When was the last time you packed lunch for your kids? For me, the date was March 15, 2020. Then, last week, when my 13 year old started back to school in-person/hybrid, I went back to packing lunch. I’ve grown used to making lunch at lunch time, or simply setting out items for my kids (ages 13 and 17) to reheat or leaving them to scrounge around the kitchen to put together lunch on their own. It’s going to take awhile to get used to post-pandemic schedules. On my daughter’s second day back to school, I realized a few minutes before she needed to leave that I’d forgotten to pack her lunch! Because I happened to have a batch of my 15 Minute Lentil Ragout and rice on hand, I was able to reheat it and fill a thermos in just a few minutes!

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for simple, new lunch ideas. I thought I’d share the recipe with you, since one of my go-to lunch items is lentils and rice and having a batch on hand saved me last week.

This quick and easy Lentil Ragout has a hint of summery tarragon and a splash of Champagne vinegar to add brightness to the dish. It tastes great over rice or farro. Sometimes, I top it with grated cheese or toasted pecans or a poached egg. The ragout also makes a great side dish for my Mustard Roasted Salmon.

You can see here just how easy it is to make my 15 Minute Lentil Ragout! Don’t want to chop the onion, celery, carrot and garlic? You can buy them pre-chopped at most grocery stores.

Do you feel stressed about packing lunches? Try our simple lunch packing formula:

Would you like more tips to de-stress your lunch packing routine? You can purchase our E-book: Your Ultimate Stress-Free Guide to Packing Lunches here.

If you love lentils, you’ll love my Lentil Salad recipe that also uses the Trader Joe’s steamed lentils.

What’s your favorite lentil recipe?

15-Minute Lentil Ragout

This tarragon and Champagne vinegar infused lentil ragout takes only 15 minutes to make. It tastes great paired with rice or farro and it makes a great Thermos lunch.

Author: Elizabeth Davenport

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 celery stick, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon Red Diamond Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

1 container of Trader Joe’s steamed lentils

1 1/2 cups water or vegetable or chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon (or a splash) of Champagne vinegar

Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Peel and dice the carrots, onion and garlic. Dice the celery.
Add olive oil to a medium sauce pan. Add the chopped veggies and turn the heat on to medium.
Add 1 teaspoon Red Diamond Kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon.
Stir the ingredients together and sauté for 5-10 minutes or until the veggies begin to soften just a bit.
Add the package of Trader Joe’s steamed lentils to the pan. Break them apart with a spoon.
Add freshly ground pepper.
Add 1 1/2 cups water, turn the heat up to medium high and bring to a low boil. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of Champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar).
Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

Serve over cooked rice or farro. The lentils are also great topped with grated cheese or your favorite toasted nuts or a poached egg.