One Pot Mujadara (Middle Eastern spiced lentils and rice with caramelized onions)

Square cropped overhead photo of Mujadara (lentils, rice, and caramelized onions) on a blue plate garnished with parsley.

5 from 2 votes

One Pot Mujadara (Middle Eastern spiced lentils and rice with caramelized onions)

Mujadara is a common Middle Eastern food featuring warmly spiced lentils and rice as the base, in which deeply caramelized onions are the star of the show. Here we do everything in one pot for a fuss-free, absurdly delicious, inexpensive, and healthy meal that just so happens to also be 100% plant-based. Don't be put off by the longish cooking time; this recipe is quite hands-off with hardly any prep.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Servings: servings

Calories: 351kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

Ingredients

1 cup dry green, brown, or pardina lentils
salt
4 large yellow onions halved and thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
¼ cup olive oil or ghee or other oil of choice
3 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup brown basmati rice rinsed well, see notes for using white
3 ½ cups low sodium vegetable broth plus more if needed, or water, see notes
chopped fresh parsley, lemon wedges, and Aleppo pepper for serving, optional

Instructions

In a medium bowl or container, soak the 1 cup dry green, brown, or pardina lentils in warm water with 1 teaspoon salt. (I like to do this in my 4-cup glass measuring cup - I just microwave about 3 cups of water until it's warm then stir in the lentils and salt.)
While the lentils are soaking, caramelize the onions. In a large heavy pot with a lid, heat the ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced 4 large yellow onions and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have developed a deep dark golden color, about 40 minutes (depending on how much time you have to devote to this). If onions seem to be cooking too quickly, especially toward the end, turn the heat down a bit and stir more frequently.
Remove half of the onions to a paper towel lined plate. Save these for later.
To the onions in the pot, add the minced 3 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Stir to coat the remaining onions in the spices and continue sautéing over medium heat until it's fragrant and the spices have toasted a bit.
Add the rinsed 1 cup brown basmati rice and stir to coat in the oil and spices, continuing to sauté for 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse the lentils well, then add them to the pot, along with 3 ½ cups low sodium vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 40 minutes, or until rice and lentils are fully cooked. If it seems dry but the rice and lentils are not fully cooked, add a little more vegetable broth or water. Remove from heat and fluff up a bit.
Taste and adjust seasoning as needed - it may need a bit of salt, depending on how salty the vegetable broth is. To serve, top with the reserved caramelized onions. Serve with chopped fresh parsley, lemon wedges, and Aleppo pepper to top each serving, if desired.

Notes

Soaking the lentils not only decreases cooking time so it will cook in the same amount of time as the rice, but it also aids in digestion. Don't skip it!
Type of lentils to use: Basically any kind of lentil will work here EXCEPT red lentils. They're too small and will fall apart and lose their shape. Aim for the whole, larger shape varieties, like Puy, brown, or green lentils (or a mix!). Black lentils cook faster than other varieties, so if you use those, you can skip soaking (or do a very brief soak) or use white rice instead of brown, which cooks faster.
To rinse the rice, place it in a mesh sieve and run cool water over it until the water coming out is very clear. This usually takes a full minute or so. Give it a tap to shake off excess water and then proceed with the recipe.
If you want to use white basmati rice, keep in mind it takes about half the time as brown. You can add the lentils in the pot, then after 20 minutes of cooking, add the white rice, stir in, cover, and continue to cook for another 20 minutes, until both lentils and rice are done, or pair with soaked black lentils which take less time to cook.
If using water instead of vegetable broth, I recommend increasing the amount of spices you use, and adding ½ - 1 teaspoons of salt in with the water, so the lentils and rice are properly seasoned while they cook.
Leftovers: this is one of those meals that tastes even better as it sits, so be sure to store those leftovers for lunch! Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.

Nutrition