Wondering how to cook black lentils? Easy and healthy, black lentils can help you make a filling vegan main dish or lentil recipes for side dishes. I’m showing you the best way to elevate the earthy flavor of these tasty lens-shaped legumes to get that dietary fiber you need.
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Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthy: Black lentils are a healthy choice that you can add to your meal. Whether you’re using them as an ingredient in your vegan main dish or as a side dish to round out a meal, you’re getting the best benefits for your health.
- Easy to cook: Your stovetop or Instant Pot makes it easy to cook black lentils for any use. Once you see how easy these are to make, you’ll be adding them to everything!
- Delicious: Nutty flavor and earthiness combine to give black lentils a unique taste over red lentils, brown lentils, and other varieties of lentils. You’ve got to try them! If you are looking for a delicious recipe to go with these black lentils, I would try this Naan recipe without yogurt. Enjoy!
About Black Lentils
Some people call black lentils black beluga lentils simply because they really resemble caviar. Of course, they are plant-based, but they do have a resemblance. They’re very pretty, but they are brimming with nutrition for you. With loads of fiber and resistance to getting mushy like the other varieties of lentils, you’re really going to love these.
Nutrition For Mental Health
Black lentils are rich in folate, thiamine, pantothenic acid, manganese, and copper. They are also a good source of phosphorus and contain vitamins E, K, niacin, magnesium, and riboflavin.
When I was in grad school for nutrition, my favorite topic was how diet can impact mental health, so here at Raepublic, we share how the main ingredient or main nutrient in a recipe can positively impact your mood.
A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial had 51 patients with depression on a standard treatment of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). They were randomly assigned to the placebo or thiamine group. Patients who received thiamine paired with their SSRI experienced decreased depressive symptoms when compared to the placebo group.
Ingredients + Notes
The ingredients for these easy black lentils are as simple as can be!
A full list of ingredients with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations
- Fresh Herbs: Things like thyme, rosemary, sage, and other fresh herbs can all add more flavor in a healthy and natural way.
- Dried Herbs: Bay leaf is another wonderful thing you can add to your pot of black lentils. These add such a superb flavor…just make sure you remove the bay leaves before serving.
- Spices: Try adding some crushed garlic, black pepper, or even chili powder. Experimenting with flavors is the best way to fall in love with black lentils.
- Aromatic vegetables: Adding aromatic veggies to these caviar lentils adds beautiful depth. Try adding some garlic, leeks, celery, shallots, scallions, or yellow or red onion to this beluga caviar.
- Plant-based Milk: Adding in some of your favorite non-dairy milk can give this a creamy context. Think coconut milk, and you could have an Indian dal that makes everyone eat every last bite!
- Vegetable Broth or Bouillon: Instead of water, try vegetable broth or bouillon to infuse more flavor in the cooking process.
Cooking Black Lentils On The Stove Top
Cooking black lentils on the stovetop is quick and easy. Be sure to pay extra attention around 15 minutes in to ensure the ideal texture is reached.
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- Rinse lentils thoroughly.
- Boil water in a small or medium saucepan or stock pot.
- Add black lentils, salt, and any aromatics you like when the water starts to boil. Then, turn down to a simmer (low-medium heat).
- Cook until the preferred texture is reached.
- For a firm texture, cook for 15 minutes.
- For soft, tender black lentils, cook for a total of 17 minutes.
- For very soft, cook black lentils for 20 minutes total.
- Strain lentils and use them as desired.
How To Cook beluga lentils In An Instant Pot
Cooking black lentils in an Instant Pot or similar pressure cooker is easy. There can be less control over how thoroughly cooked they become, though. If your goal is firmer lentils, then cooking them on the stovetop may be your best option.
- Rinse the black lentils thoroughly.
- Add 1 cup of black lentils and 2 cups of water to your Instant Pot.
- Set your Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Naturally, let the pressure release for 10 minutes.
- Release the remaining steam by setting the steam release valve to “venting.”
- Strain any remaining water and use the cooked black lentils as desired.
- For firmer black lentils, cook for 6 minutes.
