Green Lentil (boiled)
Serving sizes
Green Lentil (boiled) changes rating with portion size. These are the amounts tested in the literature behind our ratings.
- About 2 tablespoons (30g)
- Larger portions
- Much larger portions
Green lentils (boiled) are High FODMAP at a usual serving, though about 2 tablespoons (30g) is low.
- Boiled green lentils are low at about 2 tablespoons (30g).
- GOS and Fructans build quickly, so they turn moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions.
Rinse cooked lentils well and keep the portion small, since some GOS leaches into the cooking water.
Why green lentil (boiled) is rated high
Green lentils boiled from dried are rated high, because of their GOS and fructans, the carbohydrate groups that run through legumes generally. The low serve is small: about 2 tablespoons (30g) is low, a larger portion is moderate, and a much larger portion, which is what most lentil salads and soups serve, is high. The space between those rungs is narrow: one extra spoonful over the side of a serving spoon covers most of it. That is why green lentils are a food to measure in spoonfuls rather than a base for the bowl. The rating is not about the lentil being difficult in some general way, it is about how quickly the load climbs once the bowl gets generous.
What changes your risk
- The gap between the rungs is small About 2 tablespoons (30g) is low, a larger portion is moderate and a much larger portion is already high. Serving straight from the pot with a ladle makes that difference very easy to cross without noticing.
- The cooking water GOS and fructans are water-soluble, so boiling lentils in plenty of water and pouring that water away carries some of them off. Simmering them until the liquid is absorbed, or cooking them in stock that stays in the dish, keeps it all on the plate. Heat itself does not destroy them, no matter how long the pot runs.
- The canned form runs lower Canned lentils that are drained and rinsed under cold running water are a separate food with a larger low serve than lentils boiled from dried. The rinse is the mechanism, so do it properly in a sieve until the water stops clouding.
- Stacking GOS in one meal Putting these lentils alongside chickpeas, kidney beans, baked beans, soy beans, cashews or pistachios in the same sitting stacks the same groups and pushes the meal well past what any one component suggests.
- The onion and garlic around them Lentil salads and lentil soups are usually built on an onion and garlic base or a commercial stock, and those bring fructans that no amount of careful lentil portioning fixes. Garlic-infused oil, chives, leek leaves and the green tops of spring onions give the same savoury base without them.
Swaps
Because only a small spoonful of boiled green lentils is low, the sensible move is usually to let something else carry the bulk of the dish. Quinoa works in a cold salad where the lentils used to, firm tofu brings protein to a stew, and potato, polenta or rice fills out the plate. Carrots, green beans and zucchini bulk a braise without adding to the same groups, and walnuts or pumpkin seeds give a salad the bite the lentils were providing. Swapping to chickpeas, kidney beans or baked beans does not solve anything, since they carry the same GOS. If the lentil flavour is the point, canned lentils drained and rinsed are the lower running form of the same food.
How to lower the load
Measure cooked, not dry, since lentils roughly double in the pot and a dry measure tells you nothing useful about what lands in the bowl. Boil them in plenty of water rather than the exact amount they will absorb, and drain them properly, since the water you tip away takes some GOS with it. That also means cooking them in stock is the wrong move: the stock cannot be drained off, and most of it carries onion. Portion at the stove into servings of about 2 tablespoons (30g), use them as a scatter over a rice or potato base, and freeze the rest already portioned. Eating out, a lentil salad or a bowl of lentil soup arrives in a quantity nobody has weighed, and it is almost always a much larger portion.
Common questions
how much green lentils can you eat on low fodmap
About 2 tablespoons (30g) is low. Larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high, so a typical bowlful of green lentils boiled from dried is high.
are green lentils high in gos
GOS and fructans are the groups driving their rating. At about 2 tablespoons (30g) they stay low, larger portions are moderate, and much larger portions are high.
does draining the cooking water lower the fodmaps in lentils
Some of it, yes. GOS and fructans dissolve in water, so boiling in plenty of water and pouring it away removes a portion of them. Cooking alone does not destroy FODMAPs, so simmering them dry or cooking them in stock leaves everything in the dish.
are canned lentils better than boiled green lentils
Canned lentils that are drained and rinsed have a larger low serve than green lentils boiled from dried, because the water-soluble FODMAPs leach into the canning liquid. The two forms are rated separately, so go by the form actually on the plate.
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Where this rating comes from
Green Lentil (boiled) is rated from published lab measurements of its FODMAP content, using the low, moderate and high cutoffs of Varney et al. (2017).
Feedback sent through the FODMAP Foods app has led to changes in this list.
Sources
- Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. Muir et al. (2007), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(16):6619-6627.
- Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Muir et al. (2009), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(2):554-565.
- Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. Biesiekierski et al. (2011), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24(2):154-176.
- Dietary sorbitol and mannitol: food content and distinct absorption patterns between healthy individuals and patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Yao et al. (2014), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 27(Suppl 2):263-275.
- FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. Varney et al. (2017), J. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 32(Suppl 1):53-61. Supplies the low, moderate and high cutoffs used on this page.
Informational only, not medical advice. Individual tolerance varies. Talk to a healthcare professional or a dietitian for personal guidance.