Health
Habits
Food
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How (And Why) To Cook And Freeze Large Batches Of Lentils
Collards, Carrots and Lentils Recipe
Healthy eating is important, but for most people (myself included) there are two factors that will almost always trump your best intentions to eat well: taste and time.
In the long run you will not win a battle of wills against your taste buds, and if you think about it you probably don’t even want to. If you hope to build long-term healthy eating habits I suggest focusing your efforts on making the food you cook at home taste as good or better than your default, less healthy alternatives.
Convenience is also a big factor in our daily food decisions. Time is one of our most precious resources, and although I recommend eating slowly I am a big advocate of cooking simply and quickly. In fact, one of the reasons I most often decide to cook at home is that making my own food is much quicker than visiting even the closest taqueria. It is also healthier and cheaper.
On a typical weeknight, I sit down to dinner 15-20 minutes after walking in the door. Granted, I usually cook for just myself, but doubling my recipes is fairly easily and doesn’t cost much in time.
This kind of efficiency does require a bit of planning, however. My meals are typically composed of a big pile of vegetables and either beans, lentils, eggs, fish, intact whole grains, or some combination of these. Half the battle is being sure these things are in your home when you need them.
My fridge is always stocked with fresh vegetables and herbs from my weekly farmers market trip. I also usually set aside a little time each week to cook a large batch of either beans or lentils, which are among my absolute favorite foods for adding substance, texture and a world of flavor to dishes.
I’ve written before about how I make beans using a pressure cooker, but today I want to focus on lentils. Lentils are smaller and more delicate than most beans. As a result, they cook faster and don’t require as much culinary foresight (beans require an overnight soak, while lentils do not).
There are many varieties of lentils. Some are more firm and keep their shape after cooking, making them ideal for adding to stir fries and salads. They can also be used as a substitute for or addition to grain dishes. Examples of firm lentils are French green, black beluga and the most common Spanish brown varieties.
Yellow, red and orange lentils are even smaller and more delicate, which causes them to fall apart and turn to liquid during cooking. These lentils are common ingredients in soups, stews and Indian food.
Because I frequently use lentils as a last minute addition to vegetable dishes to make them more substantial, I have worked to optimize the cooking and storage for a few of the firm varieties. My preference is for the French green and black beluga, but since black lentils are harder to find I performed my experiments exclusively on the green and brown varieties.
My goal was to find the optimal cooking time and the best freezing methods for lentils. Specifically I was hoping to find a convenient method of freezing individual servings that could be stored indefinitely and used within minutes at any time, similar to my method of freezing brown rice.
Traditionally I cook lentils on the stove top in a regular covered sauce pan, but this time I also tried the pressure cooker to see if it could reduce cooking time. In each of my experiments I used 1 cup of dry lentils and 6 cups of water with salt. I added the lentils to a pot of cold water and started my timer when the pot hit the flame.
When preparing lentils, always be sure to rinse them and check for small pebbles before cooking. I do this by slowly pouring my dry lentils into a fine mesh strainer (while checking for pebbles), then rinsing them under the faucet for 30 seconds or so.
A few things surprised me during my experiments. The first is that French green lentils have a much more robust, complex flavor than brown lentils, which have a more subtle flavor and creamier texture. Brown lentils also retained more water and didn’t hold their shape quite as well as the green lentils, and took substantially longer to cook. For these reasons, I strongly preferred the green lentils in my experiments, though I would happily use brown lentils in a hearty stew or as a bed for meat or poultry.
Additionally, because brown lentils didn’t hold their shape as well, I was unable to freeze them in individual plastic wrapped servings like rice. However this method worked wonderfully for green lentils.
As you might expect, my success at freezing lentils in plastic wrap depended on how much liquid I could remove from them before freezing.
For best results, strain lentils very well using a fine meshed strainer before wrapping in individual servings. Carefully place 1/2 cup of lentils in the center of a square of plastic. Fold two opposite edges over the lentils, twist the ends and tie them in a half knot at the top, trying to avoid folding plastic into the lentil ball. To use, run the frozen ball under warm (not hot) water until you can untie the knot. Place lentils in a bowl and microwave 2-3 minutes. Stir with a fork and use.
Both brown and green lentils also froze well in plastic tupper containers. If you know you will be using lentils regularly, you can split a batch you prepare into two or more containers, keep one in the fridge for use and freeze the others. When you are ready, transfer your frozen lentils from the freezer to the fridge the day before you want to use them. Alternatively you could freeze them in Pyrex or glass containers and simply microwave when you want to use them.
