Can anyone inspire me with recipes for pulses, please?

[Midnightcampervan]

I already make hoummous and Dahl and vegetarian curries but I’d like to eat more pulses and quite honestly I often just don’t feel like meals based around them or get stuck for ideas that aren’t curry. We aren’t vegetarian (although I prefer vegetarian food generally). Please can you inspire me with some good ideas. 💡

I like a lentil salad (puy or green) with a nice herby vinegarette and some grilled halloumi, maybe a few redcurrants or pomegranate seeds

Burnt aubergine chilli is fab: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/burnt-aubergine-veggie-chilli

Tuna and white bean salad

chorizo and bean stew. Made this up but essential chorizo and onion, butter beans, canellini beans and chick peas, tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, savoy cabbage added at the end.

Italian bean soup

Bean chilli

Any of the Ottolenghi chickpea recipes are fab, especially the miso chickpea salad and confit chickpeas https://ottolenghi.co.uk/search?q=Chickpea+

Lentil lasagne https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/vegetarian-lasagne.html

Greek bean stew with feta https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/greek-style-beans

Tuscan bean stew https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/lifestyle/food/james-martin-s-tuscan-bean-stew

Jamie Oliver does a good recipe for vegetarian enchiladas with black beans and I also like his ultimate vegan burger recipe which uses chickpeas.

@Midnightcampervan , some lovely and very healthy recipes in here. £14.00 on Amazon if you can’t get it from the library.
https://zoe.com/cookbook-foodforlife?srsltid=AfmBOop_evo6fZqcNt4-SfxRVoRRHJjDQ8Pf6PxQz3OcYyANXkBWcV-4

Some great ideas here! Thank you. I’ve been stuck in a rut

Pulses are fabulous in soup. Make a homemade minestrone, it will be amazing

I'm addicted to Cowboy caviar

Refried beans with rice/salad leaves, peppers and onions and salsa/guacamole/sour cream. You could also make it into burritos/enchiladas/quesadillas

Marry me sauce works really well with beans or lentils

There are numerous posters on Instagram and FB who special use in pulse- based recipes. I'll have a look for some of the names and share them later.

This HelloFresh recipe for lentils with halloumi is utterly delicious:
https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/pan-fried-halloumi-5fc8ca34ed262d664a13aa7a

Also there's various recipes online for veggie versions of "marry me chicken" that use lentils, chickpeas or beans for the protein element - any of those would be lush.

Another Ottolenghi: I do variations on this Cheesy Curried Butter Beans - the pickled red onion is a great contrasting accompanient

I love to braise cabbage and butter beans (other beans are good too ) in chicken stock (with a bit of butter) as a side dish

Substitute lentils for chicken 📧Tuscan chicken recipe | Good Food

I've made it with puy & red, both work.

Green lentil tomato and aubergine moussaka

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/black-bean-chilli

This is easy and much tastier than it's ingrdients would suggest...I usually add a bit more veg.

I make a avocado, black bean and tomato salsa - just chop and put together with chilli and lime juice and fresh coriander - it's easy and nice to keep in the fridge to put on the side of things.

The ottolenghi confit chickpeas above post is great - I use a bit less oil as otherwise it's v expensive.

Chickpea and spinach curry.

Lovely dal recipe https://meerasodha.com/recipes/daily-dal/
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/may/17/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-crispy-black-bean-burgers

I make a sort of lentil shepherds pie. cook onion and garlic and then add finely chopped green pepper/ courgettes/ mushrooms (basically whatever you have, I find it a good way to use up green peppers). Add tinned lentils and season with salt, pepper and cumin. Then I make a mash with some goats cheese in, whack it under the grill until browned, or oven cook it later if prepared in advance.

Limitless recipes here, @Midnightcampervan:

Hodmedods

You’ll find them included after every ingredient.

This week we are having Louisiana style red beans and rice. For the beans, I’m using pinto beans and for the sausage I get a Polish pork kielbasa from the Polish section at Tesco as it’s the closest we have to Cajun style sausages. We’re having it with sautéed greens.

Lately, I’ve also been buying the jars of Bold Beans butter beans or chickpeas and just making a simple salad with olive oil, whatever herbs I have, lemon juice, etc. It’s not a meal but it’s a really nice side or topping to a green salad.

damndelicious.net/2019/04/15/red-beans-and-rice/

I can highly recommend the Bold Bean recipe book. They have loads on their website too, but honestly their recipes are so good I accidentally made a bean recipe every night for a week, and two lunches and no one complained! Do try the website first though.

We have one incarnation or another of feijoada a couple of times a week - it batch cooks well in the slow cooker. Loads of recipes out there.

Also like this version of the Persian khoresh karafs:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/aug/27/vegan-celery-saffron-white-bean-stew-recipe-meera-sodha

These all look absolutely fantastic 👌

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/oct/05/vegan-recipe-caramelised-garlic-courgette-and-butter-beans-meera-sodha

Mix mash with mashed butter beans to accompany stews and casseroles

Make farinata, which uses chick pea flour