If you have a bag of lentils in your pantry, a hearty, satisfying, and often quick-cooking meal is at your fingertips. Take the less-is-more approach and simmer them simply with aromatics to pair with chicken, or toss with veggies and a vinaigrette for a satisfying salad. Season lentils and nestle them into a sandwich or wrap for a handheld vegetarian delight. Match lentils with rice and caramelized onions for a Middle Eastern pilaf, build deep flavor with warm spices to go the curry route, or keep things cozy with a steaming lentil soup or stew. Explore just how versatile and delicious lentils can be with these savory recipes that showcase the littlest legumes.
A Perfect Pot of Lentils
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
Simply cooked French green lentils can be tossed into a salad, stirred into soups, or served alongside a whole roast chicken or pork rib roast. If cooked for longer, they’ll get softer, making them excellent for hearty stews and soups as well.
Lentil Salad with Roasted Red Peppers
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
A delightful combination of French lentils, kale, roasted red peppers, and tangy goat cheese tossed in a zippy lemon vinaigrette, this vibrant, 30-minute salad is equally wonderful served warm, chilled, or at room temperature.
Ratatouille Lentil Soup
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
Inspired by the popular Provençal dish ratatouille, this bold and bright vegetable soup is perfect for making ahead and stashing in the freezer. Lentils are combined with zucchini, eggplant, red peppers, and tomatoes for a cozy, colorful soup with a creamy, satisfying texture.
Vegetarian Red Lentil Wraps
greg dupree / food styling by chelsea zimmer / prop styling by julia bayless
Ana Sortun’s Turkish-inspired wraps combine spiced lentil patties in a spread of tasty tomato browned butter accompanied by crunchy lettuce and pickled peperoncini peppers.
Red Lentil Akoho Sy Voanio (Malagasy Coconut Lentils)
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
For this curry-like vegetarian dish, red lentils are cooked in tomatoes, coconut milk, and aromatics like turmeric and ginger. The comforting, warm lentils are even better served with steamed rice.
Loaded Pita Nachos with Lentil Chili and Feta Queso
In this recipe for a new take on nachos, pita chips are drizzled with a feta queso and then laden with lentil chili, harissa-spiked pickled cabbage, and a dollop of creamy labneh. The tangy feta queso gets its smooth body from the addition of red lentils and is a tasty option for dipping, too.
Sloppy Lennys
Mark Weinberg
Easy to make and even easier to eat, this plant-based, pantry-friendly take on Sloppy Joes features lentils, pickled peppers, chile powder, and ketchup on toasted burger buns.
Rosé Braised Pork Belly with Lentils
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Pork belly, olive-studded lentils, and an herbaceous basil pistou come together for this bright, melt-in-your-mouth dish full of bold flavors.
Mushroom, Lentil, and Chestnut Mince Pie
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
This vegetarian centerpiece is inspired by British meat pies but filled with black lentils, mushrooms, roasted kale, and chestnuts.
Dosa
Heami Lee / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
Capture the essence of South India with this savory fermented crêpe that’s folded over spiced vegetable fillings for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s made with urad dal, or black gram, which we call split black lentils — though they’re technically beans.
Mujadara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions)
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Mujadara means “pockmarked” in Arabic, an apt descriptor for this classic Middle Eastern dish of lentils and rice. Here, we brighten it up with cucumber yogurt and tomato salsa for color and tang.
Dal Makhani with Collards and Country Ham
Chef Meherwan Irani’s Southern-inspired version of the beloved Indian bean and lentil dish incorporates collards and crushed tomatoes. It’s finished with an extra dollop of heavy cream and thinly shaved country ham for a hearty, unforgettable meal.
Pesarattu (Lentil Pancakes) with Peanut Chutney
Priya Krishna’s savory, ginger-and-chile-infused lentil pancakes pack enough punch to be eaten by themselves, but a side of chunky, herby peanut chutney really makes the dish sing.
French Lentil and Vegetable Soup
Ina Garten’s hearty soup gets its robust flavor from Le Puy lentils: small, green French lentils that are less starchy than common brown lentils. A tablespoon of fresh thyme adds a gentle, herbaceous undercurrent, while the acidity from red wine vinegar and tomato paste contributes a stealthy brightness.
