so flavorful! Yum!
Thank you Kari!
Perfect timing for the year of the pulses- can’t wait! Way to really redux 🙂
Thank you!
This is amazing!! Seriously sounds so so sooooo gooooood! I love the story behind it too. I’ve scrapped several recipe ideas halfway through and just ended up with something totally different.
Thank you!
That’s what makes cooking such a fun adventure! You may veer off the path and end up with something more spectacular!
You made bread out of beans!?! My mind is blown!!!!!!! And you made it all in THE PAN so double mind blown here! I love the story too, makes it even more amazing that it was total accident haha! But you know what this would be great wth? Soup 😉
Beany bread 😉 I think Banza should come out with a specialty line of bean breads…I should tell them!
THE PAN! I think I should rename my blog, ” Strength and Sunshine…and THE PAN!”
Another reason why I think my mind is changing about soup this year 😉 You need to post a soup recipe!!!
i love lentils and never thought of turning them into skillet bread. i love the festive addition of peppers and herbs. pinning it
Thank you! I’m so glad I added the roasted peppers!
What an amazing recipe, love that you added lentils and all these amazing spices. So creative!
Simple but loaded with so much flavor (and aroma!)
OMG- this looks phenomenal!! You’re definitely “winning” with this one 😉
Hahaha! Thank you Sonali <3
This looks amazing! What a fantastic idea 😉
Thank you!
Don’t you love it when awesome recipes develop from accidents? This looks and sounds amazing. And I love the name. The cracked top looks like the dessert and then a nice moist bread within. 🙂
I do! Some of the best recipes we create come out of “failures” 😉
Haha! The top is my favorite part 😉
This bread looks beautiful and so moist Rebecca! I love how healthy and easy it is to make! Deeeeelicious!
It’s super moist!!
Thanks Harriet xoxo
What a brilliant recipe. I have a huge amount of lentils in my pantry and am stuck with something different to make with them. I have to try this bread with a bowl of chili.
This bread will be the perfect new use for them!!
Such a creative recipe, I love it! Good thing 2016 is the International Year of the Pulses!
Well now that is fantastic! Haha!
Haha loved reading the transformation from one recipe to the next! I love love love red lentils for everything but have never made a skillet bread with them — definitely trying this next!!!
Haha! I think red lentils are my new obsession!! So much easier than the other types!!
Oh, I’ve definitely had to come up w/ something different in the middle of a recipe. Mainly b/c I think I have an ingredient that I don’t!
I really need to get that Bean book. I’ve been trying to incorporate legumes more and that cookbook would probably be a good start.
Lastly, I love making bread in a skillet. I don’t know why exactly but I do! This looks like a good bread to go with soup!
O, hahaha! That has happened before as well 😉
You’ll love the book!! There are really some amazing recipes in there!
Everything is just BETTER in the skillet 😉
chickpea flour and lentils and red peppers, roasted? um, be still my heart. THIS IS MY KIND OF BREAD! with hummus? haha maybe?
That would make the ultimate beany filled snack 😉