How Long Do Red Lentils Take To Cook (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 15 Minutes To 20 Minutes

There is no fixed time for how long it might take to cook red lentils. Taking the most general cases, cooking red lentils can take anywhere from a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of 20 minutes.

But it must be noted that many factors affect the ideal time it takes to cook red lentils. Some of the time determining factors to cook red lentils could be the utensils in which red lentils are being cooked and the cooking method that is being used to cook red lentils.

How Long Do Red Lentils Take To Cook?

Apart from these factors, there is another major factor that must be considered while calculating the time for how long it might take to cook red lentils. That major time determining factor is the amount of heat in which the red lentils are being cooked at.

Generally, red lentils are cooked on the stove in a pot filled with water. When the stove is being used to cook, then there are majorly three different heat options which can be used to cook the food.

The three heat options of the stove are low heat, medium heat, and lastly high heat. Depending upon these options of heat, the time it takes for red lentils to get cooked varies.

When the red lentils are being cooked on the stove at low heat, then it takes the maximum amount of time for them to get cooked. On average, it takes about a minimum of 20 minutes to 25 minutes for red lentils to get cooked on the stove at low heat.

While, on the other hand, when the red lentils are being cooked on the stove at medium heat, then it takes less amount of time for them to get cooked as compared to the time it takes for red lentils which are cooked on the stove at low heat. 

On average, it takes about a minimum of 15 minutes to 20 minutes for red lentils to get cooked on the stove at medium heat.

Lastly, when the red lentils are being cooked on the stove at high heat, then it takes the least amount of time for them to get cooked. On average, it takes about a minimum of 10 minutes to 15 minutes for red lentils to get cooked on the stove at high heat.

Why Do Red Lentils Take That Long To Get Cooked?

It is quite obvious that if a food is cooked on low heat, then it would take a shorter duration of time as compared to the time it might take for the same food which is getting cooked at high heat on the stove.

Apart from the amount of heat that is used to cook the red lentils, the type of utensil in which the red lentils are being cooked also plays a vital role in determining the time for how long it takes for red lentils to get cooked.

If the red lentils are being cooked in an open pot, that is to say, that it pot is not covered with a lid, then the time it would take for red lentils to get cooked would be more as compared to the red lentils that are being cooked in a pot with a lid on, that means, closed pot.

The major reason behind that is because when red lentils are being cooked in an open spot, the steam, and consequently the water vapors that are created due to boiling of water easily escape off the pot.

While on the other hand, when red lentils are being cooked in a closed pot, the steam, and the water vapors that are created due to the boiling of water are not allowed to escape.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the time it takes for red lentils to get cooked depends upon the heat of the stove.

In simple words, as the amount of heat at which the food is being cooked on the stove increases, simultaneously the time it takes for red lentils to get cooked also increases.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022474X13000209
2. https://bmcchem.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13065-018-0456-8