Adding lentils to ground meat is a budget-friendly simple swap to boost fiber and stretch servings.
“Eat your legumes!” Trust me, as a dietitian, I know the value of eating more legumes. Lentils and beans are high-fiber foods that support a healthy gut and are packed with important nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium and iron. The problem? As a mom, I know that if I suddenly serve a dinner where lentils are the star of the show, my picky eater will politely decline and ask for nuggets—again.
So, I started looking for ways to add more fiber to meals while keeping our family favorites on the menu. That’s when I realized lentils—tiny, tender and mild—could easily blend into ground meat dishes without sticking out like a sore thumb. The first time I tried it, I stirred them into meat sauce for spaghetti, fully expecting someone to notice (and complain). Instead, the lentils enhanced the meaty texture, making the sauce even thicker, and everyone cleaned their plate. Major mom win!
That’s what inspired this installment of Simple Swaps, where I share the easy ingredient swaps I use to make family meals a little more nourishing. Now, I regularly reach for lentils to bulk up ground meat recipes like tacos, sloppy joes and beefy one-skillet meals with extra fiber and plant protein. As a bonus, doing this also helps me stretch meat a little further and gives our grocery budget a little wiggle room. You’ll never catch me complaining about that!
Why I Started Adding Lentils to Ground Meat Recipes
I first tried this swap because I wanted to work in a high-fiber food group—legumes—that my family doesn’t eat often. Lentils turned out to be the perfect option. They are mild and affordable, with a meaty texture that works surprisingly well in ground meat dishes, especially recipes with plenty of sauce.
Lentils soak up the flavor of the meat, sauce and seasonings around them, so my family still gets their favorite comfort foods and I get to sneak in a little extra nutrition at the same time. I keep coming back to this simple swap because lentils check a lot of boxes:
- Add more fiber: Lentils are packed with fiber, a nutrient most of us don’t eat enough of. Fiber helps meals feel more satisfying and supports healthy digestion.
- Boost plant protein: Lentils add extra protein and nutrients, so meals feel a little more balanced and filling.
- Stretch expensive meat: Mixing lentils into ground beef or poultry helps 1 pound feed more people, which can really add up when grocery prices are high.
- Make meals more budget-friendly: Lentils are inexpensive, shelf-stable and easy to keep on hand for busy weeknights.
Here’s How I Work Lentils into Meaty Mains
This swap works best in dishes with crumbly meat, like tacos, chili, shepherd’s pie, sloppy joes, stuffed peppers and ground beef casseroles. These recipes have plenty of sauce and texture, which help the lentils blend in without dramatically changing the flavor or feel of the dish. I find the richer flavor of beef does the best job masking the lentils, but it works with ground turkey and chicken recipes, too.
Skip this swap in drier recipes where ground meat needs to hold its shape, like burgers, meatballs and meat loaf. Adding lentils to these shaped meats can make them overly soft and more likely to fall apart. Also, there’s less room for the lentils to hide in these recipes, so the legumes tend to be more noticeable.
Working lentils into recipes works best with precooked lentils. Dry lentils need time and liquid to soften, so you can’t just toss them into a skillet of taco meat and hope for the best. My go-to is precooked brown or green lentils because they hold their shape well and offer the “meatiest” texture.
After crumbling and browning the meat on the stovetop, I simply stir in the cooked lentils along with the remaining ingredients and let everything simmer so the flavors can mingle. I usually add about 1/2 cup of cooked lentils per pound of ground meat for an easy fiber boost. Any more than that will make dishes thicker and heavier, which isn’t the goal.
You can also replace up to half the meat with lentils in many recipes. For dishes that call for 1 pound of ground meat, try using 1/2 pound of meat plus 1 to 1-1/2 cups of cooked lentils. Use the extra 1/2 pound of meat for another meal or freeze it for later.
More Recipes to Try
- Seasoned taco meat
- Stovetop chili
- Sloppy joe pie
- Stuffed peppers
- Beef bolognese
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Taco shepherd’s pie
- Enchilada casserole
- Cheeseburger casserole
Tips for Cooking with Lentils
What kind of lentils work best for this swap?
Brown or green lentils work best because they hold their shape and have a slightly chewy texture that pairs well with ground meat. You can use red lentils, too, but they tend to break down as they cook and almost melt right into the other ingredients.
Since dry lentils need time and liquid to soften, precooked lentils are the easiest option for most ground meat recipes. But you can meal prep a big batch ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for easy meals throughout the week, or look for canned or pouches of precooked lentils at the grocery store.
What’s a good lentil-to-ground meat ratio?
I usually stir about 1/2 cup of cooked lentils into 1 pound of ground meat. That’s enough to add fiber and stretch the meal a bit without anyone noticing a major difference in taste or texture.
If you want to replace some of the meat with lentils, try cutting the meat down to 1/2 pound and combining it with 1 to 1-1/2 cups of cooked lentils. This trick can help you save money at the grocery store by stretching a single package of meat into two meals.
Can you use canned lentils?
You can mix canned lentils into ground meat dishes, but they tend to be a little mushier than homemade lentils. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re making dinner for picky eaters, though. The softer texture can actually work in your favor because they’re easier to hide in saucy dishes.
Drain and rinse the lentils, then stir them into the browned meat. Add about 1/2 cup canned lentils per pound of ground meat, and transfer the remaining lentils to an airtight container and refrigerate for another use.
Do lentils make ground meat recipes healthier?
Yes! Adding lentils to ground meat dishes boosts fiber, plant-based protein, iron and other important nutrients. Lentils can also help stretch meat farther by bulking up a recipe to feed more people or by replacing a portion of the meat altogether. Swapping in lentils for some of the meat can also help lower saturated fat and cholesterol for heart-healthy meals.
More Simple Swaps
