Green Lentil

Inspired by Middle Eastern mujadara, this rice and lentil pilaf gets a seasonal spin thanks to a tumble of spring-y green vegetables and flavorful tadka.

This creamy, comforting khichdi is ready for any lentil in your pantry. Frozen spinach and fresh herbs keep it bright and perky.

The famous lentil and rice dish is versatile and takes well to a number of grain and bean substitutions. Don’t skimp on the sizzled spiced onions.

Who needs meat when you have crispy cauliflower and broccoli steaks topped with a zingy chutney dressing?

Green curry paste adds heat and lots of complex flavor to this 30-minute lentil soup.

Cool yogurt, crunchy seeds, and avocado turn lentils into a lunch salad you’ll actually be excited to eat.

Everyone questioned why the world needed another veggie burger recipe until they saw how easy and Monday-nightable this one is.

Yes! You can cook lentils and quinoa TOGETHER. And now your life will become exponentially easier.

This soup is inspired by Ash Reshteh, a thick Iranian soup made with chickpeas, a boatload of herbs, and noodles, with one big exception: We omitted the noodles.

A power lunch for grown-ups and kids alike.

Lentils and rice pair together beautifully, and this hearty version gets subtlety from a bit of saffron and cinnamon.

These veggie patties are streamlined enough for a weeknight dinner, packed with protein, and deeply savory thanks to mushrooms and mellow white miso.

Based on a Middle Eastern mujaddara, a homey mix of spiced simmered lentils and rice, this easy, meatless dish is rich with allspice, cinnamon, and sweet browned leeks. The handful of baby spinach stirred in toward the end turns it into a one-pot meal, and adds a bit of welcome color, too. If you don’t have leeks, use an onion or two instead.

Serve creamy sweet potatoes and crispy-edged mushrooms over a bed of herby feta-tahini sauce for a dinner that’s easy, comforting, and perfect for fall.

This nourishing soup is packed with creamy, chewy, and hearty textures that make the simple preparation extremely satisfying. Use stock instead of water if you’d like—but truly, you don’t need it.

If you’re reading this, you’re alive. But if you’re not taking advantage of nature’s most underrated legume, are you really living?

Nourish your body with this welcoming salad complete with a warming ginger dressing. Lentils provide a fabulous source of protein and the beet adds that splash of color I love so much.

The perfect compromise between a grain and a salad, this refreshing Mediterranean side makes a lovely accompaniment to grilled lamb for a backyard barbecue. Or, highlight its Middle Eastern influences by pairing it with baba ghanoush and a platter of stuffed grape leaves. Add personal touches by substituting your favorite herb for the mint, topping off the salad with a squeeze of lime and a bit of orange zest, or using spinach instead of arugula. However you decide to frame it, you’ll be set up for a nice snack the next day.

Lentils, rice, olive oil, and onions—this Middle Eastern standard is the ultimate pantry recipe. It's also the classic example of a dish that's greater than the sum of its parts. There are literally dozens of recipes for mujadara out there—each country, possibly even each family, seems to have its own version. The one I like best is adapted from Claudia Roden's Book of Jewish Food. The crispy onion topping is the best part, so go ahead and make a lot. NOTE: Lentils, like all dried beans, vary in their cooking time depending on several factors, including age. Yours may take longer to become tender, but they shouldn't take much more than an hour. Hard water can also affect the cooking time—if your water is hard, use bottled water.

High-protein lentils are enlivened here by coriander, ginger, mint, and cilantro. For the best flavor, toast whole coriander seeds, then grind them to a fine powder. In a pinch, you can substitute a teaspoon of ground coriander instead of grinding your own. Beets add heart-healthy iron, potassium, and folate.

Lentils are a particularly robust source of protein, folate, and iron. Red, orange, and yellow bell peppers provide more vitamin C and carotenoids than green ones; these powerful antioxidants support eye health, boost immunity, and fight heart disease. This nutritious make-ahead salad is perfect for a packable lunch, picnic, or barbecue.

French green lentils, sometimes called lentilles du Puy, hold their shape well once cooked, making them particularly suited to salads and pasta dishes. Like other legumes, lentils are low in fat and are exceptional sources of folate, iron, and protein, plus other vitamins and minerals. Here, the lentils are combined with whole-wheat pasta shapes called chiocciole (snails), but you can substitute penne or any other short tubular shapes. If you like, grate or shave parmesan over the pasta just before serving.