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Food 101: Beans, peas, and lentils—recipes for soup, salad, dessert and more

Carole Cancler's photo
Seattle Specialty Grocery Examiner

Dry beans, peas, and lentils are collectively known as “pulses” in most parts of the world. Pulses are the dry seeds of leguminous plants in the pea family Fabaceae. This excludes fresh green beans and peas and seeds grown primarily for their oil content. Legumes that are classified as oilseeds include soybean, alfalfa, sunflower, cotton, flaxseed, canola, sesame, safflower, peanuts, and poppy.

Find the widest variety of dry beans, peas, and lentils in the bulk section of specialty stores such as health food stores and ethnic groceries. Listed below are some of the commonly available types of pulses you will find.

Beans, Peas, and Lentils

  • Beans of Phaseolus L. (includes hundreds of varieties such as kidney bean, cannellini (white kidney bean), Anasazi, pink or chili, pinto, cranberry or borlotti, yellow (maicoba, canary), flageolet, black (turtle), white (Great Northern, Navy), runner, butter or lima; Lupinus L. or lupin; and Vicia faba L., which encompass favas, also called broad bean, ful, or foul. Many varieties are two-toned. In tropical locales, you might find Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC. or winged bean and Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb. or yam bean.
  • Peas of Pisum sativum L., which include split peas; peas and beans of Vigna Savi, including adzuki bean, cowpeas, gram beans, mung beans, and black-eyed pea; Cicer arientinum L. or chick pea or garbanzo; and Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. or pigeon pea.
  •  Lentils of Lens culinaris, which include black, brown, gold or yellow, green (French, Puy), red, and white varieties.
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Pulses are low in fat and highly nutritious, being high in protein, fiber, minerals, and B vitamins. Many cultures throughout the world prepare dry beans, peas, and lentils in an astonishing variety of ways from appetizers to desserts. Pulses can be toasted and salted as a snack, prepared as a soup or salad, or served as an entrée. Pulses are also made into desserts.

Listed below are popular recipes to get you started using dry beans, peas, and lentils, whether for “Meatless Monday” or any day of the week.

Snacks

Salads

Soups

Main Dishes

Desserts

Pulses—dried beans, peas, and lentils—are healthful vegetable proteins that can be prepared in many delicious ways, from savory to sweet. Clockwise from upper left: pinto bean, red bean, chickpea (garbanzo), and yellow mayacoba or Peruvian canary bean.
Pulses—dried beans, peas, and lentils—are healthful vegetable proteins that can be prepared in many delicious ways, from savory to sweet. Clockwise from upper left: pinto bean, red bean, chickpea (garbanzo), and yellow mayacoba or Peruvian canary bean.
Photo credit: 
C.Cancler

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, Seattle Specialty Grocery Examiner

Carole Cancler has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with cooking. A Seattle native, she inherits her mother's Slovenian farm legacy, has explored food markets in 20 countries, and especially loves seasonal soups and salads. A freelance technical writer specializing in business and technical...

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