Nutrition for Lentils (cooked)

Calories, Protein, Vitamins and More


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Lentils Nutrition Summary

One cup of cooked lentils (198 grams or 0.4 lb) contains 230 calories and 17.9 grams of protein. Lentils consists of 70% water, 20% carbohydrates, 9% protein, and less than 1% of fat.

Lentils are an excellent source of many nutrients, including carbohydrates, dietary fiber, protein, iron, potassium, Vitamin B6 and folate. It also contains significant amounts of calcium, magnesium, thiamin, pantothenic acid, zinc, manganese, copper, phosphorus, choline and selenium.

In one cup of cooked lentils:

  • Calories: 230
  • Protein: 17.9 g
  • Sugar: 3.6 g
  • Dietary fiber: 15.6 g
  • Fat: 0.8 g, (Saturated: 0.1 g)
  • Sodium: 4 mg
There is no significant amounts of cholesterol in lentils.

See the Lentils Nutrition Chart for complete recommended daily values.
The specific nutritional values from USDA is for: Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt.

Calories in Lentils

Lentils have 230 calories per cup or 116 calories for every 100 grams. Most of its calories are from carbohydrates and protein.

67% of calories in lentils are from carbohydrates, 30% of calories are from protein and 3% of calories are from fat.

Calories from Carbs

The majority, or 67% of the calories in cooked lentils are from carbohydrates. The carbs in lentils are mostly in the form of dietary fiber and sugar (81% and 19%). An excellent high-fiber food, a single cup of lentils contains 63% of recommended daily values or 15.6 grams of dietary fiber.

  • Dietary fiber: 15.6 g
  • Sugar: 3.6 g
There is no significant amounts of starch in lentils.

Calories from Fat

A small portion, or 3% the calories in cooked Lentils are from fat. Lentils are very low in total fat, with 0.8 grams per cup. Most of the fat in lentils are healthier unsaturated fats.

Lentils are cholesterol free and trans-fat free.

  • Total fat: 0.8 g
  • Saturated fat: 0.1 g
  • Monounsaturated fat: 0.1 g
  • Polyunsaturated fat: 0.3 g
There is no significant amounts of cholesterol or trans fat in lentils.

Omega-6 in Lentils

A source of omega-6 fatty acids, every cup of lentils contain a total of 0.3 grams of omega-6. In addition, a large portion of the omega-6 in lentils come from linolenic acid - the only essential omega-6 fatty acid. [2]

  • linoleic acid: 0.27 g

Calories Similar to Lentils

Some other legume or legume products with similar calories to lentils by weight:


Protein in Lentils

An excellent source of protein, a single cup of Lentils contains 36% of recommended daily values or 17.9 grams of protein. In addition, lentils contain significant amounts of all 9 essential amino acids.

  • Protein: 17.86 g
  • Tryptophan: 0.16 g
  • Threonine: 0.64 g
  • Isoleucine: 0.77 g
  • Leucine: 1.29 g
  • Lysine: 1.25 g
  • Methionine: 0.15 g
  • Phenylalanine: 0.88 g
  • Valine: 0.89 g
  • Histidine: 0.5 g

Protein Similar to Lentils

Some other legume or legume products with similar amounts of protein to lentils by weight:

Vitamins and Minerals in Lentils

An good source of many nutrients, cooked lentils contain abundant amounts of iron, potassium, Vitamin B6 and folate. In fact, a single cup of lentils contains 90% of recommended daily values or 358.4 ug of folate. Also an excellent source of iron, a single cup of lentils contains 37% of recommended daily values or 6.6 milligrams of iron.

Vitamins in lentils (1 cup):
  • Vitamin a: 4.8 ug
  • Thiamin: 0.3 mg
  • Riboflavin: 0.1 mg
  • Niacin: 2.1 mg
  • Vitamin b6: 0.4 mg
  • Vitamin c: 3 mg
  • Vitamin e: 0.2 mg
  • Folate: 358.4 ug
  • Vitamin k: 3.4 ug
Minerals in lentils (1 cup):
  • Calcium: 37.6 mg
  • Potassium: 730.6 mg
  • Iron: 6.6 mg
  • Magnesium: 71.3 mg
  • Zinc: 2.5 mg
  • Selenium: 5.5 ug
  • Phosphorus: 356.4 mg
  • Copper: 0.5 mg
  • Manganese: 1 mg
  • Choline: 64.7 mg
There is no significant amounts of pantothenic acid or vitamin b12 in lentils.

Similar to Lentils for Folate (Vit B9)

Here are some other legume or legume products with similarly abundant amounts of folate (Vit B9) to lentils:

Lentils Nutrition Chart

Lentils:

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riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
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pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5)
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folate (Vitamin B9)
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isoleucine
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lysine
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threonine
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Nutrition calculations are from Harvard Medical's nutrient guidelines [1] and USDA's food central database (2019) [2].
We calculated values from 2000 kCal daily recommended diet.

Lentils in Cooking

Lentils are in the top 10% of most popular ingredients for recipes. Most recipes call for one or two cups of lentils.

Friends and Relatives of Lentils

Foods commonly cooked with lentils: Other similar relatives:


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