How do you ‘bulk out’ meals with lentils?

[Bluemooninmyeyes1]

Ok, I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never cooked with lentils before! But we eat far too much meat in our house and we really need to cut down. I’ve seen quite a few posts on here saying that meals like spag bol, chilli etc. (basically anything that contains mince) can be bulked out with lentils. Just wanted to ask- how exactly do you do this, as in how do you cook the lentils, what type of lentils and roughly how much meat to lentils do you use in meals?

Sorry for all of the questions but I’m a ‘lentil virgin’ as you can tell

id like to know this as well, i only use lentils to make soup but see it banded about on here

I use puy lentils in shepherd's pie or beef stew. Just tend to add them in with the root veg. They take about 20 mins to cook, maybe 25.

For Bolognese, chilli, stews etc I just pour some dried red lentils into the pot and add a bit of extra liquid if required. It’s just like cooking rice or pasta, it just takes less time for them to absorb the liquid.

Good for soups too.

Really, please just don’t

I love lentil soups and stews, but to use it in a Bologna’s?! Nooo

Just have a bit less sauce instead of bulked our sauce

So with there being different types ie. red, puy etc. are you meant to use certain ones in certain meals?

We use lentils instead of mince in spaghetti bolognese. So not so much bulking out as full on replacement and then when we want beef we’ll have a really nice steak or something another night. The way we do it is:

• fry cubed chorizo or pancetta in a little oil (not much, both will release a fair bit) with once finely chopped onion until the onion is soft
• add lentils - my preference is puy lentils, or if I can’t get them then green lentils, in either case dried, allow around 50g/person as they’ll expand a fair bit, you need to have rinsed them. Add to the onion and chorizo/pancetta mix
• add a couple of mugs worth of decent stock. Fresh stock is the best but being realistic we’re usually using powdered or cubes. We usually get the Swiss bouillon power, or the Kallo beef or veg cubes are good too.
• add either a jar of pasta sauce or passata, 500g/ml or so
• add herbs - I like a mix of oregano, dried garlic and thyme but whatever really
• simmer for 30-50 mins depending on type of lentils (top up with more stock if getting too thick).

If mixing in with meat you could use tinned lentils as they are ready cooked? Not such a good a good flavour as they won’t have absorbed all the flavours of your sauce

@Pikachubaby

Really, please just don’t

I love lentil soups and stews, but to use it in a Bologna’s?! Nooo

Just have a bit less sauce instead of bulked our sauce

thanks i like this answer

The red ones go to mush and don’t taste of much. Perfect for soup or dhal or if you want to add volume to anything with adding flavour (why would anyone want this?! Why?!)

The puy ones retain their shape, have a deep earthy flavour and retain a “bite”, goes well with tomato/smoked paprika or veg in soups and stews

The green ones go between mushy and firm, sort of retain their shape, are quite nice and soft to eat, goes well with leek/smoked sausage stews/soups

I’d use the red ones in dal or soup (especially carrot soup with spices). I’d use puy lentils with or instead of beef mince (in my case probably instead of). Green lentils I’d probs use in a veggie shepherd’s pie or similar.

@MarinaMarinara ah thanks for taking the time to type that, that’s really helpful.

WitHOUT adding flavour

Damn you autocorrect making me look like a fool

I tried bulking out my bolognese with red lentils. It was rank. They seemed to cancel out all the flavour and had a really mushy texture. Not doing that again!

I still have 1.5 bags to use for something

Make dhal, mix with curry powder, onion, tomato and coconut milk

Tinned green lentils go well in a sausage casserole.

I actually use tinned green lentils for bulking our Bolognese etc, don’t have to faff with the amount of water, so much easier.

Oh I love a lentil! I make a (very studenty and inauthentic) ‘bolognaise’ using puy lentils as they are quite meaty in taste and texture. I love red lentils in soups and dals. Also, red lentils make a lovely veggie shepherds’ pie.

I quite often bulk out Bolognaise or chilli with grated carrot so you could try that if you don’t already

Eee when I were a lass there were nowt but red lentils. I like them cooked on their own until thick (with a bit of onion) and find them flavoursome. I don't eat them posh sorts of lentils.

I add them, raw, into a stew with the meat, veg and stock. This adds a bit of added thickening, and rings the changes on stew very cheaply.

Hmm, having read the above, I might branch out into tinned green lentils..

This is totally lazy but I buy Napolina tinned green lentils (cheaper ones seem mushy) drain them then add them to softened onions & garlic, add some good quality passata and season. That's it. A decent Lentil Bol in 15 mins. Goes down well with all, especially with a good old sprinkle of parmesan.x.

I either use a tin of lentils (ready soaked so don't need any extra cooking time), but if I am slow cooking, then I just add an extra tin of tomatoes and tip some split red lentils in, they need a bit more time & juices to blend in.
Makes the meat go further and also adds veg & protein to the meals.

DH tried green lentils in a tomato sauce. It was rank and the DC refused to eat it. I tried red lentils on the basis they're not so obvious and won't look like vomit. I cook the sauce and then boil the lentils separately, rinse them and stir them in a minute or two before serving. Kids have never complained.

I'm another who just used to add a tin of green lentils/cannelloni beans/chick peas, and halve the meat. I would cook the sauce as normal and add pulses just after the tinned tomatoes.

I do 250g of mince plus 50g of green lentils in shepherds pie, spaghetti Bol and chilli, for three adults.

Eat Well For Less recipes have a nice vegetarian green lentil spaghetti Bol - iirc, they add some balsamic vinegar, which improves the flavour! Our family, firm meat eaters liked it, but they are all grown up.

They did a vegetarian shepherds pie this week with lentils, so it’s probably on the BBC website.

Split red lentils. I just rinse in a sieve then pour some in the pan and leave it simmering away. I also pulse up a couple of carrots (match head size) and add those to every Bol, curry, cottage pie mix that I batch cook. so I’ve always got a portion of something in the freezer for a night I don’t want to cook.