Best Lentils Recipes

This colorful East African chicken and lentil stew offers a new take on a classic Ethiopian doro wat chicken stew. Just be sure to follow the instructions for making the Berbere seasoning blend first, then get to cooking.  Courtesy of McCormick

This is another elemental stew that makes a hearty lunch on a rainy day. Serve it in large bowls with a salad of bitter greens in light vinaigrette. Lentils are drought resistant, which make them a good crop for hot summers with sparse rainfall which we often experience here in the Upper Midwest.  Our lentils, which come in various colors, sizes and flavor profiles, are from Chieftain Wild Rice Company in Spooner, Wisconsin. Because they are a pulse, or a grain legume, they lend themselves well to crop rotation since they actively fix nitrogen to the soil during the growing season.  Consequently, lentils are one cover crop that can also be harvested for profit by regional farmers. This recipe is courtesy of Heartland: Farm-Forward Dishes from the Great Midwest cookbook by Lenny Russo and Burgess Lea Press.

This healthy breakfast recipe is made easy with your Instant Pot. With jammy eggs, spinach and lentils at the forefront of this recipe, you and your family will be craving this comforting dish during chilly mornings.Recipe courtesy of Instant Pot 

These lentils make a quick, flavorful, and simple side dish that's fantastic with roast meats. To keep the texture interesting, half of the lentils were left whole instead of puréed, and sun-dried tomato oil lends body and creaminess. See all sun-dried tomato recipes.