These 25 Healthy Lentil Recipes will not only leave you feeling satisfied but will WOW your taste buds, as well! Many of you have been asking for more recipes featuring plant-based protein, and Lentils happen to be one of my personal favorites. To me, they are comfort food.
Put away any old ideas of lentils being somber and bland- they truly are how you treat them. Here are some of our most popular, highly-rated, globally-inspired Lentil Recipes to put on your meal plan this week. Most of these are meatless with along with many vegan options as well! Let me know your favorites in the comments below! New to cooking Lentils? Jump to the recipe for the basic recipe!
Rich and robust, this plant-based Lentil Bolognese is hearty, “meaty” and full of depth of flavor. Toss it with your favorite pasta, or spoon it over creamy polenta- either way, this simple nourishing vegan meal is one the whole family will enjoy.
INSTANT POT MULLIGATAWNY SOUP
Instant Pot Mulligatawny Soup is so creamy and richly satisfying with bright and spicy flavors. This vegan adaptable version is delicious as is or can easily be built upon by adding chicken, or more veggies and basmati rice. An easy and fast weeknight meal!
LENTIL DAL!
Lentil Dal is one of the most delicious, plant-based Indian meals! This version, I like to call Emerald Dal, is packed with Spinach making it especially high in nutrients and flavor! Rich, fragrant, and packed with protein, think of this Lentil Dal – like Saag Paneer, but substituting lentils instead of the Cheese! A super tasty, healthy lentil recipe that is vegan-adaptable!
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks w/ Black Caviar Lentils
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Romesco Sauce over a bed of simply seasoned black caviar lentils. A simple, easy vegan dinner made on a sheet pan!
CELERY LENTIL SALAD WITH DATES!
Celery Salad with lentils, dates and almonds – a delicious, make-ahead lentil salad recipe that keeps for several days in the fridge. Keep it vegan or add shaved pecorino!
SIMPLE BRAISED GREEN LENTILS
This recipe for Simple Braised French Lentils is nourishing and comforting and a delicious healthy side dish that pairs well with so many things! Leftovers can be frozen, or turned into a salad!
MOROCCAN RED LENTIL QUINOA SOUP
This Moroccan Red Lentil Quinoa Soup is made with simple, humble ingredients, yet is packed full of delicious flavor! Make this in an Instant Pot or stovetop.
INDIAN SHEPHERDS PIE!
Indian-Spiced Shepherd’s Pie with lentils, veggies and fragrant Garam Masala, topped with curry mashed potatoes. Truly one of the BEST lentil recipes on the blog!
LENTIL TABOULI SALAD
This Lentil Tabouli Salad is infused with Middle Eastern flavors and can be made ahead. Filling lentils are paired with summer tomatoes, lemon, mint and parsley and a unique combination of spices, and keeps for several days, perfect for midweek lunches or potlucks! Vegan and Gluten-Free
BERBERE CHICKEN AND ETHIOPIAN LENTILS
Berbere Chicken and Ethiopean Lentils – a flavorful, comforting Ethiopian meal that features Berbere Spice, this delicious lentil recipe is easily one of our favorites!
MOROCCAN LENTIL SALAD
A delicious Lentil Salad infused with Moroccan Spices, this healthy vegan lentil salad can be made ahead and keeps for 4 days, perfect for healthy midweek lunches!
INDIAN LENTIL MEATBALLS (VEGAN!)
Vegan Indian Lentil Meatballs with Curry Sauce– a delicious healthy meal infused with fragrant Indian spices. Vegan and Gluten-Free!
SPRINGY LENTIL SALAD WITH MINT AND YOGURT
Springy Lentil Salad with Spring Veggies, Mint and Yogurt Sauce -a delicious, healthy, Greek-inspired lentil salad recipe! Vegan adaptable and Gluten-Free!
MUJADARA!
Instant Pot Mujadara – a comforting, healthy vegetarian meal of lentils and rice, with fragrant Moroccan spices, served with caramelized shallots, fresh veggies, pine nuts and optional yogurt. Gluten-free and Vegan adaptable.
LENTIL CAKES WITH ZHOUG YOGURT
These vegan Lentil Cakes are made with walnuts and mushrooms and topped with flavorful Zhoug yogurt. Healthy and flavorful this lentil recipe is hearty and full of flavor.
