Cook lentils before putting in slow cooker?

[Sometimesfraught82]

Beautiful lentil recipe that I usually do on hob
But would like to bung In slow cooker

Do I need to cook the lentils first? Or can I throw in raw?

I go bad food poisoning from lentils before so anxious!

Tia

I can't see why not, so long as they're picked over & thoroughly washed.
Remember to use less water.

I didn't know you could get food poisoning from lentils? I eat them all the time

@Theoldcuriosityshop

I didn't know you could get food poisoning from lentils? I eat them all the time

You can. Oh you can!

Ah less water…. Thank you!

I use unsoaked red lentils in the slow cooker all the time. 2-3 cups liquid to 1 cup of lentils (plus whatever spices and veg you fancy). Cook for 4-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

Lentils are fine. It is kidney beans that have to be boiled for 10 minutes before adding to the slow cooker. They contain a toxin that can make you feel pretty ill, and boiling for 10 minutes destroys this toxin.

Red lentils only take 20 mins to cook in a normal pan, so they wouldn't need to be cooked before going in the slow cooker. I'm surprised about the food poisoning- presumably that had nothing to do with undercooking - undercooked lentils would be hard to digest and might absorb water in your gut, but it seems weird that they'd give you food poisoning as long as they'd been heated!

I use lentils in the slow cooker a lot. They're the perfect solution when things are too watery. No need to pre cook, that would defeat the object.

* Like other legumes, raw lentils contain a type of protein called lectin that, unlike other proteins, binds to your digestive tract, resulting in a variety of toxic reactions, such as vomiting and diarrhea. *

I can confirm, categorically, that this happened to me and has made me…. Cautious