12 Delicious Green Lentil Recipes
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Here are 12 simple, delicious green lentil recipes, using canned or dried lentils, and perfect for every occasion, which makes this versatile legume a must in our diet!
This terrific, hearty legume is one of my favorite storecupboard saviors. It’s inexpensive, packed with plant-based protein, and can be transformed into a multitude of fabulous meals.
Below, you’ll find our favorite green lentil recipes. They include comforting soups, tasty salads, and everything in between. Whether you already love them or are cooking them for the first time, I hope that a few of these recipes make it into your regular rotation, too.
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Green Lentil Recipes
One-Pot Pasta with Lentils
This Italian pasta with lentils is a must! A terriric one-pot meal that uses dried lentils and pasta. Healthy, budget-friendly, and so good!
Green Lentil Soup
This green lentil soup has amazing flavor and texture. It's vegan, healthy, and delicious.
Classic Lentil Burgers
Here is a classic lentil burger that packs a lot of protein and flavor and pairs well with any toppings.
Lentil Chickpea Soup
Thissmoky chickpea and lentil soup is packed with flavor, health benefits, plant-based protein, and requires just 1 pot.
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Lentils
Indulge in the ultimate comfort of Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with lentils and kale. This nutrient-rich dish is the perfect hearty meal.
Green Lentils Jam Recipe
What about a vegan green lentil jam that is so vertile and full of flavor?
French Green Lentil Salad
This simple yet delicious French-inspired green lentil salad is fresh and flavored with a lovely, bright Dijon mustard vinaigrette!
Carrot and Lentil Soup
This nourishing carrot-lentil soup combines hearty lentils and sweet carrots. It's vegan, super healthy, and totally delicious with crusty bread or crostini!
Warm Lentil Salad with Spinach & Quinoa
This warm lentil salad tossed with spinach, quinoa, roasted fennel, and pine nuts is healthy, vegetarian, and utterly delicious.
Vegan Lentil Soup
This delicious vegan lentil soup features a rich cherry tomato broth and aromatic herbs. It's another family's favorite that we love all year round.
1-Pot Lentil Green Curry
Easy, quick, healthy, and flavorful, this lentil curry pairs wonderfully with rice for a filling plant-based meal.
Convenient & budget-friendly
A can of green lentils can go a long way! I used to stockpile the basics like beans and lentils; they’re brilliant for making a satisfying, nutritionally balanced meal on busy weeknights. However, dried lentils also make a brilliant cupboard staple; they cook faster than their bean counterparts, you can cook them without soaking, and they’re easier to digest. Are
Green lentils are healthy!
Lentils are a terrific source of plant-based protein and fiber. They’re naturally gluten-free, low in fat and calories, and rich in iron and folate.
When combined with a whole grain, such as brown rice or whole-grain pasta, they can provide the same quality of protein as meat. But eating green lentils instead of red or processed meat is definitely the healthiest choice, and saves you money.
MORE PANTRY-FRIENDLY RECIPES?
If you love these nourishing and inexpensive recipes, check out these brilliant meal ideas featuring pantry essentials:
- Pasta e fagioli (Italian pasta & beans)
- Pasta e ceci (Italian pasta & chickpeas)
- Italian pasta & peas
- Spicy red lentil soup
- Mediterranean chickpea soup
I hope that a few of these delicious green lentil recipes will be part of your weekly dinner rotation. Let me know if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you x
12 Green Lentil Recipes
Ingredients
- 1½ Tablespoon olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 large celery rib, diced
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 cups (400 grams) green lentils or brown lentils
- 6 cups (1440 ml) vegetable broth, or chicken broth (low-sodium)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste, or 1/3 cup diced tomatoes (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ – 1 teaspoon fine salt, or according to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to serve
- 1 small potato, cut into chunks (it's optional, add it if you prefer a thicker texture)
- fresh lemon juice, to serve
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Then add garlic, spices, and cook for one minute, stirring continuously.
- Add the remaining ingredients, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until lentils are soft.
- Turn the heat off, let it cool slightly, and remove the bay leaves. Then transfer half of the soup to a blender, blend, return the soup into the pot and give a good stir. Alternatively, you can use a hand blender to whizz only part of the soup.
- Now taste and make sure you're happy with the seasoning and consistency; you might want to add more salt and pepper to suit your taste (this depends on the broth used). And add a little bit of water if you prefer a thinner soup.
- Serve it warm, with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, and a little squeeze of lemon juice for freshness. Don't forget crusty bread, enjoy!
What a wonderful array of recipes for lentils. Thank you for putting them out there for all of us to try and enjoy.
I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks Irene! x
Thanks for such a variety of options to use green lentils with. I’ve definitely got quite a few new things to try making now. 🙂
You’re so welcome, Esther! : )
The Detox Green Lentil soup is the first lentil find my family didn’t detest once they tried it. Serving with bread won them over. I absolutely loved it but did add gremolata to the blender but you had the ingredients pretty much in the soup already so not really a change just due deferent mixing. Thank you! This was a great find and a “keeper” to be made again!
I’m glad to hear that, Jess! Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback x
Hello. The first Lentil dish in the narrative shows lentils, cauliflower and lemon in a bowl. But you do not name the dish at this point. Moving down to your recipes you have a similar looking lentil cauli dish but on a plate. Are they the same meal please? As I am after a recipe for the dish in the bowl that you do not name. Thank you x
Hi Joanna! The recipe is in the recipe card at the bottom of the page. It’s an easy lentil and cauliflower salad, one of my family’s recipes, but it doesn’t have its own page on the blog. Hope this helps : )
Love all your recipes, but this was an amazing find. Will make almost all of them. Because,of pandemic I have been ordering from Amazon a 5lb bag of green lentils goes along way. Baking and cooking for friends gives me and them so much joy. Thanks again!
I’m so pleased to hear that, Rosann! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your lovely feedback. Cheers x
Going to make your lentil meatballs tonight! Thank you
Thanks for your comment, Vivian! 💛