Rustic French Style Lentils Recipe

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This French-style lentils recipe makes the perfect Provencal side dish to any grilled or roasted meat or fish. Made with French green lentils and classically French seasoning it brings the Mediterranean home.

Recipe Stats:

Vegan | Mediterranean Diet | Cooking Time About 60 Minutes

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Farmhouse French Cooking

We spent three years living in Northeastern Spain, only 45 minutes from the French border. As much as the region we live in is proudly Catalan and has its own cuisine, there are a lot of influences from the French just across the border. 

When we traveled through the south of France I noticed this influence even more. Some of the dishes we ate in Spain were similar to those we ate in France. This was particularly true with a lot of the lentil dishes we ate in Provence. 

There’s just something about this recipe for French lentils that made me feel like I was sitting at a picnic table, underneath trees of lavender, drinking a glass of lovely Provence-style rose wine.

I wanted to try to bring some of these flavors home with us so I started to research recipes with French lentils. By cooking the lentils in Herbs de Provence, they became a perfect side dish for many of the roasted and grilled meats we eat in Spain.

Looking for more French recipes? Check out our Vegetarian White Bean Cassoulet Recipe.

What Are French Lentils?

First a note about French lentils. French lentils are a type of green lentil. They are slightly smaller than other green lentils and look darker as well. 

They are packed with protein and all of the health benefits from eating pulses. They are easy to cook, both in French recipes as well as even Indian curries. The flavor is more earthy almost to the point of being nutty.

I like cooking French lentils, particularly when entertaining. They are sturdy and tend to hold their shape better than other lentils. This makes them less mushy. I certainly don’t mind super soft lentils, but for entertaining, I like them more firm. 

See our other recipes for green lentils:

Warm Green French Lentils Salad

Creamy Indian Green Lentil Dhal

French Style Green Lentils Ingredients

This French green lentils recipe includes classic Mediterranean ingredients. Many people assume that French cuisine is loaded with butter and cream, but not all French cooking is that heavy.

Much of the cuisine along the Mediterranean coast is lighter. By cooking French lentils in extra virgin olive oil you can take advantage of the health benefits of lentils as well as quality olive oil.

Add garlic, shallots, diced carrots, and sliced celery to the recipe, which are standard bases for many Mediterranean dishes. There’s no need to pre-soak the lentils because they are cooked in chicken broth. The broth infuses into the broth, plumping them up but also giving them more flavor than cooking the lentils in water. 

Seasoning And Spices

For seasoning, I use bay leaves and herbs de Provence. Herbs de Provence can be found in the spice aisle at most grocery stores. It’s a mixture of rosemary, thyme, oregano, and marjoram. If serving these lentils next to a roasted or grilled meat or fish, you can season the meats with the same herbs to make them compliment each other. 

By adding fresh chopped parsley at the end, the lentils get a little bit of freshness just before serving. 

How To Prepare Lentils

One of the reasons why I love cooking with lentils is that they don’t need to be pre-soaked like dry beans. I give them a good rinse and drain the water and that’s it.

I don’t like using a traditional colander when draining lentils. The holes are normally too big and the lentils slip through. Instead, I like using a colander from this OXO 9-piece colander and bowl nesting set. I can rinse the lentils in the colander and then place the colander in the bowl to keep the water from dripping everywhere. I also use the smaller bowl to store leftovers because each bowl has a lid for storage.

Check out the OXO 9-piece set on Amazon here.

How To Cook French Lentils

Many people are intimidated by French cuisine, but it’s not all that complicated to bring French flavors home. 

Start by warming good-quality olive oil in a small dutch oven or a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the olive oil is warm, add pressed or diced garlic and sliced shallot.

Cook in the olive oil until the garlic and shallots start to soften. This should take around 3-5 minutes. Don’t let the garlic start to brown. 

Adding The Vegetables And Broth

Before the garlic starts to brown, add the carrot and celery. Cooked until they start to sweat and begin to soften. This should take another 3-5 minutes. The carrots do not need to be cooked through as they will continue to cook along with the lentils. 

Add in the chicken broth, bay leaves, salt and pepper. You can also substitute vegetable broth to make a vegetarian lentil.

Whenever using bay leaves, always try to remember how many you put in. You will need to remove them before serving the lentils and it’s always good to know how many you dropped in. 

Cooking The Lentils

Add the rinsed and drained lentils into the pot and stir. Then, add the herbs de Provence. Bring the lentils to a slight boil and then reduce to simmer. 

Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes, stir and taste the lentils. If you need to add more salt or pepper do that now. Also check the softness of the lentils.

Cook another 5-10 minutes or until the lentils are firm. They should be neither crunchy nor soft. If the lentils start to dry but are still hard, then add a tablespoon or two of warm water and stir. 

When the lentils are ready, stir in the chopped, fresh parsley and serve warm. 

How To Serve Cooked French Lentils

This recipe for French lentils can be served on its own with toasted bread drizzled with olive oil. More common is to serve them as a side dish alongside roasted meat or fish.

We did as the French do and served the lentils alongside marinated, roasted rabbit. I know rabbit is not common to eat in the US, but we love it in Spain and France. 

The lentils can also be served with a warm rotisserie chicken, which is quite popular in Southern France. We spent a few weeks in Aix-en-Provence and loved the rotisserie chickens we saw at the local fresh markets.

We would often pick up a chicken, a crusty baguette, and a few fresh side dishes (and wine, of course). That is why I love this French lentils recipe. It just reminds me of the time we spent in France. 

FAQs – Tips For Cooking French Lentils

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