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    Home » Mediterranean recipes

    Mujadara Recipe - Lebanese Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions

    Published: Jan 22, 2021 by Shadi HasanzadeNemati · This post may contain affiliate links .

    6916 shares
    • 4
    Jump to Recipe

    Mujadara is a simple Lebanese lentil and rice dish with crispy onions that's packed with flavor. This lentils and rice recipe calls for only a few ingredients and is very easy to make.

    Mujadara is a simple lebanse lentil and rice dish with crispy onions that's packed with flavors. You can serve it with a simple salad.

    The recipes I have on this blog tend to be simple yet really delicious and this mujadara is no different. Just like Lebanese vermicelli rice, Turkish rice pilaf with orzo or Persian lentil rice, this dish is also made with a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand. It's an inexpensive dish that comes together in no time. Your whole family will love it!

    Table Of Contents:
    • What Is Mujadara?
    • Mujadara Ingredients
    • How To Make Mujadara
    • Tips To Make Mujadara
    • Serving Suggestions
    • Storage and Freezing Instructions
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • More lentil recipes
    • Step-by-Step Recipe

    What Is Mujadara?

    Mujadara, also known as mujaddara, , mujadarah, mejadra, mudardara and moujadara, is a lentil and rice dish of originating in the Levant. One of the first mujadara recipes was found in Iraq and included rice, lentils and meat.

    Mujaddara used to be served as a celebration dish but when served without meat was considered a meal for poor people. This easy vegan recipe will amaze you by how simple yet outstanding it is. Once you give it a try, you will always go back for seconds and thirds!

    Mujadara Ingredients

    • Rice: This dish is made with white rice and you can use long grain or short grain. My preference is basmati rice because it gets nice and fluffy after cooking. If you prefer using brown rice, you need to adjust the cooking time as it will take longer to cook.
    • Lentils: Traditionally, you need dark brown lentils for mujadara which are a bit difficult to find in regular supermarkets, but they are available online or at Middle Eastern shops. Here I used regular green lentils that you can find in every supermarket. Both green and brown lentils would work for this recipe but make sure not to use red lentils.
    • Spices: You need a combination of salt, cinnamon and cumin. If you're not a fan of cinnamon you can just leave it out.
    • Onion: All the flavor of this dish comes from the onions. Use at least 4 onions for this recipe. You need two to cook with the rice and lentils and two to fry and top the dish.
    Ingredients to make Lebanese rice and lentils are rice, lentils, onion, olive oil, cinnamon and cumin.

    How To Make Mujadara

    1. Heat some olive oil over medium heat and start frying the sliced onions until they are golden brown. Fried onions are what bring so much flavor to this lentil and rice recipe.
    2. Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Sauté chopped onion and once it's golden, add in lentils and give it a nice stir for about two minutes.
    3. Add in the rice and cook for about a minute. Season with cumin, cinnamon and salt and then add the water.
    4. Bring to a simmer and then cover and cook until lentils and rice are fully cooked. If the water is completely absorbed but the rice and lentils are not fully cooked, add ⅛ cup more water and cook for some more minutes.
    5. Once the rice and lentils are completely cooked, let the lentil and rice sit for a few minutes. Fill a platter with mujadara and then top it with the fried onion. Serve warm.
    to make mujadara saute onions then cook rice and lentils and top with fried onions.

    Tips To Make Mujadara

    • Fried onion: The key is to fry the onions on medium heat and keep a close eye on them. You don't want them to be super soft and mushy, you want them to keep their shape yet be all golden and brown. We will top our our dish with this fried onion. 
    • Quality ingredients: This recipe uses a handful of simple ingredients therefore its best to find use the best quality available to get the best flavor.
    • Let it rest: This will allow the flavors to come together and the dish would taste better.

