The wildly popular Honey Baked Lentils recipe is really gaining favor in my household. Three out of four of us can barely stop smiling long enough to shovel in another bite; the fourth is now able to be convinced to eat a few bites before asking for “just plain rice, please.” (Two-year-olds are not the most adventurous eaters, are they?) I love how fast, easy, and easily customizable the recipe is. Now that I’ve tweaked it to my version of Honey Baked Lentil Perfection, I will offer some updates and tips:
- Based on the recipe I had found floating around MDC in several places, I originally copied the recommendation to substitute 1/3 cup of lentils with brown rice (or another grain). I no longer recommend this; the grains do not cook fully through.
- Instead, bake your rice separately, but alongside the lentils. Saves energy over cooking on the stove top or in a rice cooker, and is much, much easier. Try Basic Baked Rice – comes out perfect every time!
- I usually make my lentils with at least half chicken stock; the best successes have been when I used very rich (esp. jelly in consistency) chicken stock. But my chicken stock doesn’t always gel, and sometimes I forget to thaw some before baking, so water works fine, too.
- Red lentils (which are actually orange, and turn yellowish brown after cooking) are by far our favorite. I’ve not yet cooked this recipe with brown/green lentils and enjoyed eating it. Red lentils produce a mushy consistency similar to baked butternut squash or mashed potatoes. It’s sooooo good mixed with rice.
- Try doubling the honey/maple syrup for a special treat, or add a dab of honey to your bowl right before you eat it. We tried this tonight with some old, crystallized honey that I wanted to use up, and it was amazing.
- I now make this with Basic Baked Rice right alongside, adding the rice dish after 30 minutes. I make them both in glass Pyrex bread pans–they fit nicely in the oven, and it’s more than enough for our family of four.
simply serina 
I just saw this post. I also got the recipe off MDC but have tweaked it in different directions; click my name for my version. It’s wildly popular with my family too!
I’m intrigued by the idea that soaking will make it better. The one time I did soak it–because I mixed it in the morning, then baked it at my church during an evening event followed by dinner–was one of the tastiest batches ever!
I have not had any trouble with the rice not cooking fully, even when I used brown rice. I’m intrigued by your baked rice, though, and will have to try it! I’m surprised you can bake it 90 minutes and have it come out still soupy and not fully cooked. We usually bake it 75 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave it in another 5-15 minutes, and the rice and GREEN lentils are fully cooked (lentils keep their shape but are mushy) and almost all the liquid is absorbed–at 350 degrees. Weird.
We like to eat HBLs with baked squash or sweet potatoes, or pumpkin cornbread.
Thanks for all your lentil recipes! And I almost -always- do the oven-baked method for cooking rice. (Especially when we were overseas. . . it’s a very forgiving recipe with limited cookware and uncertain oven temps!)