South America → Ecuador → Pichincha (Andes)
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Menestra de Lentejas (Ecuadorian Lentil Stew)
Lentils simmered thick in a refrito of onion, pepper, tomato, garlic, cumin and achiote, the menestra that sits beside rice, grilled beef and patacones on Ecuador's everyday lunch plate.
Ecuadorian · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 45 min
~333 cal · 20g protein · 51g carbs · 5g fat · 10g fiber · 4g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Menestra is the thick stew of lentils or beans that shares the plate with white rice, a thin grilled steak and fried in one of Ecuador's most common lunches, arroz con menestra y carne asada. It is especially loved in Guayaquil and on the coast, sold in homes, restaurants and street stalls, but it is eaten all over the country.
It starts with a refrito, the Ecuadorian base of onion, bell pepper, tomato and garlic softened in oil and coloured with cumin and . The lentils cook in it with water until they are tender and the stew is thick enough to hold its shape next to the rice. Cilantro goes in at the end.
Lentils are the most common choice, but menestra is also made with beans, and some cooks add a little pork for richness. This version is the plain lentil one.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp () powder
- 4 tbsp cilantro, chopped, divided
- 450 g (1 lb) brown or green lentils, rinsed
- about 6 cups (1.5 l) water
- to taste salt
Instructions
- 1Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, cumin, achiote, a pinch of salt and half the cilantro, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until soft. This is the refrito.
- 2Add the water and bring to the boil, then add the lentils.
- 3Lower the heat, partly cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils are soft and the stew is thick. Add a little more water if it dries out before the lentils are tender.✎ Chef’s noteMenestra should be thick enough to sit on the plate beside the rice, not run into it. Mash a few lentils against the side of the pot to help it thicken.
- 4Season with salt, stir in the rest of the cilantro and serve with white rice, grilled meat and fried plantain.
Ecuadorian home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Pichincha (Andes). The Quito plate is assembled rather than served. Hornado, a pig roasted whole in a wood oven, is pulled apart and set out with llapingachos, potato cakes griddled with cheese inside, plus mote hominy, toasted maize and a sauce made from tree tomato and aji. Sangolqui, just outside the city, runs a market of competing hornado stalls.
🗺️
Ecuador. The Andes eat what the coast does not. Locro de papa is a potato soup finished with cheese and avocado; mote, hulled hominy corn, turns up beside almost everything in the southern highlands; and the aji sauce on the table is thinner and sharper than a Mexican salsa, usually built on tree tomato or the small yellow rocoto family.
🌍
South America. The Andes are the potato's homeland and still hold something like four thousand native varieties, selected over thousands of years for altitude, colour and texture. The high plateau also worked out how to keep them: frozen overnight in the cold, trodden to press the water out, then dried in the sun into chuno, which stores for years.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Ecuador
LlapingachosGolden potato patties with melting cheese centers, griddled and served with peanut sauce and pickled onions.
Bolón de VerdeA ball of mashed green plantain stuffed with cheese, pan-crisped golden, the filling coastal breakfast of Ecuador.
EncebolladoA brothy tuna-and-cassava soup topped with a tangle of pickled red onion, Ecuador's midday cure-all.
Browse all Ecuador recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it an Ecuador meal
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Menestra de Lentejas (Ecuadorian Lentil Stew)?
Lentils simmered thick in a refrito of onion, pepper, tomato, garlic, cumin and achiote, the menestra that sits beside rice, grilled beef and patacones on Ecuador's everyday lunch plate.
Where does Menestra de Lentejas (Ecuadorian Lentil Stew) come from?
Menestra de Lentejas (Ecuadorian Lentil Stew) is an Ecuadorian dish from Pichincha (Andes), Ecuador.
Can Menestra de Lentejas (Ecuadorian Lentil Stew) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Menestra de Lentejas (Ecuadorian Lentil Stew) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Menestra de Lentejas (Ecuadorian Lentil Stew) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Menestra de Lentejas (Ecuadorian Lentil Stew) take to make?
About 60 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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