Lentils substitute

Substitutes for Lentils with ratios

1. 2Canned or pouch-cooked lentils

   Different texture

   1 cup dry lentils = about 2 ½ cups cooked = two 15 oz cans, drained and rinsed

   The fastest real substitute, and worth keeping in the cupboard precisely for the evening you run out of dry ones.

   What changes

   Best for

   salads, soups, stews, grain bowls, quick weeknight dishes

   They are already fully cooked and often softer and saltier than lentils you cook yourself, so add them in the last 5 to 10 minutes only. Simmered for half an hour they go to mush and cloud the broth. Rinse well, and hold back some of the salt in the recipe.

2. 3Split peas, yellow or green

   Different taste

   Use the same amount by volume, with roughly twice the cooking time and extra liquid

   The closest cupboard pulse for anything that ends up thick and soupy, since split peas break down the way red lentils do.

   What changes

   Best for

   soups, dal, purees, thick stews

   Sweeter and more sulphurous than lentils, so the soup tastes distinctly of split pea rather than earthy and nutty. They need 45 to 60 minutes and more liquid than lentils, and they never hold a shape, so do not use them in a salad or a pilaf where you wanted separate grains.

3. 4Chickpeas or white beans

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount cooked for cooked, using canned rather than dried

   A reliable swap wherever the lentils were there for protein and substance rather than for their specific texture.

   What changes

   Best for

   salads, stews, curries, soups, grain bowls

   Much larger and starchier, so the dish eats chunky instead of pebbly, and they do not thicken the surrounding liquid the way lentils do. Mash a quarter of them against the side of the pot to get some of that body back. Dried chickpeas need overnight soaking and over an hour of cooking, so this swap only makes sense from a can.

4. 5Bulgur or coarse cracked wheat

   Taste and texture differ

   Use ¾ cup bulgur, added much later in the cooking for every 1 cup dry lentils

   The best swap for lentil pilafs and fillings, where the lentils were providing scattered nubby texture through a grain dish.

   What changes

   Best for

   adas polo, pilaf, stuffings, koofteh, salads

   Bulgur only needs 10 to 15 minutes, so add it far later than the recipe says for lentils or it turns to paste. It is nuttier and lighter with none of the dense protein-y chew, and it drinks up more liquid than lentils would, so watch the pot. Not gluten-free.

5. 6Finely chopped mushrooms plus toasted walnuts

   Different taste

   Use 1 ½ cups finely chopped mushrooms, browned hard, + ⅓ cup toasted chopped walnuts for every 1 cup cooked lentils

   The best substitute by a wide margin wherever lentils were standing in for ground meat.

   What changes

   Best for

   lentil bolognese, sloppy joes, tacos, veggie burgers, shepherd's pie, meat sauce

   Brown the mushrooms properly, until they have given up their water and started to catch, or the dish is watery and bland. The result is meatier and richer than lentils and much less starchy, so a bolognese made this way is glossier and thinner. Add a spoonful of tomato paste or a splash of soy sauce to replace the density the lentils were giving the sauce.

6. 7Quinoa, the weakest of the usual suggestions

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount cooked for cooked, cold applications only

   Frequently recommended and rarely good, worth including so you know when it fails.

   What changes

   Best for

   cold salads, grain bowls

   Quinoa cooks in 15 minutes and turns soft and faintly slimy if it sits in liquid, so it disintegrates in a stew or a long-simmered soup where lentils would have held. In a cold salad with a sharp dressing it is fine, but expect a lighter, grassier dish with none of the lentils' savoury weight.