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Here’s an easy lunch or dinner idea! This basic recipe makes perfectly seasoned brown lentils to eat as a fast meal, or use in tacos, salads, and more.
Need an easy lunch or dinner idea? Try brown lentils! Alex and I love eating lentils for lunches or dinners, since they’re full of plant-based protein and keep us full for hours afterwards.
This brown lentils recipe results in perfectly seasoned, tender lentils. You can eat them as-is, or add them as a component to tacos, salads, and more. They’re a simple protein that makes an easy vegan recipe or healthy dinner!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ready in 25 minutes: It’s quick and there’s minimal hands-on time
- Packed with plant-based protein: Cooked lentils have about 18 grams per cup
- Incredibly versatile: They work as a taco filling, salad topper, or grain bowl adder
- Budget-friendly: Dried lentils cost pennies per serving!
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “These are just wonderful! I had a small bowl with a dollop of goat cheese on top, which got nice and warm and melty, and a small green salad for dinner. It was all so satisfying and cozy. I will be making these often, love the gravy the lentils make. They are kind of addicting, the spices are perfect!” -Cora
How to Cook Brown Lentils
Brown lentils are very easy to cook. You know how people always say, eat more plants? Once you get used to cooking up a pot of lentils, it’s easy to eat more of this plant-based protein.
They’re also seriously inexpensive, so it’s a great way to make a cheap and easy meal! Here are the basic steps on how to cook brown lentils. (If you have an Instant Pot, go to Instant Pot Lentils instead.)
Step 1: Place the brown lentils and water in a pan and bring it to a simmer. (No need to simmer the liquid first.) You can use either water or vegetable broth; I like using broth to add a savory flavor.
Step 2: Add optional spices: 1 ½ tsp each onion powder and paprika, 1 tsp oregano, and ½ tsp each garlic powder and black pepper. Add ¾ tsp kosher salt.
Step 3: Bring to a rapid simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Taste to assess whether they’re tender: if not, continue cooking. Drain any leftover water.
Liquid to Lentil Ratio
The liquid to lentil ratio is 1 cup lentils to 2 2/3 cups water. Here I’ve used 4 cups broth and 1 ½ cups brown lentils. To find the liquid ratio, just multiply the lentils quantity by 2.666666.
Types of Lentils: Can You Substitute?
Brown lentils are the most “standard” variety that is available in American grocery stores. They cook quickly (in 20 to 30 minutes), and tend to fall apart when cooked instead of hold their shape. They’re brown in color and have a flat, lens-like shape. Can you substitute other types of lentils in this recipe?
- You can substitute green lentils for brown lentils. Green lentils have a more peppery flavor than brown lentils.
- Avoid substituting red lentils, French lentils, or black lentils, since they cook differently. Red lentils cook quicker and can become mushy: try them in Masoor Dal or Red Lentil Soup instead. French lentils and black lentils are smaller and hold their shape when cooked; cook them with this French Lentils and Black Lentils methods.
Ways to Serve Brown Lentils
Because of the broth and spices, these brown lentils come out perfectly seasoned! I love making this recipe because you can just eat them right away. They’re perfect for a healthy lunch or dinner. We like to serve them with a dollop of Greek yogurt, torn cilantro, tomatoes, and pita bread cut into wedges.
This is the most basic way to serve these brown lentils, but the sky is the limit! Here are a few more ideas to get your wheels turning:
- Add roasted vegetables to the bowl and drizzle with tahini sauce
- Serve with scrambled eggs
- Add to this couscous bowl (instead of chickpeas)
- Use as a filling for lentil tacos
- Add them to lentil salad
- Add a whole grain like rice, quinoa, farro, or freekah to the bowl
Nutritional Benefits of Lentils
Lentils are full of nutrition benefits, per Harvard Medical School. Here’s a bit of what these brown lentils have to offer:
- Lentils have a large amount of plant-based protein. 1 cup of cooked lentils has about 18 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber. (Source)
- Lentils have virtually no saturated fat and are low in calories.
- Lentils are rich in polyphenols, micronutrients thought to help protect against cardiovascular disease. (Source)
Dietary Notes
This brown lentils recipe is vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and plant-based.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlike other legumes, brown lentils do not require pre-soaking. Simply rinse them thoroughly to remove any debris before cooking.
