These vegan bread dumplings with spinach and lentils are the ultimate comfort food! They make a great spring recipe!
I automatically connect bread dumplings with happy childhood memories. Whenever my grandma asked what I’d like to eat when I stayed at my grandparent’s house, I chose bread dumplings with mushroom gravy, a typical German comfort food. They have always been vegetarian, but my grandma uses eggs to bind the ingredients together. It’s, however, not really necessary and Flo and I had some delicious vegan spinach-bread dumplings with lentils the other day.
When I changed my diet almost three years ago and started cooking exclusively vegan dishes, I was a bit sad that I could not eat my grandma’s dumplings anymore. I know this sounds a bit melodramatic and it’s just food, but it’s somehow special to me. It’s so great that there are tons of vegan options to substitute eggs or dairy products. At our last family get-together, the cake I brought was gone super fast and I was extremely glad (and also a bit proud of myself ;-)) that everybody liked it so much.
How To Make Vegan Bread Dumplings
For the vegan spinach-bread dumplings with lentils, you need about four buns. I know it’s a bit weird that they are called bread dumplings, although they are actually made of buns, but maybe people thought bread dumpling instead of bun dumpling just sounds better. ;-) Who knows! Cut the buns into small pieces and soak them in unsweetened plant milk. I used oat milk, but almond or soy milk is fine as well. Just make sure the milk you use is not sweetened. Then, stir in some sautéed spinach and onions. Season with salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and parsley and form about six small balls. They are cooked in boiling water and take about ten minutes. We ate them together with red lentil Bolognese, but they are also great with marinara sauce or mushroom gravy.
Vegan Spinach-Bread Dumplings with Lentils
Ingredients
Spinach-Bread Buns
- 4 buns
- 5 oz plant milk I used oat milk, but soy or almond is fine as well
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons soy flour
- 1 tablespoon parsley,finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
Red Lentil Bolognese
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 glove garlic, minced
- 1 celery, finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup red lentils
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14,5 oz)
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Cut the buns into small pieces. In a bowl, combine them with oat milk, nutritional yeast, soy flour, chopped parsley, and salt and knead together.
- Wash the spinach. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions for about 3 minutes. Then add the spinach together with the water and cover with a lid. Wait until the spinach wilts and season with a pinch of nutmeg and pepper.
- Stir the spinach in the dumpling dough and form about 6 small balls. Cook in salted water for about 10 minutes (on very low heat).
- Make the lentil Bolognese: In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion for about 3 minutes. Then add the carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the lentils and the tomate paste and sauté for another 2 minutes. Deglaze with red wine and allow the wine to reduce.
- Add the diced tomatoes and the vegetable broth and cook the sauce for about 20 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Serve together with the vegan spinach-bread dumplings and a green side salad.
Something I’ve never tried, but I think I would love these little savory dumplings! And “bun dumpling”…hahahah :)
They’re pretty common here in Germany and they’re are also great with mushroom gravy. When my Canadian exchange partner came to Germany for the first time, she really fell in love with them. Can’t blame here, they’re just so delicious! :-) I’m sure you’d love them, Natalie! :-)
What a great, family-friendly meal! I bet even my omni hubby would love this. :)
Thanks, Ricki! So glad you like it! :-)