Name: Lentils
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked lentils, picked over and rinsed; 4 cups of water; 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Everything you need to know about cooking lentils, whether you have green, brown, black, red, or French lentils sitting in the pantry. Below you will find a dry to cooked conversion chart, timings for the stovetop, pressure cooker, and slow cooker, plus seasoning and storage tips and a few of my favorite lentil recipes.

The short version, if you are standing in the kitchen right now: lentils never need soaking, use 3 cups of liquid per 1 cup of dry lentils, and start checking them at the low end of the time range because older lentils take longer than fresh ones.

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What are lentils?

Lentils are in the legume family and one of the most useful staples you can keep in a pantry. They are high in fiber, carbohydrates, and protein, which is why they show up so often in vegan and vegetarian cooking, and why they are a cornerstone of the bean protocol.

They are also the least demanding legume there is. No soaking, no overnight planning, no special equipment. You can decide to make lentils and be eating them half an hour later.

What is the nutritional value of lentils?

Per 1 cup of cooked lentils, according to the USDA:

Calories: 230
Protein: 18 grams
Carbohydrates: 40 grams
Fiber: 16 grams
Fat: less than 1 gram
Sodium: 4 milligrams
Iron: 6.6 milligrams
Potassium: 731 milligrams
Folate: 358 mcg

That fiber number is the one worth staring at. Sixteen grams in a single cup is more than most people manage in an entire day.

How much soluble fiber is in 1 cup of lentils?

According to WHFoods.com, 1 cup of cooked lentils has 2.7 grams of soluble fiber. That is the part that matters on the bean protocol, because soluble fiber is what binds to bile and carries used hormones out of the body.

You will notice nutrition numbers for lentils vary depending on where you look. Very few sources break out soluble fiber separately at all, and even calorie and protein counts differ between databases. It is up to you to decide which sources you find reputable. What I can tell you is that my digestion has never been clearer than when I am eating lentils regularly, and my own body has been a more reliable signal than any chart.

Dry to cooked lentil conversion chart

Lentils roughly triple. One cup of dry lentils gives you about 2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked, closer to 2 1/2 if you pull them while they still have bite and closer to 3 if you cook them soft.

Dry lentils	Weight	Cooked yield	Half-cup servings
1/4 cup	48 g	about 3/4 cup	1 to 2
1/3 cup	64 g	about 1 cup	2
1/2 cup	96 g	about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups	2 to 3
1 cup	192 g	about 2 1/2 to 3 cups	5 to 6
2 cups	384 g	about 5 to 6 cups	10 to 12
1 pound (about 2 1/3 cups)	454 g	about 6 to 7 cups	12 to 14

Working backwards: if a recipe calls for 1 cup of cooked lentils, start with about 1/3 cup dry. If you weigh instead of measure, 200 g dry is roughly 1 cup and 400 g dry is roughly 2 cups. One cup of cooked lentils weighs about 198 g.

On the bean protocol, where you are aiming for three half-cup servings a day, one cup of dry lentils covers you for about two days.

Lentil cooking times by type and method

Yes, the type matters more than anything else here, and it comes down to the skin. Red and yellow lentils are sold hulled and split, so there is nothing holding them together and they collapse into a puree. Brown and green keep their skins and hold up reasonably well. French green and black beluga hold their shape the best, which is why those are the ones worth using in a salad.

Stovetop times below assume 3 cups of liquid per 1 cup of lentils at a gentle simmer.

Type	Stovetop	Pressure cooker	Slow cooker	Texture when done
Red or yellow (split)	5 to 10 min	2 to 3 min, natural release	Not recommended	Falls apart completely, turns golden
Brown	15 to 25 min	6 to 8 min, natural release	4 to 5 hrs high, 8 to 10 hrs low	Tender, mostly holds together
Green (standard)	15 to 25 min	6 to 8 min, natural release	4 to 5 hrs high, 8 to 10 hrs low	Tender, mostly holds together
French green (du Puy)	20 to 35 min	6 to 8 min, natural release	2 to 3 hrs high, 3 to 4 hrs low	Firm, holds shape well
Black beluga	20 to 30 min	6 to 8 min, natural release	2 to 3 hrs high, 3 to 4 hrs low	Firm, holds shape well

Notes worth knowing

Lentils do not need soaking. That is the whole reason they are the easiest legume to keep up with.
Start checking at the low end of the range. Lentils that have been in the pantry a year take noticeably longer, and there is no way to tell by looking at them.
Add 10 minutes or so if you want them soft enough to mash for a dip or a spread.
Skip the pressure cooker for split red lentils. They foam and can block the valve, and they cook in under 10 minutes on the stove anyway.
Growers advise salting after cooking rather than before. Plenty of tested kitchens salt the water from the start with no problem, so if you have been doing that and getting good lentils, carry on.