Pulses: Lentils, Chickpeas, Beans and Soy

Pulses are the dry, edible seeds of legume plants. The category includes lentils (red, green, brown, Puy), chickpeas, the bean group (kidney, black, butter, cannellini, haricot, borlotti), soybeans and their derivatives such as tofu and tempeh, plus mung beans, black-eyed beans and split peas. Together they are among the cheapest sources of plant protein on any shop shelf and one of the most concentrated dietary sources of fibre, with useful amounts of folate, iron, magnesium and potassium.

The UK 5-a-day guidance counts a portion of pulses (around three heaped tablespoons of cooked beans, lentils or peas) as one of the daily five, although it caps the count at one regardless of how many pulse-based meals you eat in a day. The combination of slow-release carbohydrate, plant protein and fibre makes pulses unusually filling per calorie, and they slot easily into stews, curries, salads and soups without dominating the dish.

Plant proteins are sometimes described as "incomplete" because individual pulses are typically lower in one or two essential amino acids than animal proteins. The practical answer is to combine pulses with grains in the same meal (rice and beans, hummus on bread, dal with chapati): the amino-acid profiles complement each other and the resulting protein is functionally equivalent to a meat-based meal. Soybeans and quinoa are the exceptions among plant foods, providing all essential amino acids in adequate quantity on their own.

Cooking from dry takes more time but costs a fraction of tinned. Most pulses benefit from an overnight soak followed by a 30 to 60 minute simmer (lentils and split peas don't need the soak). Tinned pulses are pre-cooked and ready to drain, rinse and use; they preserve the same nutritional value with a small trade-off in salt content. Kidney beans must be boiled hard for at least 10 minutes when cooked from dry to neutralise lectins, a step that the canning process already covers.

Pulses are central to many traditional UK dishes (mushy peas, baked beans, pea and ham soup) and to most South Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Latin American cuisines. The entries below cover individual pulses in raw form. Each page lists per 100 g energy, protein, carbohydrate and fibre.