Misir Wat
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
Misir wat, a warmly seasoned red lentil stew, is one of the fundamental dishes in Ethiopian cuisine. As the lentils simmer, they become very soft and break apart, thickening the stew to a porridge-like consistency. Serve it with injera for an authentic Ethiopian meal.
Tadka Dal with Roti
For a warming, nourishing, grounding meal, look no further than this fragrant dal, which can be prepared as a slurpable soup or a thick stew. Briefly heating spices and dried chiles in oil or ghee allows their flavors to bloom, creating a flavorful tadka that serves as the backbone of this dish.
Iron Skillet Cornbread with Grapefruit
This isn’t a particularly lentil-forward dish, but it does present an interesting way to highlight them. Crispy fried beluga lentils are sprinkled atop blue cornbread slathered in a jalapeño-onion spread and lined with ruby red grapefruit segments for an extra-special finishing touch.
Smoked Ham Hock and Lentil Soup
When the weather starts to cool, 2017 F&W Best New Chef Nina Compton knows it’s time for this soothing, hock-stocked soup, rich with okra and laden with lentils. Ginger and lemongrass bring an aromatic note of Compton’s childhood in St. Lucia, while local okra beckons her back to her now-chosen home in New Orleans.
Lentil and Bean Stew with Gremolata
Loaded with legumes and aromatics, this is the kind of stick-to-your-ribs stew we long for in the cold winter months. We prefer French green lentils here, though brown will also work; use any combination of cooked beans for this recipe — you’ll need six cups total, or about four cans.
White Gunpowder
Elizabeth Golay’s toasty gunpowder seasoning is made from a blend of three lentils, chiles, cumin, and more. Mixed with sesame oil, it adds a nice touch of heat to popcorn or bread.
Warm Sausage and Lentil Salad
Tender green lentils and garlicky sausages form the foundation of this earthy French salad. A smattering of toasted walnuts on top adds a terrific crunch.
Green Lentil Curry
Madhur Jaffrey pairs sturdy green lentils with green beans, kale, and carrot along with ginger, garlic, shallot, and plenty of spices, yielding a hearty, satisfying dish with an amazing depth of flavor.
Roasted Salmon with Lentils and Bacon
For this hearty meal, perfectly roasted salmon fillets are served over lentils that have been simmered with vegetables and bits of bacon.
Lentils with Butternut Squash and Merguez Sausage
© Fredrika Stjärne
In this dish from chef Mourad Lahlou, baked merguez sausage is served atop a Moroccan-spiced lentil and butternut squash mixture. The sausage cooks separately, so it’s a genius recipe for simultaneously serving vegetarians and carnivores — and it’s ready in just 45 minutes.
Ocean Trout with Curried Lentils and Spring Onions
Chicago chef Giuseppe Tentori tops vadouvan-spiced French green lentils with Tasmanian ocean trout and caramelized spring onions.
Chicken Thighs with Lentils, Chorizo, and Red Pepper
Think of this dish as a quicker, easier version of cassoulet — it’s table-ready in about 45 minutes. You’ll need a half pound of Spanish chorizo; choose lentils that will hold their shape when cooked, such as green, brown, or black, and feel free to use your favorite color of bell pepper.
Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lentils and Dates
This satisfying main dish-worthy salad is a gorgeous festival of flavor and textures. It’s made with nourishing black or green lentils, toasted almonds, plenty of spice-roasted cauliflower, and a handful of chopped dates for just the right amount of sweetness.
Fried Spiced Red Lentils
Pan-fried lentils tossed with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika make for a super-simple snack or topping. Allow an hour for the lentils to soak before frying.
Cumin-Spiced Red Lentil Burgers
Made with quick-cooking red lentils, these Indian-inspired vegetarian burgers come together in only an hour. The cooling homemade yogurt sauce provides a great counterpoint to the spicy patties.
Warm Lentil and Root Vegetable Salad with Coconut Tzatziki
This warm salad of lentils and root vegetables is a hearty, plant-based winter staple. Sweet and tangy coconut yogurt tzatziki rounds it all out.
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