One thing that I really dislike is wasting food. As a result, I keep my bread in the freezer so that it never gets moldy and has to be thrown away, I roast leftover veggies that have been hanging out in my fridge to eat as snacks, I add fresh fruit to my cereal and yogurt, and I throw together meals like my Buddha Bowl when I am not sure what to do with leftover produce. Even still, one problem that I tend to run into is buying a condiment to use for one dish and then having 90% of the bottle leftover. After I made my Seitan Tacos with Buffalo Coleslaw, I had tons of buffalo sauce leftover. Due to my nature to avoid wasting food if at all possible, I knew that I had to come up with a way to utilize the bottle of sauce. And since I do not make buffalo chicken wings ;), I knew that I would have to be a bit more creative. The result of my “creativity?” This:
Buffalo Lentil and Vegetable Casserole
Servings: Makes 2 large servings
Ingredients
3/4 cup lentils, dry
water for cooking lentils
2 carrots, peeled and cut into half-moons
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into half-moons
olive oil cooking spray
fine sea salt
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
water for cooking
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cups green cabbage or coleslaw mix
4 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/4 to 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (depending on how spicy you want the casserole to be)
1 TB Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1 TB barbecue sauce
Directions
1. Cook lentils according to package directions.
2. While the lentils are cooking, roast the carrots and parsnips. Place the carrots and parsnips on a sprayed, foil-lined baking sheet. Spray the vegetables with olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Roast at 400 degrees F for approximately 25 minutes, flipping once halfway through, or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, line a large skillet with a thin layer of water. Heat the water over medium-high heat until very hot. Once hot, lower the heat to medium and add garlic, onions, celery, and cabbage. Cook for approximately 15 minutes, or until softened. Add additional water, as necessary.
4. Stir in mushrooms and cook an additional 5 minutes.
5. Add the cooked lentils, roasted vegetables, buffalo sauce, Liquid Aminos, barbecue sauce and additional black pepper (to taste). Stir until well-combined.
6. Pour the mixture into a small sprayed casserole dish and bake in a 350 degree F oven for approximately 10 minutes. Let sit an additional 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Serve your Buffalo Lentil and Vegetable Casserole with a nice large ice cold beverage (beer anyone?). Trust me, you will be needing it as this is a little on the spicy side ;). It is a good thing that I like spicy! For those of you who are not as much of a fan of the heat, I definitely recommend cutting down on the amount of buffalo sauce that you use and replacing it with additional barbecue sauce.
I have a feeling that some of you may be thinking…”hmm, that really doesn’t look very good.” And, I would have to agree! This is most definitely not one of the prettiest dishes that I have posted about. But in this case, looks are deceiving. This casserole tastes far better than it looks…I promise! 🙂 If you are a buffalo fan and a fan of the “traditional” veggies that often accompany wings (carrots, celery, etc.), then you are sure to enjoy this!
Eat (and drink) up!
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I saw a recipe somewhere for buffalo cauliflower wings! Looked really delish, you should try it!
Yes, I have seen that before too! I should definitely try it out.
Yay! Another lentil recipe! I love how this recipe incorporates healthy options into everyday dishes like casseroles!
Gotta love lentils!! 🙂
TThese look excellent! I bought lentils in bulk awhile ago and still haven’t used them!
Oh no! You better get to cooking!! 😉
Sometimes the best dishes are the worst looking ones!
That is so true. Thanks! 😉
I literally bookmark every single recipe of yours.
Haha, oh my, that is so nice! Thank you!! I hope that you find some great dishes that you enjoy.
I love anything with buffalo sauce! I will be making this very soon!!
It is GOOD, right? Let me know what you think!
The color may look a bit.. unappealing, but the recipe sounds delicious. I was actually just looking for a new lentil recipe 🙂
Let me know if you give it a try! And yes, the brownish hue is certainly not the most appealing ;).
That looks great! Even without lentils (which my digestion struggles with) I think this would be delicious!
I also keep bread in the freezer and I am the same about hating throwing out food now more than ever!
