Are red lentils and masoor dal the same thing?

Yes. Masoor dal is another name for red lentils, so they are the same ingredient and measure identically. A cup of red lentils weighs 200 grams under either name, and every conversion on this page holds whichever name your recipe uses. Recipes swap the two freely, so you can follow either without changing quantities or weighing any differently.

Why does a cup of red lentils vary in weight?

Red lentils are sold split and skinned or whole with the skin on, and the split ones pack tighter. This page uses 200 grams for a metric cup of dry split red lentils, the type most shops stock. Whole red lentils come in a little lighter per cup. Cooked lentils are a different measure again, since they take up water and swell to roughly two and a half times their dry volume.

What is 0.25 cups of red lentils in tablespoons?

0.25 cups of red lentils is 4.17 tablespoons. This is the same for any ingredient, since cups and tablespoons are both volume units and do not depend on what you are measuring. One cup is about 16.67 tablespoons, so 0.5 cups is 8.33 tablespoons. Use the volume converter to switch between cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, and millilitres for any amount.

How much does a cup of red lentils weigh?

1 cup of red lentils in grams is 200 grams. The ratio is fixed, so 2 cups is 400 grams and half a cup is 100 grams. Weighing red lentils by the cup is the most common way to measure it for baking. See the full cup to grams chart for red lentils, or use the converter on this page for any other amount.

Convert Red Lentils measurements

Red Lentils Measurement Converter

Use the tool below to convert red lentils from the measurements in your recipe to the measurements that you need.

Red lentils are small split lentils that cook down soft in about 20 minutes with no soaking, which is what makes them the base of dahl. One metric cup (250 ml) of dry red lentils weighs around 200 grams or 7.05 ounces. When a recipe calls for lentils in cups and you are working from a bag on the scales, converting by weight keeps the lentil-to-liquid ratio right.

A cup of dry red lentils cooks up to roughly two and a half cups, so it feeds more people than the dry volume suggests. Half a cup, or 100 g, is enough for two as a main with rice, and the pan needs room above the lentils for that swelling.

Also known as

masoor dal
split red lentils
red split lentils

Related Red Lentils Ingredients

Chickpeas keep their bite instead of dissolving, so they suit a curry where you want to see the pulses. Their 170 g a cup is a cooked and drained figure, next to 200 g for a dry cup of red lentils. See our Chickpeas converter.

A cup of cooked and drained black-eyed peas is 175 g, compared with 200 g for dry red lentils. The peas hold together in a stew where lentils melt away. See our Black-Eyed Peas converter.

Butter beans come ready to use from a can, so they suit a curry you want on the table faster than dahl. A cup of them cooked and drained is 180 g, against 200 g for a dry cup of lentils. See our Butter Beans converter.

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Red Lentils Calculators & Baking Tools

Working with red lentils? These tools handle the jobs a converter cannot.

Oven to Air Fryer Converter Match the temperature and time when you swap the oven for an air fryer, fan oven, or slow cooker.
Recipe Scaler Scale any recipe up or down and keep every ingredient in ratio.
Volume Converter Switch between cups, tablespoons, teaspoons and millilitres for any ingredient.
Weight Converter Switch between grams, ounces, pounds and kilograms for any ingredient.

Common Red Lentils Conversions

Here are the most common red lentils conversions from grams to cups.

Grams	Cups
50 g	0.25 cups
100 g	0.5 cups
125 g	0.63 cups
150 g	0.75 cups
175 g	0.88 cups
200 g	1 cup
250 g	1.25 cups
300 g	1.5 cups
400 g	2 cups
500 g	2.5 cups

Red Lentils Conversion Chart

The conversion chart below gives a quick reference for converting red lentils to different measurements.

grams	cup	ounces	lb	kg	cup(US)	tbsp	tsp
100 g	0.5 cup	3.53 oz	0.22 lb	0.1 kg	0.52 cup (US)	8.33 tbsp	25 tsp
150 g	0.75 cup	5.29 oz	0.33 lb	0.15 kg	0.78 cup (US)	12.5 tbsp	37.5 tsp
250 g	1.25 cup	8.81 oz	0.55 lb	0.25 kg	1.3 cup (US)	20.83 tbsp	62.5 tsp
500 g	2.5 cup	17.63 oz	1.1 lb	0.5 kg	2.6 cup (US)	41.67 tbsp	125 tsp
750 g	3.75 cup	26.44 oz	1.65 lb	0.75 kg	3.91 cup (US)	62.5 tbsp	187.5 tsp

In my kitchen: Dahl

Red lentils go into dahl, one of my go-to easy dishes: cheap, healthy, and hard to get wrong. I usually fry off the onion, garlic, ginger and spices first, then add the lentils and the rest. Recently I made a Sri Lankan red lentil and spinach version in the slow cooker, which turned out even easier than cooking it on the stove.

Notes from Ian, Cooking Converter

Good to know about red lentils

Red lentils are split masoor lentils with the skin removed, which is why they break down into a purée rather than staying whole.
Canada is the world's largest exporter of lentils, with most of the crop grown in Saskatchewan.

Recipes to try with red lentils

Slow Cooker Sri Lankan Red Lentil Spinach Dhal

Everything goes into the slow cooker at the start with no frying off the onion, garlic and spices, and the spinach is stirred in 30 minutes before serving. Four hours on high or eight on low.

Easy 5/5 · Healthy 5/5 · Quick 2/5

Frequently Asked Questions

Are red lentils and masoor dal the same thing?: Yes. Masoor dal is another name for red lentils, so they are the same ingredient and measure identically. A cup of red lentils weighs 200 grams under either name, and every conversion on this page holds whichever name your recipe uses. Recipes swap the two freely, so you can follow either without changing quantities or weighing any differently.
Why does a cup of red lentils vary in weight?: Red lentils are sold split and skinned or whole with the skin on, and the split ones pack tighter. This page uses 200 grams for a metric cup of dry split red lentils, the type most shops stock. Whole red lentils come in a little lighter per cup. Cooked lentils are a different measure again, since they take up water and swell to roughly two and a half times their dry volume.
What is 0.25 cups of red lentils in tablespoons?: 0.25 cups of red lentils is 4.17 tablespoons. This is the same for any ingredient, since cups and tablespoons are both volume units and do not depend on what you are measuring. One cup is about 16.67 tablespoons, so 0.5 cups is 8.33 tablespoons. Use the volume converter to switch between cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, and millilitres for any amount. Open the volume converter
How much does a cup of red lentils weigh?: 1 cup of red lentils in grams is 200 grams. The ratio is fixed, so 2 cups is 400 grams and half a cup is 100 grams. Weighing red lentils by the cup is the most common way to measure it for baking. See the full cup to grams chart for red lentils, or use the converter on this page for any other amount.

Other Ingredients

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