I was also curious if a pressure cooker could reduce the time necessary to prepare lentils. For beans a pressure cooker provides an obvious advantage, since on a stove top they can take hours to cook thoroughly. But lentils take only 30-40 min and do not require pre-soaking as beans do. Boiling lentils requires very little attention (make the rest of your food while they cook) and cleanup is easier, so I was curious if there would still be a time advantage using a pressure cooker.
I got different results for the different varieties. For green lentils the pressure cooker did not provide much of an advantage over regular boiling. I found the optimal pressure cooker time for green lentils to be 5-6 minutes, but it takes about 15 minutes for it to pressurize (could maybe be reduced with less water) and another 5 for depressurizing after cooking. Given the extra cleanup/hassle of using the pressure cooker over a sauce pan, the 35 minutes it took to boil the same amount of lentils feels like a better deal.
Another advantage of not using the pressure cooker for green lentils is it’s possible to check the texture as they cook. With the pressure cooker I found it was easy to undercook or overcook the lentils, and the time window was very narrow. This is not ideal if you want the lentils to keep their shape for freezing.
On the other hand, the time advantage gained by using a pressure cooker for the bigger brown lentils was substantial. Brown lentils cooked completely in 7-8 minutes in the pressure cooker, bringing the total cook time to under 30 minutes. However it took well over 45 minutes for them to soften up with boiling alone.
Though I didn’t test them in these experiments, my experience with red and yellow lentils is that they cook in a pressure cooker in about 4 minutes, much faster than simply boiling. This substantially cuts the amount of time it takes to cook with them.
Summary
French green lentils were my favorite for flavor, ease of cooking and storage. They are easiest to prepare by boiling with salt in a regular covered sauce pan for approximately 35 minutes. If well strained, they freeze beautifully in either individually wrapped balls or in a tupper. They can be kept 4-5 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Brown lentils take longer to cook and time is saved by using a pressure cooker. These lentils can be frozen, but do better in a large solid container than in individually wrapped servings.
Either variety stores well in the freezer and has the potential to substantially cut down on daily cooking times when prepared in large batches and used repeatedly.
Do you freeze lentils? Do you prefer to use a pressure cooker?
Great article! I use a lot of lentils so the freezing portion was very useful. I, too, cook in 15 minutes segments for our family of four. It’s not that hard especially when using fresh ingredients and planning ahead. Thanks for the info!
The green lentils are named les lentilles du Puy
lentils are one of my all time favorite foods (im a huge bean lover too!) but i’ve never experimented with the different varieties so it was cool to read about your take on them. and freezing them is such a smart idea!! im starting to discover how helpful the freezer can be especially when cooking for one!
I use mostly the French green and black beluga lentils…I think I prefer the green. I haven’t tried freezing lentils (yet), but I’ll keep it in mind when I cook a large amount.
I gotta find me one of ‘dem pressure cookers…
I freeze batches of lentils all the time. I find that they thaw out nicely so long as they’re not over-cooked! Great topic!
Maybe it’s just me, but I find if I freeze drained lentils or beans, they are very dried out when I use them later. I use the little 1-cup ziploc containers to portion them out with some of the cooking liquid (I put some in 2-cup containers, too, for things like soup and chili where I’ll be using more at one time). I think they have a much better texture that way.
I always freeze beans in their liquid, and I agree that lentils can get a little freezer burn in a tupper. For that reason I prefer the plastic wrap, which prevents the surface from drying out.
I sprout dried lentils to add to salads but I’ve never tried cooking and freezing them. I don’t have a pressure cooker but read somewhere that a slow cooker works just as well for beans and lentils… has anyone tried this?
Hi Jo,
Yes, a slow cooker will certainly work for beans, although I’m not sure why you’d want to use one for lentils unless you’re making a stew. The difference between a slow cooker and a pressure cooker is that a pressure cooker is really fast while a slow cooker is, well, slow. They have different advantages, so choose which ever fits bets into your life. Some people use both.
I have question for you, my husband and I are both very busy we get up everyday at 4 am to go to the gym than after gym strait to work, i was thinking to cook dinner and dreezer it i was think in green lentils quinoa, veggies and some meat i will cook in the pressure cooker can i freeser it?
FAN TAS TIC article. so glad I found you!!!
