Bean, Rice, and Lentil Recipes - Budget Stretching Strategies (2024)

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by Alea Milham 11 Comments

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Bean, Rice, and Lentil Recipes - Budget Stretching Strategies (1)

The most flexible part of my budget is groceries. You can’t cut back on the rent payment or insurance premiums, but you can make cuts in your grocery budget to stretch your budget. I would rather eat beans and rice a few more times in December than be faced with credit card bills in January.

I asked some of my blogging friends to share their favorite bean, rice, and lentil recipes with me. If you have a recipe you would like to share leave it in the comments and I will add it to my Bean, Rice, and Lentil Recipes Pinterest board. Let’s help all of our friends stretch their budget with frugal recipes!

Creating recipes with dried beans is even more frugal than cooking with canned beans. One pound of dried beans costs less than a can of beans, but makes the equivalent of 4 cans of beans. Are you new to cooking dried beans? Then try one of these Methods for Cooking Dried Beans.

Bean Recipes:

Rice Recipes:

Bean and Rice Recipes:

Lentil Recipes:

What is your favorite frugal bean, rice, and/or lentil recipe?

About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Cindy says

    I love all things beans and rice! Your post is a great recipe resource. Pinning it!

    Reply

  2. April @ The 21st Century Housewife says

    This is a wonderful roundup of frugal and delicious recipes! Thank you for including mine too!

    Reply

  3. Debbie says

    I love all of these ingredients and try to incorporate them into our diet frequently. Thanks for sharing all of these great links. I am giving away two great prizes on my blog: a $50 gift certificate to my favorite jeweler robinsonlane.com and a copy of a new book published by fellow blogger, Kat Robinson. It is called Arkansas Pie: A Slice of the Natural State. I just know you will love either one. http://diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com/2012/11/2012-merry-merry-munchies-3-baked.html Come link up to enter.

    Reply

  4. mjskit says

    Dried beans are definitely an inexpensive protein and so easy to make them stretch into many dishes. I’m always amazed at how much you get from 2 cups of dried beans! Great post!

    Reply

  5. robbiekay says

    This is my top choice: http://catelinden.com/recipes/frugal-meatless-meals-coconut-curried-lentils/
    The smell of it cooking is heavenly and the taste is delicious. It makes me smile to dish up a serving. The only drawback to this recipe is that it doesn’t yield an infinite supply. 😉 Fortunately, it’s also a quick and easy recipe. (I substitute maple syrup for the molasses.)

    Reply

  6. -h (@taste-buds) says

    Perfect post. My beautiful signi just informed me that she all of a sudden no longer likes meat. This will surely help keep her protein and iron levels where they should be.

    -h

    Reply

  7. Pat says

    My favourite rice is rice pudding. All I do is take leftover rice, mix up a couple of eggs, mix in with the rice, add some sweetener ( sugar, honey, or what ever you use to your taste), and a little milk ( or soy milk, or almond milk… this was extra good), a little vanilla and bake it all in a casserole dish in the oven at 350 degrees F.
    I can’t really give a regular recipe because I do things to the amount of rice I want to use up. Sometimes I add rasins, or cranberries, and sometimes I add cinnamon. But not always any of those.
    This is a dessert, or our evening snack. Have also eaten it for breakfast.

    Reply

  8. 'Becca says

    Great collection! Thanks for the new ideas.

    We have many favorite bean recipes, but the big winners we make over and over again are Honey Baked Lentils and Masoor Dal with Carrots. These both use lentils, which are easier than most dry beans because they cook more quickly.

    Reply

  9. Judy@Savoring Today says

    What a great collection of frugal recipes! Thanks for putting all this together. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Bean, Rice, and Lentil Recipes - Budget Stretching Strategies (2024)

FAQs

Is lentils like rice? ›

Lentils aren't rice—they don't need to absorb every last drop of cooking liquid. They're more like pasta: best cooked in an abundance of water or stock. Bring your liquid up to a boil, add your lentils, then turn down your heat to a simmer for at least 25-30 minutes.

Can you substitute red lentils for rice? ›

Vegetarians or diabetics often substitute lentils for rice for greater nutritional content per serving.

What do you eat with lentil beans? ›

The best side dishes to serve with lentils are roasted vegetables, yellow rice, couscous, caramelized onions, gobi manchurian, tomato basil soup, brown rice, grilled flatbread, Greek salad, cucumber raita, quinoa, and naan bread.

What ethnicity eats lentils? ›

Lentil dishes are most widespread throughout South Asia, the Mediterranean regions, West Asia, and Latin America.

Are lentils healthier than other beans? ›

Lentils may be associated with a lower risk of heart disease, by lowering bad cholesterol and blood pressure. One study found that eating lentils led to greater reductions in blood pressure than eating chickpeas, peas or beans.

Do lentils and rice make a complete protein? ›

Lentils can be combined with other ingredients like rice to form a “complete protein” with a full complement of amino acids.

Can you eat lentils alone? ›

Also referred to as French lentils, green lentils hold up well after cooking and have a nutty taste. They're an ideal addition to a salad or on their own as a side dish.

Do you need to soak red lentils before cooking with rice? ›

Lentils do not require it but can be soaked in order to reduce cooking time by about half.

Can you eat too many beans and lentils? ›

If you eat fiber-rich lentils regularly, they can cause gas and bloating. If you are sensitive to fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyol (FODMAP) foods, lentils can cause discomfort, as well as bloating and gas in the colon.

What lentils taste the best? ›

Black Beluga lentils have the most flavor, adding a rich, earthy taste and a firm texture that holds up well during cooking. Black lentils will be ready in 20–25 minutes; however, they will fall apart like their brown, green, and red partners once you cook them for too long.

What can you add to lentils to make them taste better? ›

You can also add salt, aromatics like a halved onion, herbs, and spices to the pot before the lentils and the water, like beans, or wait until they're done cooking to flavor them.

What do lentils taste similar to? ›

What do Lentils taste like? The simple answer is mild and earthy with a slightly nutty taste. But the real answer is so much more exciting and detailed- it is really a conversation about what type of lentils, what kind of flavors you like, and what kind of meal.

What are lentils similar to? ›

Lentils are members of the legume family, just like chickpeas or pinto beans, but we have a special, separate place for all the different types of lentils in our hearts. Across the board, lentils cook more quickly than beans.

Do I need to soak lentils? ›

Lentils to do not require soaking like other pulses. Rinse your lentils with fresh water before boiling to remove any dust or debris. Cook on a stovetop, using 3 cups of liquid (water, stock, etc) to 1 cup of dry lentils. Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will double or triple in size.

Do you need to rinse lentils? ›

It's not essential to rinse dried lentils before cooking, but often there can be some debris or shrivelled lentils that can be unpleasant to bite into. We recommend rinsing dried lentils using a strainer under cold water. Pick over them to take out any unwanted debris or shrivelled lentils before using in cooking.

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