    Serving Suggestions

    Mujadara is a complete meal on its own and it would go so well with a bowl of yogurt (check out my instructions to make homemade yogurt) or fresh salad such as fattoush or salad shirazi. You can also serve mujaddara with some grilled chicken, lamb or beef. It even makes a great side dish for beef shish kabob with toum or chicken shish kabob.

    Storage and Freezing Instructions

    Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. To reheat, place the mujadara in a pan and add 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until completely heated through.

    Rice and lentil freezes so well. Therefore you can make a big batch and use some for your meal prep and freeze the rest. Simply transfer the rice and lentils into freezer safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, you can either use a microwave or transfer the rice to a small pot and add ⅓ cup water, cover and heat over medium low until warm and heated through. 

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can I make this recipe with other types of rice?

    You sure can. Mujadara is typically made with long grain rice such as basmati rice but you can use jasmine or even brown rice. However, you should modify the cooking time and the amount of water according to the type of rice you use.

    Can I make this lentil rice recipe in advance? 

    Absolutely! You can make mujadara ahead of time and simply heat it right before serving. However, I strongly suggest you make the caramelized onion fresh as it will taste so much better. You can make the caramelized onion as the rice is heating. 

    Do I need to soak the rice or lentils in advance?

    While some recommend doing so, I don't find it very necessary. If you have the time, soak them for 30 minutes or so, however, you will have equally delicious mujadara if you don't soak the lentils and rice.

    Two bowl of Lebanese lentil rice topped with caramelized onion and served with a simple salad.

    More lentil recipes

    • Easy Mediterranean Green Lentil Soup
    • Easy Chicken Lentil Soup Recipe
    • Mediterranean Lentil Salad Recipe
    • Adasi Persian Lentil Soup Recipe

    Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or subscribe to our newsletter to get a free e-Cookbook!

    Step-by-Step Recipe

    Mujadara Lebanese Lentils and Rice with Crispy Onions

    Shadi HasanzadeNemati
    Mujadara is a simple Lebanese lentil and rice dish with crispy onions that's packed with flavor. This lentils and rice recipe calls for only a few ingredients and is very easy to make.
    4.76 from 53 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 35 minutes mins
    Total Time 40 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Mediterranean, middle eastern
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 761 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Caramelized Onion

    • 5 tablespoon olive oil
    • 2 onions thinly sliced

    Mujadara

    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 2 onions chopped
    • 1 ½ cup lentils
    • 1 ½ cup long grain rice
    • 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 4 cups water
    • 1 ½ teaspoon salt

    Instructions
     

    Caramelized onion

    • Heat olive oil over in a pan over medium heat. Cook onions until brown and golden. Set aside. 

    Mujadara

    • Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Saute onion until golden brown.
    • Add in lentils and cook for two to three minutes. 
    • Add rice, cumin and cinnamon to the lentils. Stir well so everything is completely combined. 
    • Pour water into the pot with salt, bring to simmer and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes until the lentil and rice is completely cooked. 
    • Mix the lentils and rice with caramelized onion and serve with plain yogurt and salad. 

    Notes

    • You can use jasmine or brown rice for Mujadara recipe but cooking time will be different. 
    • Check the rice after 30 minutes and if it's not cooked, add ¼ cup more water. 
    • You can use other kinds of rice such as medium grain rice or even brown rice. Remember the cooking time and the amount of water used would vary depending on the type of rice you're using. 
    • Freezing instructions: Transfer the rice and lentils into freezer safe containers and freeze for up to three months. To serve, you can either use a microwave or transfer the rice to a small pot and add ⅓ cup water, cover and heat over medium low until warm and heated through. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 761kcalCarbohydrates: 107gProtein: 25gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 897mgPotassium: 901mgFiber: 25gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 28IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 99mgIron: 7mg
    Did you make this recipe? Let us know how it was by leaving a comment and a 5-star review!
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    6916 shares
    • 4

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gisele Habib

      August 03, 2020 at 7:21 pm

      5 stars
      That's my childhood on a plate. In my family it was always served with finely shredded cabbage dressed up with lime juice, salt and olive oil - that was Saturday's lunch and we all ate until the pants were about to burst. Mujaddara is my absolute favorite dish to this day, I don't care how peasant it is.

