These scrumptious lentil recipes make the budget-friendly pantry staple into satisfying protein-packed meals, from comforting soups to inventive plant-based dinners!
Once I first began consuming plant-based meals years in the past, I turned my consideration to the standard lentil. They’re stuffed with plant-based protein, excessive in diet, and tremendous inexpensive: however might they really be scrumptious, too?
After months of experimenting in my kitchen, I found that lentils aren’t simply low-cost: they’re truly extremely scrumptious when you understand how to arrange them proper! Now, a few of my very favourite go-to meals are constructed on lentils: from tasty lentil tacos to my household’s favourite lentil soup. Here’s a listing of my prime lentil recipes that I make again and again!
High 20 Lentil Recipes
Right here's my very favourite lentil recipe: this 7 ingredient lentil soup! It's simple, plant-based, good for meal prep, and terribly scrumptious. Should you’re on the lookout for simple, wholesome budget-friendly meals. this can be a sport changer.
This scrumptious crimson lentil curry is full of taste and plant primarily based protein, topped with a glowing cilantro chutney that makes it shine! Serve with rice as a hearty vegan dinner.
One other of my favourite lentil recipes, this lentil salad pops with tangy and savory notes, pairing tender lentils with a zippy white wine vinegar Dijon dressing, crunchy cucumber, recent tomatoes, and salty feta. It stays flavorful within the fridge for days, making leftovers even higher.
Lentils make an excellent stand-in for taco meat, making a scrumptious vegetarian dinner recipe that even carnivores take pleasure in! The lentils are meaty and savory, and topped crunchy recent veggies and salsa.
This lentil shepherd’s pie is cozy consolation meals to the max! Think about: a creamy gravy full of tender greens, lentils and scented with fennel and sage. Then a fluffy layer of Yukon gold potatoes, topped with recent rosemary. It’s layered collectively in a baking dish after which baked till golden.
Masoor dal is Indian for “crimson lentils,” and this genuine Indian lentil recipe shared by Chef Asma Khan from the Asma’s Indian Kitchen cook dinner e book is equal elements flavorful and comfy. Serve with naan or chapati for dipping.
The feel of crimson lentils breaks down quicker than most different lentils, making them good for fast soups or dal. This easy crimson lentil soup is deliciously hearty, that includes fragrant greens, lemon and a touch of smoked paprika.
These vegan lentil sloppy joes are deliciously filling plant-based dinner made with lentils, tomatoes, and seasonings! Serve on a bun with pickles for the true sloppy joe expertise.
This 30-minute coconut lentil curry is one in every of my hottest lentil recipes thus far. It’s a quick and simple dinner concept that’s wholesome and stuffed with taste. One reader stated, “Completely LOVED IT! Positively am making once more.”
This vegan lentil loaf recipe is a deliciously satisfying meatloaf with out the meat! It’s made with lentils, nuts, and seasonings, then brushed with a tangy glaze.
This candy potato lentil soup is a creamy, budget-friendly vegan dinner made with healthful substances and fragrant spices. Good for meal prep and full of plant-based protein and fiber!
These loaded lentil nachos are they’re piled excessive with smoky, meaty lentils, crunchy veggies, and topped with our vegan nacho cheese. As the bottom, search for natural corn chips with minimal substances (ideally corn, oil, and salt).
This lentil recipe showcases the flexibility of this plant-based protein to its fullest! The candy potatoes are baked complete, till flaky and tender, then topped with lentils combined with Moroccan flavors: cumin seeds, cinnamon paprika and harissa. They're drizzled with a creamy tahini sauce that brings all of it collectively.
This curry lentil soup is ideal for anytime! It’s stuffed with hearty crimson lentils and root greens, and the broth is swirled with crimson curry paste and coconut milk. With all the feel and taste parts, it tastes wealthy and opulent.
This Ethiopian crimson lentil curry known as mesir wat is a scrumptious dish just like Indian curry, however is flavored with cardamom and ginger. This recipe was offered to us by an Ethiopian immigrant: it's full-flavored and very satisfying served over rice for a hearty meal.
Dal interprets to “lentils” in Hindi and Makhani interprets to “buttery”, so this dish actually means “buttery lentils”. It’s a conventional Indian dish made with black lentils, beans, butter and cream. This recipe makes use of canned beans and black lentils to shorten the cook dinner time for this flavorful vegetarian meal. It’s tremendous savory, that includes garlic, ginger, and garam masala.
This distinctive recipe makes use of black lentils for a deliciously hearty important dish! The fluffy roasted candy potatoes are full of savory lentils, recent herbs, and tangy goat cheese.
This hearty butternut squash lentil soup comes collectively in about an hour and is ideal for serving on colder winter days. It’s full of nutrient-rich meals like lentils, butternut squash, leeks, and chard: and a splash of white wine for some class.
Right here’s a lentil recipe that makes a customizable lunch or dinner: a Brown Lentil Bowl! This recipe leads to completely seasoned, tender lentils. You may eat them as-is, or add them as a element to tacos, salads, and extra.
This cozy Italian lentil artichoke stew is so tasty, you’ll instantly need seconds! It’s simple, hearty, and stuffed with daring taste — a household favourite everybody requests for winter dinners.
Understanding Totally different Kinds of Lentils
Right here’s a fast primer on lentil varieties! This legume is a cost-effective and scrumptious superfood (listed here are some advantages of lentils per the Nationwide Institutes of Well being). Realizing which lentil to make use of makes a giant distinction in your cooking. Right here’s what I’ve discovered:
- Brown and inexperienced lentils: Brown and inexperienced lentils are essentially the most “normal” varieties whenever you consider lentils. They cook dinner rapidly (in 20 to half-hour), and have a tendency to disintegrate when cooked as a substitute of maintain their form. This makes them splendid for soups and curries.
- Pink lentils: Pink lentils are vivid orange in shade and mostly present in Indian curry dishes like daal. They take about 20 minutes to cook dinner and break down rapidly right into a uniform texture.
- French lentils (additionally known as Puy lentils): French lentils maintain their form when cooked, making them totally different from brown, inexperienced and crimson lentils. These small and greenish-gray lentils are nice for salads or stuffing into greens like candy potatoes.
- Black lentils (Beluga lentils): Black lentils are extraordinarily flavorful. They’re very small and darkish, like a mix of French lentils and brown lentils. They’ll maintain their form when cooked which works for salads, however when cooked longer they disintegrate like in curries and soups.
Extra Methods to Get pleasure from Legumes
Lentils are only one kind of legume in a household that features beans, peas, chickpeas, and extra. Legumes are stuffed with protein and fiber, which makes them a terrific wholesome alternative for meals.
Should you’re having fun with these lentil recipes, you may also love my chickpea curry, basic bean soup, black beans and rice, or 3 bean chili. Every kind of legume brings its personal distinctive taste and texture to the desk, together with the protein and fiber to make deliciously wholesome dinners.
Continuously Requested Questions
No, and that’s the most effective issues about them! In contrast to dried beans, lentils can go straight from the pantry to the pot. Simply rinse them first to take away any particles.
Cooked lentils keep recent within the fridge for as much as one week in an hermetic container. You may as well freeze them for as much as three months.
Sure, lentils are naturally gluten-free, making them a wonderful protein supply for anybody avoiding gluten.
Generally, however not all the time. Pink lentils break down rapidly and turn into creamy, whereas French lentils maintain their form. For greatest outcomes, use the sort specified within the recipe, particularly for salads or dishes the place texture issues.
One cup of cooked lentils incorporates about 18 grams of protein, making them the most effective plant-based protein sources out there. They’re additionally excessive in fiber and iron.
