Lentils calories come to 230 for 1 cup (198 g) of boiled, unsalted lentils and 116 per 100 g. The number worth noticing is fiber: that one cup carries 15.6 g, more than half of the 28 g daily value, along with 17.9 g of protein and almost no fat.
230kcal
1 cup · 198 g, boiled, unsalted
30%protein
17.9 gProtein
40 gCarbs
0.8 gFat
How to burn off 230 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Boiled, unsalted · per 198 g
Calories
230 kcal
Protein
17.9 g
Carbohydrate
40 g
Fat
0.8 g
Saturated fat
0.1 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
4 mg
Potassium
731 mg
Iron
6.6 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Lentils: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1 cup (198 g)
230
17.9 g
39.9 g
0.8 g
4 mg
11%
100 g
116
9 g
20.1 g
0.4 g
2 mg
6%
3 oz portion (85 g)
99
7.7 g
17.1 g
0.3 g
2 mg
5%
Dry, 1 cup (192 g)
676
47.3 g
121.6 g
2 g
12 mg
34%
3 × 1 cup (198 g)
689
53.6 g
12 mg
5 × 1 cup (198 g)
1,148
89.3 g
20 mg
One cup is 230 calories, and bowls grow fast
The standard serving is 1 cup (198 g) of cooked lentils at 230 calories, which is 11% of the daily value used on food labels. A smaller 3 oz portion (85 g) lands at 99 calories, a sensible size for a side next to meat or fish. Per 100 g you get 116 calories, so weighing your portion makes logging simple.
Lentils rarely stay at one cup. A generous bowl of soup or dal can hold 2 cups, which comes to 459 calories and 35.7 g of protein. Three cups reach 689 calories. Cook a batch of 5 cups for meal prep and the pot holds 1,148 calories and 89.3 g of protein, which you can divide by how many servings you scoop out.
The useful habit is to measure once. Spoon a typical serving into a measuring cup or onto a scale, note the weight, and you will know whether your normal bowl is closer to 230 or 459 calories. That gap matters far more than any brand difference.
Dry lentils log at 676 calories a cup
The most common logging mistake with lentils is mixing up dry and cooked weights. A cup of dry lentils (192 g) is 676 calories, with 47.3 g of protein, 20.5 g of fiber and 2 g of fat. That single cup covers 95% of the protein daily value and 34% of the calorie daily value.
Cooked lentils are lighter per cup because boiling adds water, which has no calories. The lentils themselves do not lose energy in the pot; the same dry lentils simply spread across more volume and weight once cooked. So a cup of cooked lentils at 230 calories and a cup of dry lentils at 676 are not competing numbers. They describe different things.
Pick one method and stick with it. If you weigh lentils straight out of the bag from brands like Bob's Red Mill or Whole Foods Market, log the dry entry. If you weigh what lands on your plate, log the boiled entry. Logging dry lentils as cooked would undercount your meal by a wide margin.
Two thirds carbs, a third protein, almost no fat
Lentils get 67% of their calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and just 3% from fat. Per 100 g that works out to 20.1 g of carbs, 9 g of protein and 0.4 g of fat, with saturated fat at 0.1 g and cholesterol at 0.
The carbs are not the fast kind. Of those 20.1 g, 7.9 g are fiber and only 1.8 g are sugars. In a cup, that means 15.6 g of fiber against 3.6 g of sugars. Fiber is a big part of why a bowl of lentils feels filling for its calorie count.
The protein is the other selling point. One cup supplies 17.9 g, or 36% of the 50 g daily value, from a food with less than a gram of fat. Few plant foods pair that much protein with that little fat, which is why lentils work as the base of a meal rather than a side starch.
Unsalted lentils are nearly sodium free
Plain boiled lentils carry 2 mg of sodium per 100 g and 4 mg per cup, which rounds to 0% of the 2300 mg daily value. Potassium sits at 369 mg per 100 g. These figures are for lentils boiled without salt, so the sodium on your plate depends almost entirely on what you add.
Broth, bouillon, canned tomatoes and seasoning blends are where sodium creeps in. If you watch sodium, cook lentils in water, season at the end and taste before salting. The lentils themselves give you a clean starting point.
Because lentils are low in fat, they pair well with a measured drizzle of olive oil, some yogurt or a few toasted nuts for richness. Add vegetables for volume and you have a filling plate without a big calorie jump. If you want a quick log, BodyPal can record a lentil bowl from a photo.
How does lentils compare?
Here is how boiled lentils stack up against butter beans and cashews, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: Lentils and butter beans are nearly a tie at 116 and 115 calories per 100 g, but lentils win on protein with 9 g against 7.8 g, so pick lentils for staying full. Cashews pack 574 calories per 100 g, about 4.9 times as dense, so use them as a topping and let lentils fill the bowl.
Most popular lentils brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1365 Everyday Value Green Lentils1/4 cup · 50 g360 kcal
2Bob's Red Mill Red Lentils1/4 cup · 50 g380 kcal
3Bob's Red Mill Red Lentils Heritage Beans1/4 cup · 52 g365 kcal
4Pereg Autumn Blend Heirloom Lentils100 g353 kcal
5Whole Foods Market Green Lentils1/4 cup · 35 g343 kcal
6Whole Foods Market French Green Organic Lentils1/4 cup · 50 g360 kcal
Bagged lentils are labeled dry, so they read about three times higher than the boiled numbers above; a quarter cup of dry lentils cooks up to roughly half a cup. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Lentils FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of lentils?
A cup of boiled lentils (198 g) is 230 calories. Per 100 g, cooked lentils are 116 calories.
Are lentils good for weight loss?
A cup of boiled lentils is 230 calories with 17.9 g of protein, 15.6 g of fiber and only 0.8 g of fat.
Lentils or split peas: which has fewer calories?
Cooked lentils are 116 calories per 100 g and cooked split peas 118, so the two are nearly the same.
How much protein is in lentils?
Boiled lentils have 9 g of protein per 100 g, which is 17.9 g in a cup (198 g). Dry lentils have 24.6 g per 100 g.
What are the macros in lentils?
Per 100 g, boiled lentils have 9 g of protein, 20.1 g of carbs and 0.4 g of fat for 116 calories. That puts 67% of calories in carbs, 30% in protein and 3% in fat.
How many calories are in dry lentils?
One cup of dry lentils (192 g) has 676 calories, with 47.3 g of protein and 20.5 g of fiber. Use this entry only when you weigh lentils before cooking.
How many calories are in 100 g of cooked lentils?
100 g of boiled, unsalted lentils has 116 calories. It also gives you 9 g of protein, 7.9 g of fiber and only 2 mg of sodium.
How many calories are in two cups of lentils?
Two cups of boiled lentils come to 459 calories and 35.7 g of protein. Sodium stays at 8 mg if you cook them without salt.
How much fiber is in a cup of lentils?
One cup of boiled lentils has 15.6 g of fiber, more than half of the 28 g daily value. Sugars in the same cup are just 3.6 g.
