Lentils and Rice with Eggs and Bacon is perfect for busy families looking for delicious, healthy weeknight meals. They are economic, easy to prepare and make enough for plenty of leftovers!

Lentils and Rice
Although my family goes wild over this Chicken and Lentil Soup recipe, we also love this lentil dish served over brown rice. My aunt shared her family recipe with me, which she eats topped with hard boiled egg and bacon, but I also love it topped with a runny egg. If you want to keep it vegetarian you can swap the bacon with avocado.
What gives them all the flavor is the guiso which is a simple combination of sauteed scallions, garlic and tomato that you add to the lentils at the end. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated throughout the week, if it gets too thick simply add a little water to loosen it while reheating.
More Lentil Recipes You May Enjoy:
- Lentil Bowls with Avocado, Egg and Cholula
- Asparagus with Green Lentils and Poached Egg
- Creamy Lentil Soup
- Lentil Salad
- Chicken and Lentil Soup
Lentils and Rice with Eggs and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 1/2 cups small green lentils, rinsed well
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup diced tomato
- 1/3 cup chopped scallion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
For serving:
- 7 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
- 5 large hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 5 slices cooked center cut bacon
- 2 tbsp scallion, chopped
- kosher salt, to taste
Instructions
- Combine carrots, lentils, broth, bay leaf and water in a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile heat a large skillet over medium heat with oil. Add oil, scallions and garlic and cook 2 1/2 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook 2 1/2 minutes, stirring.
- Stir into the lentils after they have cooked 30 minutes, then cook an additional 10 minutes covered.
- To serve, ladle 2/3 cup of lentils over 3/4 cup rice. Top with 1/2 chopped egg, 1/2 slice chopped bacon, scallions and salt, to taste.
Last Step:
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I was asked to participate in the #TheSimpleLentil campaign, sponsored by Canadian Lentils. Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own.
this was so good! I hope you post more lentil recipes. it is so hard to find lentil and bean recipes that aren’t vegetarian.
I have to say, I was kind of afraid of this recipe as I had never eaten lentils before and the recipe seemed like a strange mix of ingredients. I am beyond pleasantly surprised! Just got done eating it for dinner and it was savory and filling.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Is there a way to make this an Instant Pot (pressure cooker) version?
Has anyone tried it before?
This is delicious. So many different flavours that come together beautifully!
This is incredible. My husband, 3 year old, and 1 year old gobbled it up. Topped with a fried egg instead of boiled (didn’t have time to boil any), paired with an easy side of mixed greens tossed in vinaigrette and toasted baguette, and omitted the rice underneath (didn’t have any on hand). Thanks for sharing!
I just want to say that this has become a regular meal in our household. We love it! It makes quite a bit for two people so it usually ends up being leftovers the next night and my lunch for the next couple of days. Adding the bacon in definitely makes it better, although it still is good if you leave it out!
I am so glad!!
Our first time eating lentils and certainly won’t be the last! Pleasantly surprised by how good it was.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I made this tonight and it was SO DELISCIOUS! The favor was amazing, and it’s so simple! I’m actually going to enjoy some leftovers for breakfast I think, it’ll be wonderful after a hard workout. I’d been been wanting to make this for a while, glad I did! I always love your recipes.
Serving fir ten how would u make this for a family of three.
Make half
This recipe was perfect for today’s rainy day. My son loves lentils but I don’t have any really good recipes. This was fantastic! And the bacon and egg toppings really added something special to the dish. I added some oregano because I had it on hand and was trying to use it. It worked well.
Great!
I made this tonight and we LOVED it.. such a delightful, simple meal. The bacon and egg really make it special! I made very few changes to the recipe.. just added more fresh tomato as mine cooked down quite a bit. Oh and I halved the lentil part since we’re only two people, that worked better for us :). Can’t wait to put this in our regular rotation. Thank you!!
Do you think the lentils can be frozen and reheated?
I think so
I freeze beans with soffrito all the time. They redhead beautifully.
Hello,
Can there be a error for the rice- • 7 1/2 cups cooked brown rice?
Yes Rosa, that is correct. This recipe makes 10 servings. 🙂
I think i messed up. lentil part of it was just pure liquid. should this have been made with dry lentils so they suck up all that liquid. it just said lentils so I bought canned ones – drained them and rinsed them.
I made this tonight because of your beautiful pictures. As it was coming together I was a little skeptical. So glad we persevered… it was DELICIOUS!! I am crazy about your recipes. Thanks so much for all you share. 🙂
Wonderful!!
This was delicious! I substituted avocado and smoked paprika for the bacon. Reminded me of Korean bibimbap so I drizzled spicy gochujang sauce and sriracha on top. We like it spicy!
I made this tonight with avocado instead of bacon. It was delicious, but as the previous comment said, the cook time is wrong. The directions say to cook the lentils 30 minutes, then add the tomato mixture and cook another 10 minutes, which is 40 minutes cook time, aside from any prep time. Even with everything prepared and water boiling, it can’t be made in under 30 minutes as it says in the recipe.
Thanks for letting me know!
This sounds amazing! I’m just starting the Simply Filling Plan, would it fit that category if I leave out the bacon?
Sorry, I am not familiar with that plan.
It’s the no count plan with Weight Watchers (Core for those of us who have been around for a long time).
This turned out so well. Both my kids loved it. Some family members don’t like eggs so I left it off theirs and it was still delicious. I’m sure it’s one of those recipes that’s even better the next day. I’m looking forward to lunch.
Great!
I cooked it last night, and I loved it, I did a “sofrito” for the lentils and served the chopped scallions and more tomatoes like a salsa with the egg and bacon.
I make a similar soup, but first cook about a half pound of bacon, drain. Then saute an onion in the bacon fat. Then add that to your soup recipe. Or use kielbasa instead of bacon. The smoky flavor really compliments the lentils!
I loved this recipe- skipped the bacon and served over cauliflower rice instead and it was super filling and very yummy. We love all your recipes, Gina! I am super excited for the new cookbook next month!!!
Thank you!
I added a little dollop of hummus instead of eggs/bacon for protein and it was really good. It would also be good with a couple small slices of avocado on top!
I think lentils are such an underrated ingredient – we should definitely use them more! Looks delicious!
This recipe looks amazing! What do you think the SP count would be if I made it sans hard-boiled egg and bacon?
Thanks!!
eggs are 0
Just made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks so much for sharing.
this was so good and so easy. I cooked it in my instantpot and it was delish. I cooked the rice first in the pot and then put the lentils in after the rice was done. Easy peasy1 and so good.
You can easily omit the egg and bacon on this recipe and not lose a bit of goodness! I am super excited to know that more lentil recipes are to come! I love lentils and can not wait for more recipes!
Made this tonight, just without the toppings because I didn’t have them. But I’ll get the for the leftovers! It was quick, easy and delicious!
SARAH, I used red – the recipe turned out very well – very tasty.
JENNIFER – I chose not to use eggs – no problem.
Can you use red lentils?
Thanks MADI
This makes me so happy since it is total comfort food for me. I would love to add protein to it somehow. What else would you suggest besides the egg?
Between the lentils and the egg there’s already a ton of protein in it. I made them this week. They are SO filling.
Looks yummy! I like lentils because they are low glycemic.
I am one of the few who really doesn’t, for some reason, like eggs. Is there something that you would substitute anything for the eggs, or leave them out all together? Thanks, Gina!
Do you think this could be adapted for the Instapot?
Sure! It would take half the time in the pressure cooker to cook.
Oh my gosh this sounds so yummy!!