Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy · Episode 244 · January 6, 2026 · 27 min

Beans! Our Favorite Ways to Cook Lentils, Chickpeas, White Beans, and More

Are you staring at a bag of lentils in your pantry that you fully meant to cook… and somehow never do? Or maybe you’ve got a few cans of chickpeas that always feel like a good idea in theory, but never quite turn into dinner. If beans have ever felt bland, boring, or confusing, today’s episode is for you. By the end of this episode, you’ll: Discover how to make lentils, chickpeas, and other pantry beans actually craveable — from using up quick cooking red lentils in an unexpected pasta dish, to a vegetarian date-studded chickpea stew that relies on canned beans Find out go-to weeknight bean-centric meals that you can whip up in 30 minutes or less Learn about two fresh takes on bean soup: one that uses white beans and has been served in the US Senate for decades, and another that relies on simple black beans combined with a few surprising, flavorful winter veggies  Press play now if you want affordable, comforting dinners that finally make good on all those beans in your pantry! *** Links: Lentils Our favorite coconut red lentils from our free Substack Curried tomato tortellini soup from 101 Cookbooks Ecuadorian lentil stew from Laylita.com Alison Roman’s  lentils with fried lemon or garlic (you can use red or yellow)  Chickpeas Our chickpea episode with Sarah Bond from Live, Eat, Learn Chickpea stew with dates, almonds, and orange  Chickpea butternut squash tacos by Laura Fuentes Yotam Ottolenghi’s confit tandoori chickpeas  Other Beans: Amy Chaplin’s spicy black bean soup , with squash, cabbage, loads of veggies  Cheesy mashed white beans with kale and parm and runny egg, from Serious Eats Mung bean curry from Pride of India Senate bean soup by The Country Cook Also: Kari’s famous white bean soup with oregano and parm, and Sonya’s take on Yemenite white bean soup with zhoug *** Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084 For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here . You can also now find us on YouTube.  We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @ foodfriendspod , or drop us a line at [email protected]!