Brown lentils typically cook within 20-30 minutes. However, the cooking time may vary depending on the age and quality of the lentils. Older lentils may take longer to cook than newer ones.
Brown lentils can become mushy if overcooked. To prevent this, cook them until they are tender but still hold their shape. Start checking for doneness after about 15 minutes of cooking.
Seasoned Brown Lentils
Here’s an easy lunch or dinner idea: lentils! This basic recipe makes perfectly seasoned brown lentils to eat as a fast meal, or use in tacos, salads, and more.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Category: Basics
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the brown lentils
- 4 cups vegetable broth (or water, or a combination of both)
- 1 ½ cups brown lentils
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
To serve as shown
- Pita bread
- Greek yogurt
- Cilantro
- Tomato wedges
- Other ideas: with Roasted Vegetables, Chorizo Eggs or Scrambled Eggs, in a Couscous Bowl, in Lentil Tacos
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large saucepan. (If you’re planning to cook them without seasoning to use in a separate recipe, omit the spices, salt, and pepper.)
- Bring to a rapid simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. There will be some leftover broth but the lentils will soak it up as they sit and become perfectly moist. Taste and add another pinch of salt if you’d like. Serve warm. (Storage info: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator; reheat on the stovetop.)
These are just wonderful! I had a small bowl with a dollop of goat cheese on top, which got nice a warm and melty and a small green salad for dinner. It was all so satisfying and cozy. I will be making these often, love the gravy the lentils make. They are kind of addicting, the spices are perfect! In fact I can’t think of a recipe I have tried from this site that wasn’t really tasty!
This recipe (minus the salt) was one of my twins first solid foods! I keep coming back to this recipe because I prefer not to use commercially prepared broths, so I cook my lentils in water. The added spices more than compensate for not using broth and result in flavorful basic cooked lentils that can be used in any number of ways. Tonight I combined these lentils with millet, roasted carrots, an orange ginger dressing, and some feta to make a delicious easy dinner. I appreciate that you share these types of basic/foundational recipes/cooking techniques!
We love this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing! Making them again for tonight’s supper.
Made this tonight and was delighted with it. Flavorful, filling, and very simple. Thank you for posting this.
Taste was good but way too much liquid. I put a lid on it while it was cooking….was I not supposed to?
I live alone so cook up a batch of these to last me almost a week! Day one I eat pretty much straight from the pan So good!) then use in various ways throughout the week. As well as being tasty and healthy, this saves me so much time and ensures I eat properly every day. The only change I make to the recipe is that I swap out onion and garlic seasonings to fresh onion and garlic sweated in the pan before adding lentils etc. Thank you for making my life so much more simple and healthy 🥰
This was the first time I’ve not only cooked lentils but eaten them as well and they were so yummy !
I didn’t have any vegetables broth so I substituted a pack of onion soup mix and the 4 cups of water. I cooked them in my Insta Pot using the bean/chilli button and half an hour later I had one of those foods that just make you feel good inside !
It tasted almost like chilli so I added a little sharp cheddar and fresh onion on top, paired it with a sandwich and enjoyed thoroughly.
I’m not really a bean fan so I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed them.
Thank you for the great recipe and I’ve no doubt I’ll be trying some of your other ones as well !
Beth
Second time trying ‼️ last time i made them completely plainly, due to bad history; they came out Perfect. Today i tried with all the spices: Even Better than perfect.
Would you have a simple Lentil Soup using these cooked lentils? Thanks, I couldn’t find anything here…
first . time i used oregano, i was using thyme. i also liked adding cilantro They were great!!! thank you
Can this be done in a slow cooker?
We haven’t tested that, sorry!
Very good! Will definitely make these again!
I keep coming back to this page to remember the lentils to water ratio 😀 Great recipe btw! We made it twice a week ever since we found it. Goes great with rice and potatoes
I really love this and make it weekly. That said, I have found that if I add carrots and celery, that the spices need to be increased by a good amount; otherwise the spicy flavor is not as strong.
Just made this for the umpteenth time. It’s so incredibly easy and delicious! I added spinach just because I haven’t had greens in a while and it was amazing! Thank you Sonja and Alex!
Awesome! Sometimes the simple things are best :)
This was a great recipe! Simple and Delish!
Thank you. Your information helped me to make some lentils when the instructions on the bag was illegible.
My husband enjoyed them.