You may be aware that lentils are the dried seeds of the lentil plant. Whilst close cousins of beans, they cannot be eaten fresh like beans. After ripening, lentils are always dried, and then they’re cooked in their dried form, so they have to be approached differently. Firstly, when cooking red lentils, you’ll want to rinse them. Occasionally, you might find a little debris in the lentils, so it’s recommended to rinse them through a mesh sieve, then remove any debris before cooking. It’s also worth taking a couple of minutes to run through your lentils and remove any shrivelled ones from the mix before cooking them. After rinsing, your lentils are ready for cooking; we recommend boiling them, as outlined in more detail below.
How to boil red lentils
If you’re wondering how to cook red lentils on the stove, then boiling is really the go-to option. Some chefs guess the amount of water needed, simply ensuring the lentils are fully covered by liquid in the pan, but others prefer a more precise approach. Roughly, you’ll need to work with around 700ml of water per 200g of red lentils, if you’d like to measure out the quantities. If you want to make mushier lentils, though, you can add more water to make them softer. The ratio we’ve shared will leave you with soft, creamy lentils that still hold some of their shape, the ideal consistency for adding to salads and soups. For a texture closer to a purée, you’ll need to add more water than we’ve suggested. Given that lentils are packed full of vitamins and minerals, and cook to a soft texture, they can also be a great first food for baby weaning.
To cook, bring the red lentils to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover with a lid. Once fully cooked, drain from the pan, and use straightaway or mix with sauces and seasonings before adding to dishes. Whilst boiling in water is the straightforward method, you can also try boiling red lentils in stock to add more flavour. Or, you could try introducing aromatics to your lentils when they’re boiling. Ingredients like carrots, celery, bay leaves and garlic can be added to the saucepan whilst the lentils are cooking. You can either leave them in to add to the flavours of the dish or remove after cooking.
How to stew red lentils
The action of stewing an ingredient quite literally means to slowly cook, covered, in liquid. Owing to the creamy, smooth nature of red lentils, they’re well suited to stews and add an irresistible, mouthwatering texture. To make a hearty red lentil stew at home, we’d recommend starting with sautéing chopped onion, then adding a selection of seasonings and spices, including garlic, ginger, ground cumin, ground turmeric and sea salt. Bring all the flavours together with the red lentils, coconut milk and diced tomatoes for an undeniably warming wintertime dish. Whilst you can always experiment with varying the ingredients in a stew, mixing up different spices or vegetables, we’d always recommend sticking to red lentils. Other varieties hold their shape and firmness too much to suit a stew. You can find out all you need to know about the different types of lentils and their best uses in our helpful article.
Do red lentils need to be soaked?
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually need to soak red lentils before cooking. They actually cook much faster than other lentil varieties, so once they’ve been rinsed and cleaned, they’ll be ready to cook.
How long to cook red lentils
As mentioned above, red lentils are softer than most of the other lentil varieties. They break down quickly when they’re cooked, so naturally need less time in the pan than other lentils. So, when it comes to the question of how long to cook red lentils, they will cook faster than brown or green varieties. You’ll usually only need around 15 minutes to reach the desired texture and consistency. Of course, the cooking time will occasionally vary depending on your stove, so it’s worth keeping an eye on your lentils as they cook, stirring them regularly to prevent them sticking to the bottom of the pan.
By contrast, yellow lentils will need much longer on the stove. Yellow lentils take closer to 45 minutes to cook fully. Despite still being a popular variety to use in curries and soups, you’d need to factor in more cooking time if you wish to switch yellow lentils for red lentils in your curry recipe.
