Lentils for Long-Term Food Storage: The Low-Fuel Alternative to Beans

Rice and beans get a lot of attention for long-term food storage, and for good reason. I would add another dry staple to that list: lentils.

Lentils have much in common with dry beans. They’re inexpensive, nutritious, compact, and capable of very long storage when properly packaged. But lentils have one advantage that becomes especially important during a power outage or grid-down situation.

They don’t need soaking, and most lentils cook in about 15 to 30 minutes.

Dry beans can take an hour or considerably longer. That difference doesn’t matter much when natural gas or electricity is always available. It could matter quite a bit when every pound of propane or piece of firewood counts.

That’s the reason I think lentils deserve some space next to the rice, beans, and wheat berries in a long-term food supply.

Why Lentils Are Good for Long-Term Food Storage

Lentils are a type of legume, closely related to beans and peas. They are sold dry and contain very little fat, which is favorable for long storage.

Utah State University Extension identifies lentils as an excellent long-term storage food. Under proper conditions, their food-storage guidance gives lentils a potential storage life of 20 to 30 years. The conditions matter: cool, dry, dark, and protected from oxygen.

For ordinary pantry storage in the original bag, think much shorter. The long shelf-life numbers apply to food packaged specifically for long-term storage.

There’s another practical advantage to storing them. Lentils don’t require much preparation when it’s finally time to eat them. Rinse them, add water, and cook.

For bulk storage, one example is Clear Creek Red Lentils in a 25-pound bag. Clear Creek lists its red lentils as North American grown and says they can cook in about 15 minutes without soaking.

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→ Clear Creek Red Lentils, 25 lb on Amazon

If you’ve never tried red lentils before, you might want to start with a smaller bag before putting away 25 pounds. Clear Creek also sells the same type of red lentils in a 4-pound size.

→ Clear Creek Red Lentils, 4 lb on Amazon

Lentils vs. Beans: The Fuel Difference

This is where lentils get interesting from a preparedness standpoint.

Colorado State University Extension says dry beans generally simmer for about 1 to 3 hours, depending on the variety and other conditions. Soaking can reduce the cooking time. The same guidance specifically notes that lentils don’t need to be soaked.

Iowa State University gives a cooking time of only 15 to 20 minutes for whole lentils, with split red lentils cooking even faster.

Cooking times vary, of course. The age of the food, variety, altitude, water, and how soft you want it will make a difference.

But the gap is large enough to matter.

Think about that in terms of a camp stove.

If you’re using stored propane, butane, white gas, or another finite fuel supply, simmering a pot for 20 minutes is very different from keeping it going for an hour or two.

You also avoid the water and planning involved in soaking beans overnight.

👉 Cook Rice While Using Much Less Fuel

I wouldn’t stop storing beans because of this. Beans offer plenty of variety and are an excellent storage food. But I wouldn’t want every dry legume in my emergency pantry to require a long cooking time either.

Red Lentils May Be the Best Low-Fuel Choice

There are several types of lentils, and they don’t all behave the same way.

Red lentils are particularly interesting for emergency cooking because they’re among the fastest. Clear Creek gives its red lentils a cooking time of about 15 minutes. Iowa State notes that split red lentils can cook in only 5 to 7 minutes.

The tradeoff is texture.

Red lentils soften and break apart as they cook. That’s excellent for soup, stew, curry, dal, or simply making a thick bowl of lentils and rice. They’re not the best choice when you want individual lentils to remain firm.

For emergency food, I don’t consider that much of a disadvantage. A pot of red lentils can become the protein-rich part of a meal very quickly.

They’re also easy to combine with other stored foods. Rice and lentils is the obvious example. Add some salt, spices, bouillon, dried onion, or whatever else you normally keep in the pantry.

Green Lentils Are More Like a Traditional Bean

I wouldn’t store only red lentils.

Green lentils take somewhat longer to cook, usually around 20 to 30 minutes, but they hold their shape better. Clear Creek describes its green lentils as cooking in less than half an hour without soaking.

That makes them useful for soups, stews, salads, and meals where you want more texture.

For a larger food-storage purchase, Clear Creek Green Lentils are also available in a 25-pound bag. These are sourced from a Montana farm according to the company.

→ Clear Creek Green Lentils, 25 lb on Amazon

If I were building up lentils as a serious part of food storage, I’d rather have more than one type. Red lentils give you very fast cooking. Green lentils give you a different texture and work better in meals where you don’t want the lentils turning creamy.

How To Store Lentils for 20 Years or Longer

Buying a 25-pound bag doesn’t automatically give you 20 years of shelf life.

For that kind of storage, packaging and temperature become important.

For bulk lentils, I would use the familiar long-term dry-food method:

Mylar bag + oxygen absorber + food-grade bucket

The Mylar and oxygen absorber provide the long-term food protection. The bucket protects the bags from punctures and gives you much better protection from rodents and physical damage.

👉 How Many Oxygen Absorbers To Use?

Keep the finished containers somewhere cool, dry, and dark.

Temperature makes a substantial difference. Utah State Extension recommends a constant 40°F to 60°F range when possible for maximizing stored-food life. Most homes won’t maintain that year-round, but the general rule is simple: cooler is better.

I would also divide a large purchase into several smaller Mylar bags rather than putting all 25 pounds into one giant bag. Opening one smaller package doesn’t expose the rest of the supply to air and moisture.

👉 How I Store Dried Beans Long Term

Are Lentils as Nutritious as Beans?

Lentils aren’t just a way to save cooking fuel. They’re a substantial food.

They provide protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, folate, iron, potassium, and other nutrients. They’re also naturally low in fat.

That doesn’t mean I would attempt to live on lentils. Long-term food storage works better with a mixture of staples. White rice, wheat, oats, beans, lentils, fats, sugar, salt, and other foods each bring something different to the pantry.

Rice and lentils make particular sense together. Legumes and grains have complementary amino-acid profiles, so a diet containing both provides a better balance of essential amino acids than relying heavily on either one alone.

There is also the very practical matter of food fatigue. Eating pinto beans every day because you stored 200 pounds of them might change your opinion of pinto beans rather quickly.

Variety has value.

👉 Calories in Rice, Beans, and Wheat

What About Black and Yellow Lentils?

Black lentils are firmer and hold their shape well. Clear Creek’s black Beluga lentils are another quick-cooking type and are available in smaller packages.

Yellow lentils are another fast-cooking option. They’re useful, but for long-term emergency storage their role overlaps quite a bit with red lentils.

My suggestion before storing 25 pounds of any lentil is simple: buy a smaller bag and eat some first.

Figure out how you like to cook them. Find two or three meals you’d willingly eat again. Then put away the larger quantity.

Lentils Don’t Replace Rice, Beans, or Wheat

I see lentils as an addition to the traditional survival-food staples rather than a replacement.

White rice is an excellent source of easily prepared calories. Wheat berries offer tremendous storage life and versatility if you have a way to grind them. Dry beans provide protein, fiber, calories, and lots of variety.

Lentils bring something slightly different to the shelf.

They store very well, require no grinding, need no overnight soaking, and can go from dry storage to cooked food in a fraction of the time required by many dry beans.

If the lights are on and the stove works, saving 45 minutes of simmering isn’t terribly important.

If you’re cooking every meal from stored fuel, it certainly could be.

👉 Rice and Beans for Survival Food Storage