How much protein is in cooked lentils?

Cooked lentils has 9 g of protein per 100 g and 17.8 g per 1 cup (198 g). That is 7.8 g of protein per 100 kcal — a modest protein contribution.

Should beans, lentils, chickpeas and tofu be weighed raw or cooked?

Weigh it in whichever state you log it, and use the row that matches — this page is the cooked row. Cooking does not change how many calories are there, only how many grams they are spread across: meat loses water in the pan and gets denser, grains and pasta absorb it and get lighter per gram.

All foods

Beans, lentils, chickpeas and tofuUSDA SR LegacyFDC 172421

Calories in cooked lentils

USDA FoodData Central record for “Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt” — per 100 g, per every USDA serving size, and next to the other beans, lentils, chickpeas and tofu rows.

The short answer

Cooked lentils: 116 kcal per 100 g. 1 cup (198 g) is 230 kcal with 17.8 g of protein. Source: USDA FoodData Central record 172421, "Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt".

Per 100 g

Nutrient	Per 100 g	Share of energy
Energy	116 kcal	100%
Protein	9 g	30%
Fat	0.4 g	3%
Carbohydrate	20.1 g	67%

Cooked lentils is 116 kcal per 100 g in USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy). Of that energy, about 30% comes from protein, 3% from fat and 67% from carbohydrate. That works out to 7.8 g of protein per 100 kcal — a modest protein contribution.

Per serving

The serving sizes USDA lists for this record, priced from the per-100 g figures above. Nothing here is rounded to a “portion” — the gram weight next to each label is what the calories are computed from.

Serving	Weight	Calories	Protein	Fat	Carbs
100 g	100 g	116	9 g	0.4 g	20.1 g
1 cup	198 g	230	17.8 g	0.8 g	39.8 g
1 tbsp	12 g	14	1.1 g	0 g	2.5 g

Compared with other beans, lentils, chickpeas and tofu

Food	kcal / 100 g	Protein / 100 g	Per serving
Cooked black beans	132	8.9 g	227 kcal · 1 cup
Dry black beans	341	21.6 g	662 kcal · 1 cup
Cooked chickpeas	164	8.9 g	269 kcal · 1 cup
Dry chickpeas	378	20.5 g	756 kcal · 1 cup
Cooked lentils	116	9 g	230 kcal · 1 cup
Dry lentils	352	24.6 g	676 kcal · 1 cup
Hummus	237	7.8 g	36 kcal · 1 tbsp
Firm tofu	144	17.3 g	181 kcal · 0.5 cup
Regular (soft) tofu	76	8.1 g	94 kcal · 0.5 cup

The beans, lentils, chickpeas and tofu rows exist in more than one state because water moves during cooking: this is the cooked row. Weigh the food in the state you log and pick the row that matches — the calories don’t change in the pan, the grams do. The mechanics are in cooked vs raw weights.

Worth knowing

Lentils triple in weight when cooked, which is why cooked lentils are 116 kcal per 100 g against 352 dry. A cup of cooked lentils is about 230 kcal and 18 g of protein — the most protein per calorie of the common legumes.

Other tables in legumes and legume products

The same numbers for the foods this one usually shares a plate — or a shopping list — with.

Calories in peanuts567 kcal / 100 g

Questions about cooked lentils

How many calories are in cooked lentils?: Cooked lentils: 116 kcal per 100 g. 1 cup (198 g) is 230 kcal with 17.8 g of protein. Source: USDA FoodData Central record 172421, "Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt".
How much protein is in cooked lentils?: Cooked lentils has 9 g of protein per 100 g and 17.8 g per 1 cup (198 g). That is 7.8 g of protein per 100 kcal — a modest protein contribution.
Should beans, lentils, chickpeas and tofu be weighed raw or cooked?: Weigh it in whichever state you log it, and use the row that matches — this page is the cooked row. Cooking does not change how many calories are there, only how many grams they are spread across: meat loses water in the pan and gets denser, grains and pasta absorb it and get lighter per gram.

How calorie.one logs it

Type “cooked lentils” into calorie.one and the app matches this exact record — “Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt” — estimates the grams, and shows the line with its USDA label. You correct the amount; the per-100 g figure is never guessed. That split between recognition and arithmetic is the whole methodology. For the numbers in context, read How much protein do you need per day?.