Lentils substitutes
Lentils substitutes — 7 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use A different colour of lentil
Same amount by volume as the lentils
Almost always the right answer, and free, as long as you account for the fact that different lentils behave completely differently in the pot.
If you have any other colour of lentil in the cupboard, use it and match the behaviour rather than the colour: brown, green, Puy and beluga hold their shape, while red and yellow collapse into a puree. If you have no lentils at all, canned brown lentils or canned chickpeas are the easiest cup-for-cup swap in salads, stews and curries; split peas work in anything soupy but need about twice the cooking time; and for a bolognese, taco filling or veggie burger, finely chopped browned mushrooms plus toasted walnuts give you the same savoury bite. The thing to work out first is which job the lentils were doing. Sometimes they are the structure, separate firm little pebbles in a salad or under a piece of fish, and sometimes they are the thickener, dissolving to give a soup its body. Get the job right and almost anything works; get it wrong and you turn a lentil salad into dal or a dal into soup with beans in it.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- What changes —
- similar taste, different texture
- Best for —
- soups
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of lentils | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A different colour of lentilsoups | Same amount by volumeTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Canned or pouch-cooked lentilssalads | 1 cup dry lentils = about 2 ½ cups cooked = two 15 oz cans, drained and rinsedTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Split peas, yellow or greensoups | Same amount by volumeWith roughly twice the cooking time and extra liquidTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Chickpeas or white beanssalads | Same amount, cooked for cookedUsing canned rather than driedYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Bulgur or coarse cracked wheatadas polo | ¾ cup bulgur, added much later in the cooking per 1 cup dry lentilsYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Finely chopped mushrooms plus toasted walnutslentil bolognese | 1 ½ cups finely chopped mushrooms, browned hard, + 1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts per 1 cup cooked lentilsTweak it | Tweak it |
| 7 | Quinoa, the weakest of the usual suggestionscold salads | Same amount, cooked for cookedCold applications onlyYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
A different colour of lentil
similar taste, different texture
Almost always the right answer, and free, as long as you account for the fact that different lentils behave completely differently in the pot.
- Best for
- soups, dal, salads, stews, rice dishes, curries
Red and yellow lentils are skinless and split, cook in 15 to 20 minutes and collapse to a puree, so they are for soups and dal only. Brown and standard green lentils take 20 to 30 minutes and mostly hold together. Puy and black beluga take 20 to 25 minutes and stay firm and distinct. Swapping across those groups changes the texture of the dish entirely, though you can blend a shape-holding lentil to fake a creamy one.
Canned or pouch-cooked lentils
similar taste, different texture
The fastest real substitute, and worth keeping in the cupboard precisely for the evening you run out of dry ones.
- 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.
Split peas, yellow or green
different taste, similar texture
The closest cupboard pulse for anything that ends up thick and soupy, since split peas break down the way red lentils do.
- 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.
Chickpeas or white beans
different taste and texture
A reliable swap wherever the lentils were there for protein and substance rather than for their specific texture.
- 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.
Bulgur or coarse cracked wheat
different taste and texture
The best swap for lentil pilafs and fillings, where the lentils were providing scattered nubby texture through a grain dish.
- 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.
Finely chopped mushrooms plus toasted walnuts
different taste, similar texture
The best substitute by a wide margin wherever lentils were standing in for ground meat.
- 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.
Quinoa, the weakest of the usual suggestions
different taste and texture
Frequently recommended and rarely good, worth including so you know when it fails.
- 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.
Questions
5 questionsCan I substitute red lentils for green or brown ones?
Only in soups, dal and anything you want thick. Red and yellow lentils have no skins, so they dissolve within 20 minutes into a puree. In a lentil salad or a pilaf, where the recipe wants separate firm lentils, they collapse and the dish becomes dal. Going the other way works better: brown or green lentils can make a soup, they just need longer and a quick blitz with a stick blender to get the same creaminess.
Can I use canned lentils instead of dry?
Yes, and it is the easiest swap there is. Use two 15 oz cans, drained and rinsed, for each cup of dry lentils the recipe calls for. Add them near the end rather than at the start, since they are already cooked and will turn to mush over half an hour of simmering, and taste before adding salt because canned pulses bring their own.
Do lentils need to be soaked?
No. Unlike chickpeas and dried beans, lentils are small and thin-skinned enough to cook from dry in 15 to 40 minutes depending on the type. Soaking gives you nothing and tends to make them cook unevenly and break apart. Rinse them, pick out any grit, and cook.
Can I just leave the lentils out?
It depends on how central they are. In a vegetable soup or a curry where lentils are one component among many, you can leave them out and add another vegetable or a can of beans instead, though the broth will be thinner because lentils were thickening it. In dal, lentil soup or a lentil salad the lentils are the dish, so leaving them out means cooking something else, which is fine but worth being honest about.
Are lentils the same as beans?
Both are legumes, but lentils are much smaller and flatter, cook far faster and, crucially, break down into the cooking liquid in a way beans do not. That is why lentils thicken a soup on their own and beans just sit in it. When you swap beans for lentils, mash some of them to get that thickening effect back.
Tips for substituting lentils
6 tips- Lentils do not need soaking, and that is the main reason to cook with them. Soaking makes them cook unevenly and turn mushy, so rinse and go straight into the pot.
- Salt whenever you like, but hold the lemon, vinegar, wine and tomato until the lentils are already tender. Acid added early keeps the skins stubbornly firm, which is the usual reason a pot of lentils seems to never soften.
- Old lentils never soften no matter how long you cook them. If a batch is still chalky after 45 minutes it is the lentils, not your technique, so start again with a fresher bag and buy from a shop with turnover.
- Rinse and spread them out on a tray for a moment before cooking. Grit and the occasional small stone are common in lentils in a way they are not in rice, and one stone can crack a tooth.
- One cup of dry lentils gives about 2 ½ cups cooked, so a recipe written for dry lentils needs roughly two 15 oz cans if you are swapping to canned, not one.
- For a lentil rice dish such as adas polo, cook the lentils separately and only until barely tender, then layer them with the rice. Cooking them together turns the lentils into paste and stains the rice grey.