French Green Lentils substitute

Best substitute

Black beluga lentils

Use the same amount same 20-25 minute cook time as the french green lentils you are replacing

Best for salads

Close match

The reason a recipe names Puy or French green lentils is texture, not flavour: their job is to stay in separate firm grains in a salad or under a piece of fish. Black beluga lentils are the closest swap at 1:1 with the same cook time. Ordinary brown or supermarket green lentils also work at 1:1 if you start tasting at 18 minutes and drain the second they are tender, because they go from firm to mushy in about five minutes. Do not use red or yellow split lentils here. They have no skin to hold them together and dissolve into puree, which turns a lentil salad into dal.

Other french green lentils substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Brown lentils (standard supermarket lentils)
Different texture
Use the same amount but drain early
The cheapest and most available option, cooked the same way but watched more closely.
What changes
Best for
salads, soups, braises, warm sides, lentil ragu
They cook in about 20 to 25 minutes and start splitting soon after, so taste at 18 minutes and drain immediately when tender. Even done well they are a little softer and more muddy-earthy than Puy, with less of the peppery snap. Cook them in salted water with a bay leaf and dress them warm and they are genuinely good.
3Umbrian, Castelluccio or pardina lentils
Close match
Use the same amount 20-25 minutes
Small firm thin-skinned European lentils from the same behavioural family as Puy.
What changes
Best for
salads, warm sides, braises, with sausage, soups
Behaviourally almost identical to Puy: small, firm, and they hold shape reliably. Slightly nuttier and less mineral in flavour, and usually a fraction cheaper. If your shop stocks any of these, take them over a bag of generic brown lentils.
4Canned or pouch-cooked brown or green lentils, rinsed
Different texture
One 15 oz can drained (about 1 ½ cups) replaces ¾ cup dry
Already cooked, so they fold in at the very end rather than simmering with the dish.
What changes
Best for
quick salads, grain bowls, soups, weeknight sides
Convenient and perfectly acceptable in a salad if you rinse the tinny liquid off well. They are noticeably softer than cooked-from-dry Puy lentils and they break up if you stir them while hot, so add them off the heat and fold gently. Season more assertively, since canning dulls them.
5Cooked farro, barley or wheat berries
Different taste
Use the same amount by cooked volume
When you want a chewy salad with substance and have no suitable lentils at all.
What changes
Best for
lentil salads, grain bowls, warm sides, with roast vegetables
Genuinely holds its shape and gives the same substantial bite, which is the important half of the job. It contains gluten, tastes wheaty and sweeter, and has none of the lentil's earthy mineral flavour, so lean harder on the mustard, vinegar and herbs in the dressing to make up for it.
6Red, yellow or split lentils
Taste and texture differ
Not recommended for this use
Skinned and split lentils, which are a completely different ingredient despite the shared name.
What changes
Best for
soups, dal, purees, thickening stews
These will not work in a dish that wants distinct firm lentils. With no skin to hold them, they break down into a thick puree within about 15 minutes. If they are all you have, the honest advice is to stop trying to make a lentil salad and make a good dal or lentil soup instead, which is a better dinner than a failed salad.

What is French Green Lentils?

French Green Lentils is French green lentils are small dark blue-green mottled lentils, sold as lentilles du Puy or lentilles vertes when they come from the protected volcanic soils of Le Puy, and they stay firm and faintly peppery after cooking instead of collapsing.

Cooking tips

The reason a recipe specifies Puy or French green lentils is texture, not flavour. They stay in separate firm grains, so any substitute has to hold its shape, which rules out red, yellow and split lentils entirely.
Salt the cooking water. The old advice that salt keeps lentils hard does not hold up in practice, and unsalted lentils taste dull no matter how well you dress them afterwards.
Cook them at a bare simmer rather than a rolling boil. Hard boiling knocks the skins off, and loose skins are what turn a lentil salad cloudy and mushy.
Dress them while they are still warm. Lentils absorb vinaigrette as they cool and taste twice as good for it, whereas dressing cold lentils only coats the outside.
Add acid at the end, never at the start. A splash of vinegar or lemon in the cooking water slows softening and can leave you with lentils that never quite tenderise. The same goes for tomatoes in a lentil braise.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use regular brown lentils instead of Puy lentils?

Yes, 1:1 with the same cook time, but check them at 18 minutes and drain as soon as they are tender. Brown lentils lose their shape faster than Puy, so the margin between perfect and mushy is only a few minutes. Cook them in salted water with a bay leaf and dress them warm.

Can I use red lentils instead of French green lentils?

Not for a salad or anything that needs distinct lentils. Red lentils are skinned and split, so they dissolve into a thick puree in about 15 minutes. They are excellent in soup and dal and completely wrong here. Reach for brown or beluga lentils instead.

What is the difference between Puy lentils and French green lentils?

Lentilles du Puy have protected origin status and grow in a specific volcanic area of central France, which is credited with their firm texture and peppery flavour. French green lentils sold without that name are usually the same variety grown elsewhere: same size, same firmness, usually a little less peppery and noticeably cheaper.

Can I just leave the lentils out?

Not usually, because in a lentil salad or a lentil braise they are the substance of the dish. If you have none, cooked chickpeas or small white beans fill the same filling, protein-rich role. Expect a softer, creamier texture and less earthiness, so add extra mustard and vinegar to the dressing.

Do French green lentils need soaking?

No. All lentils cook from dry in roughly 20 to 25 minutes, so soaking gains you nothing and can make them mushy. Just rinse them and pick out any small stones or grit, which is worth two minutes with any bag of lentils.

How much do dry lentils yield when cooked?

They roughly triple, so half a cup of dry lentils gives about one and a half cups cooked, and a cup of dry gives about three cups. That also tells you how much canned lentils to use: one 15 oz can, drained, stands in for about three-quarters of a cup dry.

Related substitutes

More legumes substitutes

French Green Lentils substitute

Other french green lentils substitutes

2Brown lentils (standard supermarket lentils)

3Umbrian, Castelluccio or pardina lentils

4Canned or pouch-cooked brown or green lentils, rinsed

5Cooked farro, barley or wheat berries

6Red, yellow or split lentils