This rustic, hearty meal of Red Lentils with Poached Eggs is ready in just 20 minutes. Red Lentils are cooked in fire-roasted diced tomatoes which give the dish so much flavor. Topped with a perfectly cooked runny poached egg, this is a great meatless recipe. I will show you my trick for fool-proof microwave poached eggs.
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Lentils are such an underrated food in the Western world. They often get overlooked for peas and ignored for beans. And that’s such a shame because lentils are so tasty and so versatile. They also cook much faster than beans, so if you like to cook from scratch, lentil recipes are the way to go.
Lentils have a ton of delicious flavor on their own, and they have such a wonderful texture. People have their preferences about how they like their lentils cooked – from super soft lentils to a more firm lentil – but it’s all good to me. I like lentils cooked every way possible.
There are many types of lentils. Green lentils have the most fiber, by far. But let’s be honest, they just don’t look as pretty as red or yellow lentils. So I often get red lentils, since the red lentils have enough fiber.
Split lentils cook quite faster than whole lentils, so be sure to grab split lentils if you are extra hungry.
This Red Lentil dish is one of my favorites lately because it is just so easy and is absolutely no-fuss. The red lentils are cooked in a broth with fire-roasted diced tomatoes, which give them so much good flavor and a subtle tomato sauce taste without being overpowering.
To serve, I top these Red Lentils with poached eggs that I make in the microwave.
Yes, the microwave!
How to poach eggs in the microwave:
I find it so much easier to poach eggs in the microwave than on the stove top. The stove top takes much longer, and the eggs often fall apart in the simmering water. It’s a mess! There are all kinds of egg poaching tools for sale that supposedly cook perfect poached eggs, but who needs another one-trick pony gadget in their kitchen? My kitchen drawers already barely close with all the kitchen tools I have.
With the microwave method for poaching eggs, you don’t need any fancy egg poaching equipment. Just a bowl or any other microwave-safe container and a loose fitting lid or plate to cover the bowl in case there is any splatter.
It might take you a few tries to figure out the perfect cooking time, since microwave strength, the size of your eggs, and the amount of water you use will vary the cooking time (so will your preference for how cooked you like your eggs, obviously), but once you get it down it will be the easiest poached egg technique you’ll ever use. Just press a button and a couple of minutes later you get perfect poached eggs.
Use a slotted spoon to scoop the poached eggs out of the water and top the red lentils with a poached egg or two – depending on how hungry you are.
This simple, hearty, rustic dish will quickly become a favorite. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be making it for a quick lunch or dinner pretty often!
Red Lentils with Poached Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup split red lentils , uncooked (or use any lentils you like, see recipe notes)
- 1 cup vegetable stock (or water)
- 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- Salt & pepper , to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon each is a good start)
- 1/4 cup parsley leaves , finely diced
- 2-4 eggs (see recipe notes) + water for poaching
Instructions
Red Split Lentils with Tomato:
- In a 2.5-3 quart sauce pan, heat the olive oil and add the diced onion. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the dry lentils, water, and diced tomatoes and stir. Cover with a lid and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked to your liking (see recipe notes). Remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper, and parsley leaves. Serve with a poached egg on top.
Microwave Poached Eggs:
- Use a microwaveable bowl or container that is wide enough for the number of eggs you will be poaching. Add enough water to the bowl so that the water comes up a couple of inches in the bowl - you will need the eggs to be completely submerged in the water.
- Gently crack the eggs right into the water. Carefully transfer the bowl to a microwave oven. Microwave the eggs on medium or high power. You will need to play around with the timing a little. For 2 eggs, I recommend starting at 1 minute and 30 seconds, then checking the eggs and microwaving 30 seconds at a time until the eggs reach your desired level of done-ness. For 4 eggs, start with 2 minutes and then microwave 30 seconds at a time until they are cooked to your liking. Use a slotted spoon to gently remove the eggs from the water and serve over the hot lentils. Season with salt and pepper.
Notes
- You can use any kind of lentils you like. Split lentils cook much faster - in about 10 minutes. Whole lentils take a bit longer - 20 minutes or more. Watch the lentils and cook them to your liking - add a few minutes to the cooking time if you like them super soft and mushy.
- It is important to stir in the salt at the very end, otherwise the lentils will remain hard even when they are fully cooked.
- Poached eggs are best eaten fresh. If you are serving this for 2 people and saving some lentils for the next day, poach as many eggs as you will eat that day.
Nutrition
Sima
This is one of the must try item for me because Lentils is common in my area. But this recipe totally new for me.
However, thanks for sharing the awesome recipe.
Kate
Thank you! I don’t know if this recipe fits into any type of cuisine, but it is pretty tasty and easy, and it’s how I cook lentils! How do you cook lentils in your area?
Vandana Mathur
Nice and easy recipe. I will try it for sure. I liked the styling of your blog. But I didn’t find follow the blog button anywhere.
Kate
Ahh, thanks for the feedback, both about the recipe and the blog. When you mention the follow button, what do you mean? I have the social media/RSS links on top, but I do not have an email list (yet)… I would love to hear back from you and find out what would make my blog more follower-friendly! I am just learning as I go along… 🙂