How To Cook Lentils 23 Easy Lentil Recipes

This cooking method is excellent for using lentils as a side dish, in salads, spreads, stuffings, and centerpiece meals. For other lentil recipes, such as soups, curries, and stews, see the chapter “Recipes with Lentils“. Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet. Lentils have no cholesterol and traces of saturated fat.Don’t have time to read the full blog post? JUMP TO RECIPE HERE!

What are lentils?

How to cook lentils video

How to cook lentils?

1. Rinse

Types of lentils

Split red lentils

Recipes with lentils

Lentil soups

Lentil curries & stews

Other lentil recipes

Questions

Storage & Make Ahead

They are a healthy, affordable, easy-to-cook, and excellent source of fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, folate, iron, potassium, and magnesium. Humans have enjoyed cooking them in the most creative ways for over seventy thousand years. They are a staple in traditional Mediterranean diets and Indian cuisine, where they are called “dal.” Some of our readers’ favorite lentil recipes are traditional ones, like our Moroccan lentil soup, Indian lentil curry, Italian lentil soup, and Turkish lentil soup. But lentils go beyond soups and curries. You can use them for a delicious lentil salad with crunchy vegetables or to make Levantine mujadara, an aromatic dish of rice and lentils. Try them as fillings instead of meat in many vegetarian recipes, such as stuffed zucchini, lentil loaf, or mushroom Wellington. You can make a delicious bolognese pasta sauce or blend them into creamy lentil hummus. Whole dry lentils cook in about 15 to 30 minutes, and split lentils cook in 5 to 10 minutes. All are perfect for weeknight dinners and everyday meals. They are also excellent for meal prep as they keep well for days. And now, let’s learn how to cook lentils perfectly every time.

2. Simmer

Add the lentils to a pot with plenty of water or vegetable broth. The ratio is 1 cup of lentils for 4 cups of water. Optionally, add two bay leaves to infuse the lentils with a beautiful, earthy aroma. Tip: Ensure your pot is large enough, as the lentils will almost triple in volume. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, then crack the top open, lower the heat, and simmer until the lentils are tender. Add salt halfway through cooking. Taste them and adjust the cooking time accordingly.

3. Drain

Drain in a fine mash sift before adding them to salads, using them in other recipes, or storing them for meal prep.

Green and brown lentils: 15 to 40 minutes. French lentils or Lentils de Puy: 20 to 40 minutes. Black lentils: 20 to 45 minutes. Whole red lentils: 15 to 40 minutes. Split red and yellow lentils: 5 to 15 minutes.

They cook in about 15 to 30 minutes and are excellent for most preparations, including salads, sauces, soups, spreads, stews, and fillings.

Black lentils

Black or beluga lentils are small, round lentils that resemble Beluga caviar. They have a rich, earthy flavor and a firm texture. They are excellent for salads, soups, spreads, and stews. Substitute green, brown, and French lentils for beluga lentils. Here’s our guide on how to cook black lentils.

Whole red lentils

Whole red lentils (do not confuse them with split red lentils below) are essentially the same as green and brown lentils but have reddish skin and a mild earthy flavor. They cook in about 20 to 30 minutes and are excellent for salads, soups, spreads, and stews. Substitute green, brown, or black lentils for whole red. Since they are thinner and have no skin, they cook in about 5 to 15 minutes. As they cook, they lose shape and texture, becoming almost porridge-like. They are excellent for soups and curries, but they are not good for salads. Substitute split yellow lentils for split red. Here’s our guide on how to cook red lentils.

Split yellow lentils

Like split red lentils, they cook in about 10 minutes and are excellent for soups and dals. However, they won’t hold their shape once cooked, making them less suitable for salads. Substitute split red lentils for yellow. Don’t confuse them with tor dal (pigeon peas) or moong dal (split mung beans).

French lentils

French green lentils, also known as Lentils de Puy grow specifically in the Puy region of France. They are slightly smaller than generic green lentils with a slightly firmer texture and hold their shape well. They have a marbled dark green color and a slight peppery flavor. Substitute green, brown, or black lentils for French green lentils.

Castelluccio Lentils

Castelluccio lentils, or Lenticchie di Castelluccio in Italian, are small brownish-greenish lentils with thin skin grown in a protected mountain area in Italy. They are hard to come across outside of Italy, but if you ever travel to this small village in central Italy, grab a bag.

Salads with lentils

Lentil Salad

Lentil Sweet Potato Salad

Lentil Tabbouleh

Cauliflower Lentil Salad

Moroccan Lentil Soup

Lentil Vegetable Soup

Harira Soup

Turkish Lentil Soup

Lentil Curry

Curry Lentil Soup

Lentil Pasta

Lentil Chili

Lentil Loaf

Mujadara (Lentils and Rice)

Lentil Bolognese

Zucchini Boats

Refrigerator: Store cooked lentils in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freezer: Freeze lentils in a freezer-friendly bag or container for up to 3 months. Let them cool down completely before freezing. Thaw & Reheat: Rinse frozen lentils under running water to defrost. Warm them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, or boil them in a saucepan with hot water for a minute.