      Reply
    2. Jenn

      June 19, 2020 at 7:48 am

      5 stars
      This is an amazing dish. I love how humble it is while at the same time being loaded with great flavors!

      Reply
    3. Pam Greer

      June 19, 2020 at 7:24 am

      5 stars
      This is our favorite lunch recipe! Sometimes we serve it as a side dish for dinner! Such flavor!

      Reply
    4. Beth

      June 19, 2020 at 7:19 am

      5 stars
      This is such a flavorful side dish! I served it along side of grilled lamb chops and it was absolutely a perfect combination! Thanks!

      Reply
    5. Traci

      June 19, 2020 at 7:08 am

      5 stars
      I can eat this Mujadara on the regular! It's so easy and delicious and the perfect way to make lentils lovable. Thanks for the recipe 🙂

      Reply
    6. Cindy

      June 19, 2020 at 6:58 am

      5 stars
      My kiddos and I made this together! We have been spending a lot more time in the kitchen lately and its so fun. They really enjoyed making this recipe but they enjoyed eating it even more! Thanks for this delish creation, we are adding it to our “make again” list!! I've previously had this at a resturant and LOVE it. So I am excited the kids wanted to try it at home and they now love it too!

      Reply
    7. Anna

      March 12, 2020 at 1:24 pm

      5 stars
      So, so good!! Thank you for this great receipe! So easy and yet fragrant and satisfying. Great week-night dish.

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        March 14, 2020 at 9:27 am

        Glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    8. Miriam

      January 27, 2020 at 7:01 am

      Thanks - I have a bag of pardina lentils that I didn't know what to do with.

      Reply
    9. Miriam

      January 14, 2020 at 10:18 pm

      What about pardina lentils?

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        January 23, 2020 at 3:06 pm

        Those would work as well 🙂

        Reply
    10. Rosetta

      December 25, 2019 at 12:53 pm

      5 stars
      A great dish, I had it at a Lebanese restaurant but this recipe tastes 100% better. By the way you can buy the black lentils in Asian shops or major supermarkets in the UK

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        January 06, 2020 at 9:47 pm

        Rosetta, thank you for your kind comment, I'm happy to know you enjoyed this dish!

        Reply
    11. Lara

      September 04, 2019 at 1:42 pm

      Hii. Sorry for the correction but this recipe is called modardara. Moujadara has to crushed to get a creamy paste, which is delicious as well.

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        September 05, 2019 at 12:33 am

        Hi Lara, thank you for your comment. I didn't know of the name modardara. As I checked before and also just a few minutes ago, Wikipedia suggests that this dish is called mujadara (with a few spelling variations) but I would love to know more about the moujadara you just mentioned. Is it the same recipe, but crushed into a paste? Thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙂

        Reply
    12. Beth

      May 02, 2019 at 4:12 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe looks fabulous! I can't wait for my home to be filled with the delicious aroma of this dish!

      Reply
    13. Noelle

      May 02, 2019 at 2:58 pm

      5 stars
      Such an amazing recipe, made this today and it was a hit! A keeper to say the least

      Reply
    14. April

      September 11, 2018 at 8:02 am

      5 stars
      This looks fantastic! I'm dying over those onions - yum!

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        September 11, 2018 at 8:21 am

        Onions make lentils and rice SO good!

        Reply
    15. Renee Goerger

      September 11, 2018 at 7:59 am

      5 stars
      This is such a beautiful recipe! I have everything on hand in my kitchen to make it. It's going on my menu plan this week. Thanks for sharing this incredible dish!

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        September 11, 2018 at 8:01 am

        Hope you enjoy this lentils and rice dish Renee!

        Reply
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