5 BEST Lentil Recipes EVERYONE Should Know | Healthy, CHEAP & High-Protein (Why I Love Lentils!)

Today I’m sharing my top 5 easy lentil recipes—each one is protein-packed, budget-friendly, and perfect for simple, meatless meals.
Grab the printable recipes here: https://www.juliapacheco.com/the-best-recipes-using-lentils/

Why Lentils?
Lentils are one of the most underrated pantry staples—cheap, filling, and packed with nutrients. These 5 quick, easy recipes are perfect for busy weeknights. Whether you’re cutting back on meat, saving money, or just need a healthy, satisfying meal, lentils are a great solution. I love them because they’re high in plant-based protein, cook fast, and are perfect for meal prep.

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More Tasty & Budget Friendly Recipes to Watch:
Easy Easter Desserts → https://youtu.be/ExOiV_25xsc
Emergency Budget Recipes → https://youtu.be/lsXfa5bNE-w

More Recipes to Read on My Food Blog:
Cheap Family Meals Under $10 → https://www.juliapacheco.com/cheap-family-meals-under-10/
Dinner for a Month on Just $45 → https://www.juliapacheco.com/dinner-for-a-month-on-just-45-ultra-budget-meals-grocery-savings-plan/
14 Recipes Using Potatoes → https://www.juliapacheco.com/14-recipes-using-potatoes/
5 Easy Meals Using Boxed Stuffing → https://www.juliapacheco.com/5-easy-meals-using-boxed-stuffing-simple-budget-friendly-dinners/

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Full Printable Recipes + Timestamps:
https://www.juliapacheco.com/the-best-recipes-using-lentils/
0:00 Intro
0:31 Mexican Lentil Skillet
2:26 Lentil Curry Casserole
4:35 Lentil Stew
6:33 Lentil Bolognese
8:33 Viral Potato Lentil Burritos