LENTILS WITH BLISTERED TOMATOES & KALE
Lentils with Blistered Tomatoes and Kale– a simple vegetarian lentil recipe seasoned with Middle Eastern spices & topped with feta. Healthy, tasty!
MIDDLE EASTERN LENTIL SOUP (Instant Pot)
This Middle Eastern Style Lentil Soup can be made in an Instant Pot or on the stovetop. It’s vegan, gluten-free and infused with Middle Eastern Spices!
VEGAN LENTIL BOWLS WITH TAHINI SAUCE
Vegan Lentil Bowls with Tahini Dressing loaded up with seasonal veggies, greens, sprouts, almonds, avocado, fresh mint, and the best tahini sauce! Vegan and GF
SPROUTED LENTIL BURGERS
Sprouted Lentil Burgers– these healthy guys are GRILLABLE, vegan and gluten-free adaptable. Here they are topped with pickled beets. A healthy delicious recipe, great for meal prep!
LENTIL POMEGRANATE SALAD (aka Palouse Caviar)
Lentil Pomegranate Salad (aka Palouse Caviar) A take on Texas Caviar, this Vegan Lentil Dip (or Salad) aka Palouse Caviar is made black caviar lentils, pomegranate, avocado, lime. Served it with corn chips for a festive healthy, vegan GF appetizer or over greens for a hearty vegan salad!
WARM LENTILS WITH BEETS AND WILTED CHARD
Warm Lentils with wilted chard, roasted beets, goat cheese, and spring herbs. A simple tasty vegetarian meal!
LENTIL WALNUT & APPLE SALAD
Lentil Salad with apples, walnuts, celery root and a delicious, toasted Cumin Seed Dressing. This healthy vegan salad can be made ahead for midweek lunches or potlucks and gatherings.
SPICY LENTIL TAHINI WRAP
Spicy Tahini Lentil Wrap with avocado, carrots, cabbage, and the tastiest Sriracha Tahini Sauce. Vegan and Delicious!
COCONUT LENTIL CURRY
This Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry can be made in an Instant Pot or on the stovetop. Infused with fragrant Indian spices, this recipe is not only delicious, it is is vegan and gluten-free!
BEET BRAISED LENTILS
Simple delicious, Braised Lentils with Beets – a healthy vegan stew or soup, topped with optional goat cheese, that can be served on its own, or as a side dish to fish, chicken or meat. Vegan adaptable and Gluten-free!
SEARED AHI WITH MOROCCAN LENTILS
Seared Ahi with Moroccan Lentils – Cumin & Fennel crusted Ahi is served over Moroccan Lentils with roasted baby carrots, fresh herbs and yogurt drizzle. Spectacular flavors!
HEALING BEET AND LENTIL SOUP
Healing Lentil Beet Soup -a simple healing vegan soup, packed full of antioxidants that aid the liver in healing our bodies. Vegan and GF.
COMFORTING RED LENTIL DAL
Soulful, Comforting Red Lentil Dal with Sweet Potatoes and a flavorful “tempering oil”. A quick 30-minute meal that is simple to make and full of fragrant Indian spices.
10 Health Benefits of Lentils:
- High in protein – 18 grams protein per cup (cooked)
- Rich in Polyphenols-READ THIS!
- High in Fiber – 16 grams fiber per cup (cooked)
- High in Iron
- High in Magnesium
- High in Folate
- Stabilizes blood sugar, helps prevent Diabetes
- Energizing
- Low in fat
- Lowers cholesterol, heart-healthy.
How to cook Lentils
- Learn the easiest way to cook lentils- simply simmer in salted water, adding aromatics if you like. See Recipe below.
- One cup dry lentils = 2 ½ cups cooked lentils.
- Lentil cooking time varies, depending on size.
- Cooked Lentils will keep 4 days in the fridge, or can be frozen for later use.
How to Cook Lentils
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: lentils, lentil recipes
- Method: stovetop, instant pot
- Cuisine: global
- Diet: Vegan
Description
- 1 cup lentils
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils (see notes), rinsed
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt
- Optional aromatics: few whole garlic cloves, quartered shallot or half onion, couple sprigs of herbs ( rosemary, thyme, sage) bay leaves.
Instructions
- Place lentils, water and salt in a medium pot over high heat.