Wasting food is the worst. It always makes me feel guilty, haha :(.
I am CRAZY for Buffalo sauce and BBQ sauce. So, this might just be a home run, here. I hate wasting food, too, but I’m kind of terrible at it. I always forget I bought something and buy more (or just totally forget to eat it before it goes bad). I definitely need a better system.
I have done that, as well. There is nothing worse than ending up with TONS of one type of food, especially that spoils quickly.
This recipe kind of reminds me of sloppy joes. I think it would taste amazing piled on a bun!
That is an awesome idea!! I think you are on to something with that!!
I love love love anything buffalo flavored! I seriously put hot sauce on everything. What a creative combo to use lentils, veggies and buffalo sauce all in one meal! Can’t wait to try it!
I am definitely a new convert to buffalo sauce and I am loving it.
I’m a no-waste person too and love coming up with fun uses for leftovers. This Buffalo lentil casserole looks awesome – a perfect use for buffalo sauce!
Thank you!!
I manage to rarely use lentils because I never know how to cook them and with what. This recipe looks great and totally worth trying! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I LOVE lentils. Trust me, you will find tons of lentil recipes here on my blog! 😉
I hate wasting food too! My food concoctions because of this are sometimes pretty interesting haha 😉
This casserole looks fantastic! I love anything with buffalo sauce!
Yes, I hear you there. I come up with some very strange concoctions at times, too! 😉
This sounds delicious 🙂 I’ve never thought about making a buffalo stew of sorts.
I really enjoyed it. It tasted even better than I thought that it would.
Ooo yum buffalo sauce! This sounds fab! 😀
Gotta love the buffalo sauce!
I am SO bad about wasting food. So bad!!! Lentils look really good. And I just remembered I have a bunch in my fridge that I should NOT throw out. 🙂
Haha, you better get to cooking! You can’t be wasting those lentils! 😉
Ooooh I love this one! Not too hard, either! Lentils are pretty much a perfect food haha
Honestly, they really are. They are probably in my top 5 favorite foods to cook with.
Love lentils – this looks so delish!
Thank you! I really enjoyed it!
Love lentils – this looks so delish!
Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com
I hate wasting anything too. I am pretty good at using up all my produce but whenever I buy the package of steamed lentils at Trader Joe’s I get into a panic that I won’t finish it all and end up throwing them into every dish just to use it up – maybe I could use them in this recipe next time.
I think that lentils go well in pretty much every single dish…but I am pretty much obsessed with them so that might be why ;).
So creative! You sound like me with not wanting to waste food. How often do you grocery shop? I’ve found I only need to go once every other week when I buy frozen veggies.
I grocery shop at least once per week, but mostly because I buy the majority of my produce fresh.
You are so smart! This looks delicious as does all of your eats! 🙂
Aww, thanks!! I appreciate it :).
I love anything that has lentils in it, and adding the spicy kick sounds great! Thanks for sharing!
I love everything with lentils, too!! We must be smart people ;).
This casserole sounds delicious and super healthy! I agree, it would pair perfectly with a cold beer! 😉
I am glad that we are on the same track as far as the beverage goes ;).
Haha I feel ya on not wanting to waste food!
It is the worst feeling. I always feel so guilty when I throw something away :(.
Lentils….yes!!! Love it. I’m the same way – HATE wasting food! Makes me sick!
Lentils are simply the best :).
You always have some creative recipes..who says vegan meals have to be boring??
Thank you! And yes, vegans eat some DARN GOOD food!!
I think it looks lovely and tasty! I’m a big fan of BBQ sauce and lentils so this is a great meal in my eyes. I just don’t make lentils enough. I’v never thought to mix lentils and BBQ sauce before – genuis.
The BBQ sauce and lentils is a great combo! Heck, BBQ sauce is pretty much good with everything, right? 😉
Yum! This looks great! Love buffalo flavor and also love lentils!
If you love buffalo flavor then you will likely enjoy this! Let me know if you try it!