- For soft, tender black lentils, cook for a total of 8 minutes.
- For very soft, cooked black lentils for 10 minutes.
Serving Ideas
With black lentils, you can make salads with these legumes, sweet potatoes, and a Dijon mustard and maple syrup-based dressing. Try a burrito bowl or make a wrap. And, of course, Indian cuisine is built for ingredients like black lentils, so let them be the star of your garam masala or dal makhani.
- Soups: You can use black lentils in this Vegetable Lentil Soup or in this Vegan Pumpkin Chili.
- Veggie Burger: If you prefer lentils over black beans, you could use these black lentils to make these tasty Veggie Black Bean Burgers.
Storage Tips
Cooked black lentils can store wonderfully in your fridge or freezer! However, they cook quickly, so it usually doesn’t make sense to freeze them.
- Fridge: Store cooked black lentils in an airtight container for up to 5-7 days. If you are hoping to read the week mark, then I would highly recommend storing them in an airtight glass food storage container. A mason jar or similar glass canning jar works great for this. Alternatively, glass Tupperware (usually sold with a plastic lid) is great, too.
- Freezer: Storing cooked lentils in the freezer for up to six months is a great choice for meal prep. Freezing different types of cooked lentils in a silicone food storage bag like a Stasher or another freezer-safe food storage container is an excellent choice.
FAQ
Black lentils do not need to be soaked first. You can if you like, but it’s not necessary. What IS necessary is rinsing them off before you start cooking with them.
Give them a quick taste and you’ll know! It all depends on your desired texture. If you want them firm on the stovetop, that will take 15 minutes as opposed to 6 minutes in the Instant Pot. If you want them soft, go for 20 minutes on the stovetop while keeping them to 8 minutes in the Instant Pot.
You do not need to cover your lentils when you cook them on the stovetop.
You’ll be able to tell when you give them a quick taste. For firm ones, they should be a bit al dente. If they’re still too hard inside, let them cook a little longer until you like the texture.
If you tried this Easy Black Lentils Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
How To Cook Black Lentils
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup black lentils
- 3 cups water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Black Lentils On The Stovetop
- Rinse lentils thoroughly.
- Boil water in a small or medium saucepan.
- Add black lentils, salt, and any aromatics you like when the water starts to boil. Then, turn down to a simmer (low-medium heat).
- Cook until the preferred texture is reached.
- Strain lentils and use them as desired.– For a firm texture, cook for 15 minutes.– For soft, tender black lentils, cook for a total of 17 minutes.– For very soft, cook black lentils for 20 minutes total.
How To Cook Black Lentils In An Instant Pot
- Rinse the black lentils thoroughly.
- Add 1 cup of black lentils and 2 cups of water to your Instant Pot.
- Set your Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Naturally, let the pressure release for 10 minutes.
- Release the remaining steam by setting the steam release valve to “venting.”
- Strain any remaining water and use the cooked black lentils as desired.– For firmer black lentils, cook for 6 minutes. – For soft, tender black lentils, cook for a total of 8 minutes. – For very soft, cooked black lentils for 10 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Fridge: Store cooked black lentils in an airtight container for up to 5-7 days. If you are hoping to read the week mark, then I would highly recommend storing them in an airtight glass food storage container. A mason jar or similar glass canning jar works great for this. Alternatively, glass Tupperware (usually sold with a plastic lid) is great too.
- Freezer: Storing cooked lentils in the freezer for up to six months is a great choice for meal prep. Freezing different types of cooked lentils in a silicone food storage bag, like a Stasher or another freezer-safe food storage container, is an excellent choice.
Nutrition
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Reference
Ghaleiha, A., Davari, H., Jahangard, L., Haghighi, M., Ahmadpanah, M., Seifrabie, M. A., Bajoghli, H., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., & Brand, S. (2016). Adjuvant thiamine improved standard treatment in patients with major depressive disorder: results from a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 266(8), 695–702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-016-0685-6
This was great. I had never had black lentils before but they were perfectly tasty! I look forward to cooking more with them!
Yay!