Lentil

Lentils are the seeds of a legume and are sold whole. Cooks boil, simmer, roast, or stew them, use them to thicken dishes, and pair them with rice or pasta.

Plant-based

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Category: Beans & pulses
Part used: Seed
Cooked most in: Asia, Africa
Top country: Armenia
Dishes: 7 in the catalogue
Energy: 352 kcal per 100 g

Photo: User:Justinc · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use lentil

Typical ways to cook or use it

Bake
Boil simmer
Roast
Stew
Stuff
Thicken

Preparing it

Lentils can be soaked before eating. Lentils can also be sprouted before eating.

Goes well with

Shopping

Choosing and storing lentil

Sold as: Whole

Nutrition

What 100 g of lentil holds

Per 100 g, raw. Averages from USDA; real values vary by variety, season and growing conditions.

Protein 28%Fat 1%Carbohydrate 71%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of lentil, raw
Energy	352 kcal · 1,473 kJ
Protein	25 g
Fat	1.1 g
of which saturated	0.15 g
Carbohydrate	63 g
of which sugars	2 g
Fibre	11 g
Sodium	6 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg

Nutrition per 100 g of lentil, raw: minerals and vitamins
Potassium	677 mg
Calcium	35 mg
Iron	6.5 mg
Magnesium	47 mg
Zinc	3.3 mg
Vitamin C	4.5 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)	2 µg
Folate	479 µg

Other forms

Protein 27%Fat 2%Carbohydrate 71%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of lentil, other form
Energy	360 kcal
Protein	24 g
Fat	1.9 g
Carbohydrate	62 g
Sodium	0 mg

Nutrition per 100 g of lentil, other form: minerals and vitamins
Potassium	949 mg
Calcium	62 mg
Iron	7.2 mg
Magnesium	107 mg
Zinc	3.9 mg

Source: USDA FoodData Central (foods 172420, 2644283), public domain. Minerals and vitamins are listed only where USDA measured a non-zero amount.

Around the world

Where lentil is cooked

7 dishes in the catalogue use lentil. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Asia2
Africa1

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list lentil among their ingredients.

Origins

First cultivated: in Western Asia

On the table

Dishes made with lentil

6 of the 7 catalogued dishes that use it, spread across the countries they come from.

Koshari
Egypt
Mshosh
Armenia
Khichri
Rummaneyye
Türkiye
Hebnîsk
Lentil soup

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include lentil.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: lentil in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.

Allergens: None of the 15 listed allergens foundChecked and not found: eggs, fish, milk, molluscs, sulphites, crustaceans.
Animal origin: No animal ingredients foundChecked and not found: egg, fish, meat, dairy, honey, insect, gelatin, poultry, bone char, shellfish, other animal, animal fining, animal rennet.
Alcohol: None
Pork: None

Family

Related forms

A kind of: bean