How to Cook Lentils
From The Kitchen · a prep-ahead staple
🗓 A Set-the-Week staple — make once, eat all week.
Lentils are the most forgiving of the legumes — no soaking, tender in under half an hour, and quietly generous with protein and fiber. Green and brown hold their shape for salads and bowls; red ones soften into soups.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried green or brown lentils
- 3 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- Pinch of sea salt
Method
- Sort through the lentils and discard any small stones, then rinse under cool water.
- Combine the lentils, water or broth, and bay leaf in a pot.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer.
- Cook uncovered 20–25 minutes, until tender but not mushy.
- Season with salt at the end, drain any excess liquid, and remove the bay leaf.
Storage: Keeps 5 days in the refrigerator, and freezes well for up to 3 months. Unlike dried beans and chickpeas, lentils need no soaking.
No soak needed — but kombu still helps
Lentils are the easy ones: they cook in about twenty minutes, so a good rinse is all they need — no soaking required. If you'd like them even gentler on digestion, drop a strip of kombu (dried kelp) into the pot — wipe it with a little water first. It softens the sugars that can cause gas and adds a whisper of minerals. It's salty, so one small piece is enough; lift out whatever hasn't dissolved.
Gina's tip
Salt at the very end, not the start — adding it too early can keep the lentils firm.
Lentils ask almost nothing of you and return a genuine plant protein for the effort of a single pot. Nourishment rarely needs to be complicated.
I hope this recipe finds a place in your kitchen as it has in mine. Enjoy!
— Gina