In this blog post, you’ll learn how to cook lentils in a pot with water on the stovetop.
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“.
Table of Contents
Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet. Lentils have no cholesterol and traces of saturated fat.
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What are lentils?
Lentils are pulses, or the seeds of a legume plant, and belong to the Fabacea family, along with chickpeas, beans, soy, and peanuts.
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.
You’ll love their versatility and that, unlike other legumes, they don’t require soaking.
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.
Did you know?
Lentils are good for our soil (they are nitrogen fixers, helping reduce the use of polluting nitrogen fertilizers), for the environment (they help reduce CO2 emissions), and most importantly, they are good for our health (they protect us against heart disease, diabetes, and more).
How to cook lentils video
How to cook lentils?
1. Rinse
Rinse lentils in a fine mash sieve to remove dirt and debris. Ensure no stones are hiding between the lentils.
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.
LENTILS COOKING TIME
- 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.
3. Drain
Drain in a fine mash sift before adding them to salads, using them in other recipes, or storing them for meal prep.
Types of lentils
Green and brown lentils
The most common lentil varieties are green and brown lentils.
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.
Split red lentils
Split red lentils are red lentils that have been hulled and split in half.
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.
Recipes with lentils
Now that you know how to cook lentils perfectly, let’s look at some easy and delicious recipes.
Salads with lentils
Lentil soups
- Lentil vegetable soup
- Lentil soup
- Turkish lentil soup
- Harira soup
- Moroccan lentil soup
- Red lentil soup
Lentil curries & stews
Other lentil recipes
Questions
Lentils are gluten-free.
Different lentil varieties and even different harvests of the same variety have slightly different cooking times. The best way to know if they are cooked is to taste them. They should be tender but not mushy.
Soaking lentils is not necessary.
Antinutrients in lentils and other legumes should not be a concern because cooking the lentils in plenty of water and then discarding the water brings about the removal of the antinutrients.
You can cook lentils in an instant pot or another pressure cooker. However, this is often not worth the effort as lentils cook quickly on the stovetop.
Also, since different lentils have different cooking times, it is very difficult to know when they are ready in the instant pot, and there is a high probability that they’ll either turn out mushy and overcooked or undercooked.
For this reason, we recommend cooking lentils on the stovetop. It’s fast, easy, and fuss-free, and you can taste the lentils easily to adjust your cooking time.
Storage & Make Ahead
Make ahead: All lentils are excellent for meal prep as they refrigerate and freeze well.
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.
More cooking basics
How to Cook Lentils
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry lentils green, brown, black, or French lentils
- 4 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 bay leaves optional
Instructions
- Rinse 1 cup dry lentils in a fine mash sieve to remove dirt and debris. Ensure no stones are hiding between the lentils.
- Add lentils to a medium-sized pot with 4 cups water.Optionally, add 2 bay leaves leaves.
- Simmer for 15 to 30 minutes or until tender but not mushy.Add 1 teaspoon salt halfway through cooking. Taste them and adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Drain in a fine mash sift before adding them to salads, using them in other recipes, or storing them for meal prep.
MAKE IT A MEAL
- You can use lentils for salads, soups, stews, curries, as stuffing, and more. We curated a list of easy and delicious lentil recipes for you. Find it in the "Recipes with lentils" chapter linked in the notes below.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Hello from, Montreal Canada!
When I saw lentils I jumped! As a kid growing up in an Italian family we had lots of lentil dishes, however, I ate more meat dishes over the years. After years living and working in Africa where meat was expensive we gorged ourselves on beef etc when we returned.
Along came Covid. Everyone was complaining about the high cost of meat so we returned to beans lentils etc. our food bills are low now. We have salmon twice a week and loads of vegetable salads now. Fresh coriander etc makes our dishes sing! Foods from Zanzibar have also inspired us.
In short your blog hits the spot!
Thank you both So much
All the best
Christine Brusseau -Curtis
Hi Christine,
We’re so happy you were intrigued by the lentil recipe, and so wonderful to hear your story with legumes and vegetables 🎉
Thank you for your kind words, and for your support. It means a lot to us that you are here, it’s our pleasure!
All the best,
Nico & Louise
I just wanted to suggest a recipe to add to this list : Adas Polo/Adas Pulaw/etc. It’s a Persian dish similar to mujadarra in that it’s made with rice and lentils as the main ingredients, but it includes dried fruit and a more multi layered spice mixture. (I occasionally use quinoa instead of the rice.) It’s amazing!