Here's How Long You Have With Those Freshly Cooked Lentils (And The Best Way To Store Them)

Lentils are one of the most most incredible legumes: they cook up fast, are high in protein and fiber, and are super versatile. They can be made into soups or salads, used as a high protein pasta swap, and substituted for ground beef in shepherds pie or veggie burgers. When combined with rice, they make a complete protein, meaning the meal contains all nine essential amino acids. 

With all of these nutritional benefits and different ways to prepare them, lentils are an ideal food to use for meal prep when planning your weekly menu. A batch of lentils can last in the fridge, but for how long exactly? If kept in an airtight container, cooked lentils can last up to a week, but it's possible they may spoil before then. If you prefer to err on the side of caution, it's best to go with the USDA general guideline of using up leftovers within three to four days. 

If you are unsure if you will be able to tackle all of the lentils you have cooked, it's a good idea to refrigerate what you think you will eat in the following few days, and store the rest in the freezer. Frozen lentils will last for at least up to three months (likely much longer) and are an excellent meal to have stashed for those cold winter days when you need something fast, easy and nourishing.

Like with any other leftover foods in the fridge, the first thing you should do before eating lentils is a quick sniff test. If your lentils smell off, they are starting to go bad and should not be eaten. If they smell fine but have any discoloration or signs of mold growth, they should still be discarded. Mold is a sign that microbes found their way into the container before it was placed in the refrigerator. This is why mold can appear as soon as one day after your lentils have been cooked and stored. One way to prevent this from happening is to separate your lentils into smaller containers while they cool (faster cooling time in smaller containers mitigates bacterial growth). Make sure to refrigerate your lentils within two hours of the time they finished cooking and were removed from the heat. 

One of the bonuses of frozen lentils is that they do not need to be taken and thawed before reheating, so when the mood strikes you can pop them in the microwave or on the stove top and have a fresh lentil meal in minutes. This makes the choice easier when trying to decide whether to refrigerate or freeze a batch of freshly made lentils.