Which lentils should I use for what?
Six lentils sold in the UK, what each one does at the end of its cooking time, and why the same recipe gives a salad with one and a purée with another.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 5 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
If the lentil still has its seed coat — Puy, green, brown, black beluga — it holds its shape and suits salads, sides and anything where you want to see the lentils. If it has been split and skinned — red, yellow, split peas — it collapses into a purée and suits dal, soup and thickening. That single distinction predicts almost everything.
People conclude that lentils are unreliable because they cooked red lentils expecting a salad, or Puy lentils expecting dal. Neither did anything wrong. The seed coat is the whole story.
Step by step
- Use Puy lentils where they must stay separate and firm.Small, slate-green, mottled, grown in Le Puy in France and protected by origin — 'green lentils in the style of Puy' from elsewhere are similar and cheaper. About 20–25 minutes, and they hold their shape completely. Best for salads, for serving under fish or a duck breast, and for anything dressed while warm.
- Use green or speckled lentils as the all-rounder.Slightly larger, 25–30 minutes, hold their shape well but a little softer than Puy. This is the sensible default bag to have in the cupboard: good in salads, good in a braise, good with sausages.
- Use brown lentils for stews and mince dishes.25–35 minutes, hold at first and then start to break down at the edges, which thickens whatever they are in. Excellent in a shepherd's pie base, a ragù or a hearty soup, where you want body as well as texture.
- Use black beluga lentils where you want them to look good.Small, glossy and black, about 20–25 minutes, and they hold their shape as well as Puy. More expensive and worth it when appearance matters.
- Use red or yellow split lentils for dal, soup and thickening.Skinned and split, so they cook in 15–20 minutes and collapse entirely into a soft purée. They cannot be made to hold their shape. Perfect for dal, for thickening a soup, and for stretching a mince dish invisibly.
- Use split peas where you want a long, sweet, thick result.Yellow or green, 45–60 minutes and sometimes longer, and they go to a thick purée. Traditional in pea and ham soup and in pease pudding. They need considerably longer than any lentil.
- Adjust the method to which one you have.Whole lentils: simmer in plenty of water or stock and drain when done, salting towards the end or not at all — they need no soaking. Split lentils: cook in a measured amount of liquid in a covered pan, because the liquid is going to become the dish.
Tips
- Lentils do not need soaking. Rinse them and check for the occasional small stone, which is still a real thing in bagged pulses.
- Acid — vinegar, lemon, tomato — added to whole lentils before they are tender will keep them firm. Useful if you want them firmer for a salad; a problem if they refuse to soften in a tomato stew.
- Whole lentils cooked in stock with a bay leaf, a halved onion and a clove of garlic, then drained and dressed while warm, are far better than lentils boiled in plain water.
- Cooked lentils keep three or four days in the fridge and freeze well. They are one of the best things to have in the freezer in portions.
If it doesn't work
Lentils turned to mush when you wanted them whole
Cause: Split red or yellow lentils, or whole lentils overcooked — Fix: Use a lentil with its seed coat — Puy, green, brown or beluga — and start testing at 20 minutes.
Dal will not go smooth
Cause: Whole lentils used instead of split ones — Fix: Use red or yellow split lentils, or blend the whole ones and accept a slightly different texture.
Still firm after 40 minutes
Cause: Acid in the pot, very old lentils, or very hard water — Fix: Remove the acidic element until they are tender, and add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda if the water is hard.
Questions people ask
Can I substitute one lentil for another in a recipe?
Within a group, yes — green for brown, Puy for beluga. Across the groups, no: swapping red for Puy turns a salad into a purée and vice versa.
Are lentils a complete protein?
They are low in methionine, which is why they are traditionally eaten with a grain — rice, bread, bulgur — that supplies it. Over a day's eating this evens out and the pairing is a culinary habit as much as a nutritional requirement.