🙂
I love lentils! I was wondering whether anyone has used Trader Joe’s steamed French lentils. They come precooked and vacuum sealed. The package contains a whole pound, though, and they say on the box that they should be used within a couple of days. :-/ Do you think your freezing method would work with these?
I had been using TJ’s steamed lentils because I’m lazy and they’re really good (and, yes, I’d freeze the portion I didn’t use right away), but I have been reading so much lately about the need to soak all grains and beans (and even nuts!) to remove anti-nutrients. Darya, what is your take on this? I’m so confused and find myself obsessing over the science behind different eating recommendations (Paleo, WAPF, Vegetarian). I’d cut out refined carbs and was eating a mostly plant-based diet, then I was told by my doctor and nutritionist to eat more meat, but I felt better eating intact grains and legumes (even though I ate mostly the canned variety). All this worry over whether I’m consuming an optimal diet can’t be healthy.
If you’re eating a diet with a wide variety of nutrients (aka lots of different whole, unprocessed foods), then anti-nutrients are not a big deal. Also, cooking removes most of them as well.
I tried to make lentils from scratch, but the skins all came off. 🙁 what did I do wrong?
That happens, but how much it matters depends on the variety of lentil you choose.
Did you salt the lentils whilst they were cooking, you should wait until they’re cooked and drained before salting.
I find this helpful. I just made a large batch of green lentils and didn’t want to be forced to make them all in a weeks’ time. So tonight I will be batching them up in 1/2 cups to 1 cup so I can use later and even puree for desserts.
1:6 lentils /water is too much, unless you like them soupy, of course. Try 1 cup lentils to 2.5 cups liquid. I put mine in a rice cooker. I don’t what kind they are, they’re the only ones on the shelf at most grocery stores. Done in 20 minutes, and when I’m lazy I put rice in with them, same ratio of water to rice and lentils 1:2.5. Add your spices and you have some good stuff.
This sounds great! I just got a rice cooker this week and will definitely be trying your idea. Thanks for sharing! Any recommendations on spice combinations to try?
Great article! Lentils are one of my best food. Thanks a lot
I love using my Zojirushi rice cooker with brown and green lentils (I have yet to try red or yellow). I just cook them on the white rice setting with 1 1/4 cup of water per 1 cup of lentils and have yet to have a bad batch come out!
What about putting brown lentils in individual snack size plastic bags? Like ziplock? Would that make a difference? I have a gaint bag of brown lentils in my cupboard :/
Good idea Ana. I freeze lentils, brown and white basmati rice, wild rice and quinoa in those. It’s easy to get the air out. I freeze them flat because they are so easy to store. Since I usually cook for just two this is a great way to freeze small portions.
You mention in the above article that beans have to be soaked. They don’t. Soaking only shortens the cooking time. I never soak my beans; ever. I’m fairly new to lentils and I use them in different kinds in cooking. I used a pressure cooker years ago but switched it out for slow cooking. I don’t even own a pressure cooker today.
I appreciate the information on freezing lentils.
I’ve only been preparing and eating them for a couple of years now, and it seems every time I cook a batch (16 oz dried lentils) I find I’m forcing myself to eat the last couple servings so they don’t go to waste. I love that lentils and beans are so tasty and satisfying!
My one concern is your suggestion to microwave the lentils. I don’t understand why you would want to take something so good and expose it to radio waves?
Have you considered just cooking a smaller batch, say 8 oz? I have done extensive research into the safety of microwaves and they are fine.
I use a lot of green lentils for cookies, either vegetable salty cookies or sweet (choc chips or raisins). Just 2 cups lentils, 2 eggs, optional baking powder and sweet or salty seasonings. 15 min 350.
I want to freeze lentils and chickpeas as I live alone and tend to waste big batches (get bored of eating same meal everyday). So I plan on using the ziplock bags, not containers. However, I will experiment with dryness as I’ve read other posts about this.
Cheaper than buying in cans and good organic can ones are even more expensive.
Thks, great comments. Happy lentil tasting gals!
This was a really helpful post. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you very much for the information! Very helpful!
I started using an InstaPot that works very well. I made black lentils in coconut milk today in 25 minutes.They are firm and yummy.
Du Puy lentils are my favorite! but 35 minutes seems like a really long time to me. I usually do a 1:2 ratio on the stove and cook covered for about 13-15 minutes for firmer lentils used in salads or 16-18 minutes for very soft lentils. They’re perfect every time and usually no draining required at the end.