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[Music] it’s no secret that I love lentils you could basically call me the lentil girl lentils are my all-time favorite meat substitute just because they are so high in protein and different nutrients they are one of the cheapest grocery items that you could buy at the store right now and they cook up in just minutes so today I’ll be sharing five of our all-time favorite recipes using lentils let’s get to my kitchen and let’s go get started we’re starting today off with this Mexican skillet now over to my cutting board i’m dicing up a half of a white onion i’m also peeling and dicing one large sweet potato now over to my pan on the stove I added in a tablespoon of olive oil once my oil was hot I added in a tablespoon of minced garlic along with the sweet potato and the diced onion you’re going to let the sweet potato onion and garlic cook together for about 5 to 7 minutes you want the sweet potatoes to soften up slightly now over to my sink I am going to measure out one cup of lentils these are the lentils I am using i absolutely love lentils like I said they’re so high in protein and different nutrients but I do like to measure them out and then just rinse them in a mesh strainer just like this i like to clean them off just slightly kind of like how you would with rice or you know that type of thing now back over to my pan now that my sweet potatoes are tender I’m adding in a tablespoon of tomato paste i’m also adding in a tablespoon and a half of taco seasoning and 14 oz of diced tomatoes next add in 3 cups of chicken broth or you could use veggie broth then add in 15 oz of drained and rinsed black beans with 15 oz of drained corn then add in your rinsed 1 cup of lentils give this a stir and you’re going to let this simmer covered for about 30 minutes you do want to stir it occasionally while it’s simmering just so those lentils cook evenly but after simmering for about 30 minutes you’re going to sprinkle a cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the top of course if you’re a cheese fan like me you don’t have to add the cheese if you don’t care for cheese but you could serve this up we topped ours with a little bit of black pepper and some cilantro you could top yours with sour cream guacamole really top it with anything you love this is so good so filling extremely high in protein from the lentils and the black beans and it is made on such a tight budget which I love now we’re getting started on this lentil curry casserole and this one has to be one of my all-time favorites so to a large baking dish add in 2 Tbsp of olive oil then you’re going to add in a tablespoon of minced garlic after you add in that garlic go ahead and add in a half of a white onion that’s diced next you’re going to add in one diced bell pepper you could use really any color bell pepper i do find that orange and red are best for this recipe just because they’re a little bit sweeter then add in 3/4 cup of lentils a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes 14 oz can of coconut milk the coconut milk adds a lot of flavor it doesn’t add like coconuty flavor just great flavor then I’m adding in a 2 and 1/2 cups of vegetable broth for the seasonings the seasonings are bold but this is oh so good add in a half a teaspoon of turmeric a half a teaspoon of cumin 1 teaspoon of curry powder a half a teaspoon of salt then a half a teaspoon of pepper and an eighth a teaspoon of cinnamon the cinnamon adds a little bold kick give this a really good whisk you want the coconut milk to be kind of like distributed you want everything to kind of be mixed together and combined you’re going to cover this tightly with foil bake it in a preheated oven to 400° for about an hour and 20 minutes after the cooking time is up remove the foil and bake this for an additional 10 minutes once out of the oven the lentils should be super duper tender and if you’d like to mash some of them up and leave some hole you could kind of mash some of them with the back of a spoon and then we topped ours with a little bit of cilantro and fresh lime we also served ours in a bowl with kind of like a scoop of rice and naan bread the naan bread that I like to use is just kind of like from the store i’ve made homemade naan bread in the past let me know if you want that recipe for homemade naan bread but this is so good with a little bit of fresh lime juice over the top this curry is absolutely delicious and I love that it’s made in the oven it really is a dump and go casserole which I love this is such a budget friendly delicious meal packed full of so much immense delicious flavor now we’re getting started on this lentil stew i have been making this one for years and years and I love making it all year round so to a cutting board dice up your three large carrots a half of an onion and peel and dice two large russet potatoes over to a large pot on the stove add in a tablespoon of olive oil then the onions and carrots just let those onions and carrots cook for about 3 minutes you want them to slightly soften up then go ahead and add in your cup and a half of uncooked lentils i did rinse my lentils and just clean them off a bit but just add those in there then you’re going to add in 7 cups of water along with 3 oz of tomato paste after you add the tomato paste in there add in a tablespoon and a half of broth powder if you don’t have broth powder on hand and you have like regular chicken broth or veggie broth you could add in 7 cups of chicken broth or veggie broth instead of the water if you’d like and just skip the broth powder next add in a half a tablespoon of salt a teaspoon of pepper then add in a teaspoon of onion powder and Italian seasoning go ahead and toss those potatoes right in there give this a stir and you’re going to let this simmer on your stove for about 25 minutes you want those lentils to be super tender or to the tenderness that you like them to be and then once you do have your lentils all the way cooked through your lentils and potatoes are tender add in one cup of fresh spinach and 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese give this a stir once your spinach welts down you could serve this beautiful stew up here’s what my lentil stew looks like just because it’s a lentil stew doesn’t mean you could only make it in the winter and the fall like I said I make this all year round this is considered like an extreme budget meal just because it is so affordable to make it is packed full of protein this one also freezes super duper well so you can make a huge batch of it and then eat off of it for a couple months it’s amazing now we’re getting started on my all-time favorite lentil bolognese so to a cutting board I’m dicing up a half of a white onion i’m also dicing up 8 oz of white mushrooms if you don’t care for mushrooms you certainly don’t have to add them in you could use carrots you could use bell peppers you could really use any veggies to substitute those mushrooms that you like you could even use like peas but I added them to a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil i also added in some salt and pepper just stir them around cook them for about 5 minutes on the stove you want these onions and mushrooms to soften up now you’re going to add in about a tablespoon of minced garlic stir the garlic in and you’re going to let the garlic cook for about 15 seconds you don’t want the garlic to burn you just want it to become fragrant next you’re going to stir in 14 oz of fire roasted diced tomatoes those fire roasted tomatoes add a lot of flavor then 24 oz of any pasta sauce that you like 2 cups of water then you’re going to add in 1 cup of lentils you could really use any color any type of lentils you’d like i’m really sticking with the brown or green lentils for all of these recipes but like I said use any color you’d like you could use like red you could use yellow or black but I do find that the brown and green lentils are the least expensive lentils at my grocery store and they still have so much nutritional value but to that pan I added in about a teaspoon of Italian seasoning give this a stir let it simmer on your stove covered for about 25 minutes you do want to stir it occasionally but at the 25minut mark I’m just basically getting started on my spaghetti i added my spaghetti to a large pot of boiling water i cooked it for a few minutes just you know according to the package instructions but now that my bolognese is cooked through my lentils are nice and tender you could basically serve this up at this point we topped ours with a little bit of Parmesan cheese and like I said before you could add any veggies you like to this you could add bell peppers you could even add like broccoli seriously any veggies it’s just so delicious you definitely have to try this one now we’re making my potato lentil wraps or you could call them burritos they have been so mega popular this past month so I’m showing you how to make them step by step to a large pot on the stove add in your tablespoon of olive oil then a half of a diced onion you could use any type of onion that you like or have on hand i’m using a white onion today now we’re rinsing our lentils for this recipe you want to use about a half a pound of lentils preferably green or a brown lentils rinse them off i like to rinse them just to remove any debris dust or small rocks that might be present just due to the way that lentils are grown and harvested that might be on it also it helps reduce foaming during cooking but once your onion is tender add in a tablespoon of minced garlic give it a little stir now you’re going to add in your three large peeled and diced rusted potatoes just toss them right in there and then after that add in about 3 and 1/2 cups of water or you could use any type of broth add in those rinsed lentils and then I like to go crazy with the seasonings i add in a lot of seasonings just because the lentils and potatoes tend to be on the blander side so I add in a teaspoon of salt pepper onion powder garlic powder oregano chili powder cumin and paprika these seasonings mixed together for these burritos are phenomenal i started making these burritos when my husband and I were struggling to make ends meet and I’ve been making them since i especially like to batch make them but I let this simmer on my stove for about 25 minutes if you do notice that it needs a little bit more liquid just to help those lentils become tender add in some more water or broth until those lentils do become tender and then at about 25 minutes my lentils were to the tenderness that I like them to be i promise this doesn’t look like the most beautiful thing in the world but let me tell you it is a powerhouse of flavor and definitely full of protein grab your tortillas i do recommend using larger tortillas just so you could really fill them up just fill up your tortillas roll them up this is something my husband and I love doing it really makes these basic inexpensive burritos taste like super high-end burritos we like to put a little oil in our pan after we roll up the burritos and then we just like to crisp up the outside of the tortillas tortillas do tend to be like on you know the boring side sometimes they could be a little bit chewy but if you crisp up the outside it makes them taste so high-end makes them taste like you’re at like a fancy restaurant i love meal prepping these burritos i actually made these to meal prep them and freeze them so I definitely recommend doing that we love eating these for lunch throughout the week just because they’re full of protein they won’t leave you hungry in between meals and they are so so inexpensive i definitely recommend crisping up the outside it adds an element of flavor and just really makes them taste so delicious you have to try these burritos you could add any seasonings you like to them you could add cheese or different veggies too i would really love to have you over here so make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next video like this pi for now