Look what I made today! It’s Lentil Pilaf! 
Honestly, growing up I can’t remember a lentil ever coming across my plate but raising my own kids I have been known to slip in a few lentils every now and again. 🙂
My first introduction to lentils came in the form of Near East Lentil Pilaf. I made it and the kids ate it. It was a proud nutritionist moment.
The next time I made lentil pilaf, I didn’t rinse my saucepan enough and the pilaf came out soapy tasting. Oops.
My kids will never let me forget it. Ha!
Lentils are a great source of fiber, 9 grams in just 1/2 cup serving! WOW!!
Near East mixes are fine in a pinch but moving away from ‘boxed foods’ and into more whole foods, I thought I might just try my own lentil pilaf sans soapy-taste.
I started my recipe with a little garlic infused oil and added a red bell pepper. Look at this beauty!
So for my FODMAPers, lentils get the ‘green light’ especially canned lentils, 1/2 cup serving (without onion and garlic). Westbrae makes an appropriate product. (Shout out to Lisa, my client, for finding these!)
I drained and rinsed the lentils to lower the FODMAP content even more.
Today, I cooked up some garlic infused oil (FODMAPers, of course, remove garlic after flavor infused), tossed in some chopped red bell pepper, added some cooked brown rice, some drained and rinsed canned lentils and garnished with fresh basil, scallion (green part only FODMAPers) and some sea salt and pepper. I ate 2 large servings for lunch. Deeeeelllish!
Now, on this beautiful sunny day, I have to haul my butt outside and take a run. I make it sound like a chore, don’t I? But, really, I do love every minute of it.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped into bite size pieces
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (can use Trader Joe's pre-cooked, frozen brown rice)
- 1 15 ounce can Westbrae lentils or about (1 1/2 cup cooked lentils), drained and rinsed
- 2 scallions, sliced (green part only FODMAPers)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Saute garlic in oil over medium heat in medium size skillet (FODMAPers remove garlic once flavor infused)
- Add in chopped red pepper and cook until fork tender.
- Fold in rice and lentils.
- Garnish with scallions and basil.
- Season with sea salt and pepper.
Jennie RD
Does the recipe work the same with dried lentils? I love lentils and always look for ways to include them into the family meals. Thanks for this great recipe!
katescarlata
Jennie, if you cooked the lentils you could use them in this recipe. From a FODMAP standpoint, however, the cut off for dried & cooked lentils would be 1/4 cup VERSUS 1/2 cup for canned. Soaking in the can lowers the FODMAP content further–longer time to interface with the liquid and leach out some of the FODMAPs.
Kim
Lentils in 1/2 cup servings are a go?! NICE! Any other beans given the green light on FODMAP content?
katescarlata
Hey Kim, Canned chickpeas 1/4 cup limit are okay too!
Angela
hi
Is it ok to have the lentils and chickpeas on the elimination stage, if this is ‘green’? (I don’t have the app – desperately waiting for the android version!).
thanks!
katescarlata
I do allow 1/4 cup canned chickpeas and 1/2 cup canned lentils on elim phase. Make sure both do not have other fodmap ingredients. Westbrae has onion/garlic free canned lentils.
Elissa
Are other beans (kidney, white, etc) allowable in smaller quantities on the FODMAP diet?
katescarlata
1/4 cup boiled lima beans, 1/4 cup canned butter beans and 1/4 cup canned chick peas are also lower FODMAP options. Also soybean in the form of tofu and tempeh are low FODMAP bean based options.