Can lentils be reheated? - The complete guide

Lentils are easy to cook, but they do take some time. They add delicious and nutritious protein and other vitamins and minerals to any meal, so having a constant supply is a great idea. But some people worry that reheating lentils is unsafe or unappetizing.

Can lentils be reheated?  Yes, you can reheat the lentils. You can even quickly reheat frozen lentils in just a few minutes. Reheating lentils can be as simple as covering them with hot water. You can also use the microwave or stove to reheat them in about 5 minutes.

The way you reheat the lentils will depend on how they have been cooked, prepared and stored, but in any case, it is quite simple. In this article, we will teach you how to reheat lentils in all the possible ways.

Can lentils be reheated?

Lentils are a fantastic food to cook in batches and then store in the fridge or freezer for quick, healthy and filling meals in the future.

The secret to getting the most out of the flavor and texture is in the reheating process, which may depend slightly on how the lentils were initially stored.

Does reheating lentils cause food poisoning?

Lentils do not have a significant inherent risk of food poisoning, but it is not impossible. If you cook the lentils and eat them immediately, any potentially harmful bacteria will not survive the cooking process.

But if you leave your cooked lentils exposed to air, and therefore to pathogens like bacteria, contamination is possible. Although unlikely, you could get sick from eating contaminated food.

If you store your lentils within 2-3 hours of cooking in a closed container, without exposing them to any known contaminants, your lentils are more than likely safe and reheating them will not cause food poisoning.

How to reheat lentils - The best way

The best way to reheat lentils is also the easiest, but it only works if the lentils have been stored on their own, with no other ingredients.

All you need is lukewarm to hot water , but not boiling hot.

Transfer your lentils to a bowl and pour hot water over them. Leave them in the water until they are completely heated. Then add them to any other element that you are going to accompany the lentils.

If you’ve seasoned the lentils or added any other ingredients , there is a solution to the hot water method, but it’s not quite foolproof.

Make sure the lentils are in a tightly closed container that does not contain BPA and can therefore heat up. Place the entire container of lentils in a clean, clogged bowl or sink and fill with warm or hot, but not boiling, water.

The heat from the water should transfer through the container to warm your lentils. Although if you have large chunks of other ingredients, like potatoes, they probably won’t heat up well with this method.

Reheat Lentils in the Microwave

If you have other ingredients mixed in with the lentils, the microwave is a quick and easy way to heat up the food.

Just place the microwave-safe bowl in the microwave and be sure to cover it with a splatter guard. Lentils sometimes burst in the microwave, which can leave a bit of a mess if your plate isn’t covered.

Start by heating the lentils for 1 minute, then give the food a good stir. This will distribute the heat and prevent the lentils from drying out or heating unevenly. Continue heating for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the lentils are just the right temperature.

If you have lentils with no other ingredients, add a little water to your bowl or plate before heating.

This will prevent them from drying out in the microwave and will also help the lentils heat more evenly and quickly. You can simply drain the water once they are hot enough.

Reheat the lentils on the stove

If you don’t like heating food in the microwave, you can also reheat the lentils on the stove. If you have regular lentils, simply transfer the cold lentils to a pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil and remove the pot from the heat immediately. 

It’s easy for lentils to overcook if they’ve already been cooked once. So you must be careful not to leave them in the boiled water for longer than necessary.

When the water boils, all the lentils will be piping hot and you can drain them right away and enjoy.

If you have saved the lentils in a sauce, you do not have to add water to the pot. Just bring the sauce to a simmer and that will heat up your lentils in the process. It shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes on medium heat.

Lastly, if you have mixed ingredients into the lentils, such as rice or vegetables, you can reheat the food in a skillet instead of a pot.

Add a tablespoon of oil to prevent food from sticking to the pan, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir frequently to make sure the heat is evenly distributed. And, as always, be careful not to overheat the lentils so they get mushy.

reheat frozen lentils

The easiest way to reheat frozen lentils is to soak them in hot water, just like you would lentils stored in the fridge.

The main difference between frozen lentils and cold ones from the fridge is that the water will cool faster from freezing and you may have to drain and add new water.

If your lentils are frozen without any other ingredients or spices, you can transfer the frozen lentils to a colander or a colander with very small holes and simply run hot tap water over the lentils until they are well thawed.

Then you can add them to a bowl and cover them with hot water for 5 minutes to warm them up better.

If you have frozen the lentils with spices or other ingredients, place the entire frozen container, leaving it tightly closed, in a pot or sink filled with hot water. You can put the entire container in a Ziploc bag before soaking to prevent water from seeping into the container.

If the hot water doesn’t transfer enough heat to defrost and reheat your frozen lentils, you can combine this technique with one of the others mentioned above.

Can you reheat lentils twice?

Reheating any food more than once is usually not safe. The amount of time and opportunity for bacteria to form in your food is at least doubled, which is not worth the risk.

This is especially true if your lentils have been cooked in or with something other than water, such as chicken broth.

Lentils are very small and quite fragile, at least compared to some of their more robust legume relatives. So reheating them more than once will severely compromise their quality.

They will probably be very mushy and mushy if there was a significant amount of liquid in their preparation and storage, or they will be dry and unappetizing if they were stored without liquid.

A best practice would be to heat only the amount you plan to eat or use for a particular meal, and leave the rest in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use it.

How to reheat lentils [Table]

Related questions

We hope this guide to reheating lentils has been helpful! We would also like to invite you to check out these related questions, in case you have even more questions about lentils.

Can lentils be frozen?

You can freeze the lentils. Whether dried, cooked, or previously canned, lentils will stay fresh in your freezer for 2-6 months. To make sure they taste and feel as similar as possible when you thaw them, you’ll need to prepare and freeze them carefully.

It’s not difficult, but you do need to follow some best practices for freezing lentils , which we’ve devoted an entire article to, to ensure your success freezing lentils every time.

How long do cooked lentils last?

Cooked lentils will last 3-5 days if stored carefully in the fridge. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 6 months without affecting the quality.

If you want to know what are the best ways to preserve lentils, we have written another article on this topic.

But the most important part of enjoying lentils after they’ve been cooked and stored is the reheating process. Be sure to also bookmark this page to reheat your lentils perfectly every time.

Do you drain the lentils after cooking them?

It’s true that you should rinse and drain lentils before cooking to remove dust and bean debris, but you don’t need to drain them after cooking.

Depending on the amount of liquid left in the pot and how you plan to prepare the cooked lentils, you can choose to drain some or all of the excess liquid, but you can also add it to a sauce or broth for added flavor.

If you are going to store some of your lentils, you can store them in their cooking water and they will stay moist and flavorful.

Lentils absorb much of the water in which they are cooked, roughly doubling in size, but it is always better to use more water than necessary when cooking lentils, rather than less, so it is very common to have some left over. .