- Add any optional aromatics, and bring to a boil.
- Cover, lower heat and simmer gently until cooked through. The goal here is to get them tender, yet still hold their shape.
- Drain and use in other recipes.
- Cooked lentils will keep up to 4 days in the fridge, or can be frozen!
- Split lentils cook the fastest- check at 15 minutes! Small lentils take roughly 20 minutes, large brown lentils roughly 30-35 minutes. The smaller the lentils, the faster they cook, so just keep checking!
Notes
Split lentils cook the fastest- check at 15 minutes! Small lentils take roughly 20 minutes, large brown lentils roughly 30-35 minutes. The smaller the lentils, the faster they cook, so just keep checking!
- Red Split lentils 15 minutes cooking time
- Green lentils 20-30 minutes cooking time, depending on size.
- Black Caviar lentils- 20 mintues cooking time
- Large Brown lentils-30-35 minutes cooking time
- Split lentils 15 minutes cooking time
Quick Tip! To accelerate cooking soak them in water first, 1-8 hours. Or try an instant pot!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup lentils
- Calories: 220
- Fiber: 16
- Protein: 18
Keywords: how to cook lentils, easy lentil recipe, vegan lentil recipe, best lentil recipes, lentil recipes, vegan lentil recipes, vegetarian lentil recipes, best lentil recipes, healthy lentil recipes, red lentil recipes,
I have seen different recipes recommend different things (not any of yours!) 😉 so I was curious to know your opinion: if you choose to your pre-soak your lentils, should you use hot or cold water?
As a side note, to anyone reading this, this website’s lentil recipes are absolutely top notch! I highly recommend the comforting red lentil dal, the braised green lentils, the Moroccan red lentil quinoa soup, and the coconut lentil curry.
I plan on trying all of these recipes. I haven’t tried one yet that hasn’t made it into my regular cooking rotation! 🙂
Thanks Jennifer! I usually use cold water but hot water might help speed up the soaking time.
Brand new to the world of lentils. Some of your recipes look and sound amazing. I can’t wait to try some. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Sounds great Francesca!
Thank you for the recipes. I am fighting diabetes and need all the diversity I can get. Love the information on lentils.
Thanks so much Jo Ann! Glad you are here and all the best to you on your health journey.
Thank you for your healthy recipes.
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Thank you I will cook something today. Thank you very much.
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Recipes sound great. Do you sell the books? Or do I just print from this website?
No cookbooks yet- just the site. 🙂
Yes
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Wow yum!
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Thanks for this selection!
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Have made most of the lentil recipes…..haven’t found a bad one yet! Thanks!!
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I appreciated the nutrition lesson. Thank you.
A list of ingredients somewhere near the beginning of the recipe would be helpful. It all sounds delicious and like good information but I Googled recipes not nutrition lesson. At this point I have given up. Thanks anyway
Hi- I moved the health benefits to the bottom of the post- hope that helps?
Hi! I think the shepherds pie recipe near the top is linked to the wrong recipe. The recipe it goes to has no lentils in it.
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Oh, got it! Fixed! Thanks!
Love this selection!
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Okay, I had no idea you could do SO much with lentils! My mind is blown, thank you!
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Ahahaha! 😂
Hoping to win the instapot 🙂
sinemergun1@gmail.com
These look amazing!
Made the emerald dahl for my husband and son the other day to rave reviews! Definitely will become a repeat recipe. Looking forward to trying some of the salads, too. I find lentil/bean based salads are great for bringing to isolating elderly relatives right now as they are so healthy and will stay fresh for several days.
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Great to hear! Thanks for sharing.
All of these recipes look yummy. I’m hoping to try the Indian shepherd’s pie once it cools down. Next up on the menu will be the Tahini Lentil wrap. Thanks for posting all of these.
Awesome, thanks Joan!
Love all the great ideas and healthy recipes, can’t wait to try some of these! Thanks!
I’m vegan and just found out I’m pregnant (!), so I’m working on adding more plant-based protein to my diet. I’m adding every single one of these lentil recipes to my online recipe box!
Congrats 🎉 Very exciting Kara!
The lentil Tabouli salad was OUTSTANDING!!! I love the mint! It gave it a nice summer fresh tast!!!!!
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Thanks Heather!