Red Lentil Cookies are made with wholesome ingredients and can help your family become more familiar with the taste and texture of lentils.
When my kids are learning to like a food, I’m all about baby steps.
Baby steps can be mashing up beans and spreading a thin layer on a burrito instead of adding them whole. It could be dicing up mushrooms to add to ground meat to warm everyone up to the idea.
Or it could be baking lentils into cookies. Because everyone loves cookies.
I love the idea of reducing our carbon footprint as a family by eating more plant-based meals. And lentils are SO GOOD for us. They’re rich in protein and deliver lots of fiber, something most kids (and adults) don’t get enough of.
My husband and I already love this Turkish Red Lentil Soup. The kids aren’t at “love” level with it, but will both eat it. The fact is, lentils just aren’t their favorite. Hence, these baby steps cookies.
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For these cookies, I combined the more unfamiliar flavor and texture of lentils with old favorites (peanut butter and chocolate chips) in a lightly sweet and filling cookie. Does this recipe absolve us from serving lentils in other ways to our families? Nope, but it may help encourage our kids to try them in other ways down the line.
Just be sure to tell your kids these have lentils in them! Better yet, make this recipe together with your kids. Sneaking lentils (or mushrooms or beans) into food doesn’t accomplish anything in the long term.
Red Lentil Cookies for Kids:
The recipe is in my new book The 101 Healthiest Foods For Kids, which is out TODAY! It features profiles on 101 different foods that are great for fueling kids’ bodies and minds, 26 easy recipes (like this one) that you can make with your kids, and tons of advice throughout on feeding kids.
Red Lentil Cookies
Red Lentil Cookies are made with wholesome ingredients and can help your family become more familiar with the taste and texture of lentils.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked red lentils
- 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils and place in a small saucepan. Cover with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed and the lentils are soft. Transfer the lentils to a small colander to drain away excess liquid.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the lentils, peanut butter, 1 cup of the oats, the flour, egg, applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla, baking soda, and salt and process until well blended. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of oats and the chocolate chips and pulse a few times just until incorporated. Cover the bowl and chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the baking sheet (a small cookie scoop is a great tool for this job). They won't spread, so don't worry about spacing them far apart. Gently press down the tops of the cookies with the bottom of a small glass or measuring cup dipped lightly in flour.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack. Keep leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 76Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 62mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 3g
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Hi! I'm Sally, a dietitian-mom.
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Sadie says
I love this idea! I LOVE lentils but my family not so much. I am making them TOMORROW. 🙂
Jody says
Can’t wait to try these! Just bought some red lentils at Whole Foods.
Selina says
Wow delicious recipe! As a Nutritionist i can say this food is 100% healthy and nutritious. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I will must try to home.
LB says
Hi, I want to make these but any suggestions for a replacement for the wheat flour to make them gluten free? (Besides all purpose GF flour, that always tastes awful to us!) Thanks!!
Sally says
Hi LB–I’m afraid I haven’t tested them with any other type of flour. I’m sorry!
Rachel says
I bet oat flour would work (just process some rolled oats in your processor). Buckwheat flour might be delicious here, too, with its nutty flavor, and has added nutrition.
Lori in ND says
I made these! They are interesting. My son ate two right out of the oven without complaint. I am bringing them to work tomorrow to celebrate Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day! Thanks, Sally!
Allison says
If the recipe Red Lentil Cookies makes 30 cookies and the serving size is listed as the whole 30 cookies, the calories per serving is listed as 76, then that means each cookie has only 2.53 calories. How can that be right? I’m trying to figure out the calorie count in eatch cookie . Thanks!
Sally says
Allison–sorry about that, there was a glitch with the recipe plugin. The serving size is one cookie and the nutrition info is now correct. It’s about 74 calories per cookie.
Yu says
So excited to have found this recipe! But if I don’t have a food processor, could I use oat flour instead? Would it be the same amount as the oats or less? Thank you!
Sally says
Hi Yu–You could use oat flour, though I’m sure the amount would be different because oats are bulkier and take up more space in the measuring cup versus flour, which is compact. If I were trying them that way, I would start with 1/2 cup oat flour plus 1/2 cup quick oats and see how the batter feels. Does it feel like cookie batter? If it’s too thin, stir in some additional oat flour or quick oats until you get a thick cookie batter. Good luck!
Mary says
Can I use any kind of lentil?
Sally says
I recommend using red lentils.
Steph says
I loved how these were not overly sweet – just perfect with the chocolate in them. What a great way to use lentils. My daughter is very picky and this was a good way to get some iron and protein in her. Both of my kids were fans! Thank you!
Sally says
Steph–that’s great to hear!