Lebanese Mujadara
Updated Mar 09, 2026
Traditional Lebanese Mujadara made with rice, lentils, onions, olive oil, cumin, and salt, topped with crispy caramelized onions and served warm.
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Try My classic Lebanese mujadara recipe!
If there’s one meal I consider my fallback go-to dish in my kitchen, it’s this authentic mujadara recipe. It’s one of those recipes where the flavor is greater than the sum of its parts. Lebanese mujadara consists of only three main ingredients: rice, lentils, and onions.
The onions are really the key here. I cook them until they’re deeply caramelized and a little crispy, then pile them over the rice and lentils. I grew up eating mujadara at home, and it’s still one of the meals I make when I want something simple and comforting. It’s such an easy dish to make and also gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan-friendly. Serve with cucumber yogurt for a creamy addition.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Lebanese Mujadara Ingredients
- Rice. Long grain white rice or basmati rice. I usually use basmati because the grains cook up light and separate. Make sure to rinse the rice well to remove excess starch so the rice doesn’t turn sticky. If needed, long-grain white rice works just as well. For help, see my full recipe on how to cook basmati rice.
- Lentils. Brown lentils. These hold their shape during cooking, which is important for mujadara. Green lentils can also work if that’s what you have. Avoid red lentils because they break down quickly and will turn the dish mushy. Read my tips on how to cook lentils.
- Onions. Yellow onions. Slice the onions thinly so they cook evenly and brown properly. The onions are a major part of the dish, so don’t rush this step. White onions can be used instead, but yellow onions tend to caramelize a little better. Full recipe on how to caramelize onions.
- Olive oil. This is used to fry the onions and the leftover oil gets poured over the finished mujadara. That oil carries a lot of the onion flavor, so it’s worth saving. If you prefer, you can also use a neutral oil like avocado oil.
- Seasoning. Salt and cumin. Cumin is the main spice here, so it’s what gives this Lebanese mujadara its recognizable flavor. If you want a slightly deeper flavor, you can add a small pinch of black pepper or allspice.
How to Make Lebanese Mujadara
It’s easy to make this mujadara recipe. All three parts can cook and be prepared simultaneously for a quick meal. The rice is soaked while the onions are frying, and the lentils cook before adding the soaked rice. It will all come together in about 35 minutes when you time everything out!
Lebanese Mujadara Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain or basmati white rice rinsed
- 4 ½ cups water plus more for soaking the rice
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions thinly sliced
- 2 cups brown lentils rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- Cucumber Yogurt Sauce for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, cover the rice with cold water. Set aside.
- Line a plate with two paper towels. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are deeply browned and start to crisp around the edges, about 20 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to the plate and set aside. They will continue to crisp as they cool. Reserve the oil from cooking the onions.
- Add the lentils to another pot, add water and stir to combine. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Drain the soaked rice, rinse and transfer it to the pot with the lentils along with the salt. Stir once, then cover again with a tight-fitting lid and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Rest, covered, for 5 minutes longer. Add the cumin and fluff the rice and lentils with a fork to combine.
- Pour the reserved oil on top of the mujadara. Then spoon the crispy onions on top. Serve warm, with cucumber yogurt sauce if desired.
Equipment
Notes
6 cups water
1 cup long grain rice rinsed and soaked
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil divided
6 onions 5 chopped, and 1 sliced
1 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
Bring lentils and water to a boil, simmer and cook covered until the lentils are tender but not fully cooked, about 15 minutes (there will be liquid leftover)
Drain the soaked rice, add to the pot of lentils and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook covered until the rice is tender, about 18 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Allow the rice to rest in the pot for about 5 minutes, without opening the lid, to absorb all the liquid and steam.
In a separate large pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat and fry the chopped onions until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer on top of the lentils and rice mixture, add cumin and toss to combine.
In the same large pan used to cook the onions, heat the remaining olive oil on medium heat and fry the sliced onions until golden brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. In the last couple minutes of frying the onions, you can turn up the heat to high to get a crispy texture.
Serve the caramelized onions on top of mujadara with yogurt and mint, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Variations
- Cook extra onions into the mujadara. When I originally published this recipe, I included two sets of onions, some mixed into the rice and lentils, and the crispy ones on top of the rice and lentils. This is how my mom prefers to make mujadara, and it adds a ton of flavor, but it does add time to the recipe, which is why I’ve updated it now to only include the onions on top.
- Make it with brown rice. The difference between white rice and brown rice for mujadara is that brown rice will need to cook a little longer. Instead of adding the rice halfway through cooking the lentils, you’ll start it first, simmer for about 10 minutes, and then add in the lentils to finish cooking for about 25 minutes.
- Make it with bulgur wheat. This is another traditional way to make this recipe. Follow this mujadara recipe but with a few time changes. Cook the lentils for 20 minutes before adding the bulgur (instead of rice and no soaking required), and continue to cook for only 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat, and rest for 5 minutes with the lid on before adding the cumin and fluffing with a fork.
Recipe Tips
- Pay attention to the cooking of the lentils. Like many beans, lentils may vary in cooking time depending on the type of lentils you use. Refer to the package instructions and cook them al dente first, because they will also continue cooking with the rice.
- Cook the rice and lentils separately. To save time and avoid washing an extra pot, I like cooking everything together. However, you can cook the rice in one pot and the lentils in another pot and then combine them together. This creates better presentation so I do it for guests sometimes.
Serving Ideas
The mujadara has minimal ingredients, but it’s such a well-balanced meal with protein and fiber (lentils), grains (rice), and vegetables (onions). It’s a wonderful vegan dish and served on its own as an entree. Traditionally in Lebanon, we serve it with some whole milk yogurt or Greek Yogurt, or even a cucumber yogurt sauce.
It’s also very common to serve this with some vegetables like radishes, pickled turnips or Middle Eastern salads like the following:
FAQs
Because we’re cooking the lentils and rice together, it could affect the texture of them when they come together, especially since the type of rice can affect the amount of water needed for the recipe. To make sure it doesn’t come out mushy, you can cook the rice alone in one pot, cook the lentils alone in another pot and then combine them.
Yes, absolutely! You can use long-grain white rice, basmati, or brown rice. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time for each type, so you don’t have any undercooked or overcooked rice.
Comments
Is it possible to use canned lentils instead of dried? I can’t get to a grocery store for at least a week but I’ve got canned lentils in the pantry. Is there anything that canned lentils are good for besides soup?
Hi Christine! Yes, you can use canned lentils, but I’d treat it as a workaround, not a straight swap. Canned lentils are already cooked, so they shouldn’t simmer with the rice the same way dried brown lentils do. If you add them too early, they’ll get very soft and can turn mushy. I haven’t tested this myself, but here’s what I’d try: Keep the onions exactly the same. Cook the rice separately, then stir in the drained, rinsed canned lentils near the end just to warm them through. Add the cumin, reserved onion oil, and crispy onions on top as written. The texture will be a little different from traditional mujadara, but it should still taste great! If you try it, you’ll have to let me know how it turns out!
This is a fabulous recipe. My partner and I have already made it a bunch of times since we discovered it a couple of years ago. We both have Middle Eastern background and can attest that this is the OG stuff! So so delicious and quite easy to make. Thank you 🙂
That makes me so happy to hear, Dafna! So happy you both enjoy the recipe together!
Hi! making this recipe for the first time. (not my first time making Mujadara) but i just moved into my new house and i realized i didn’t have cumin AFTER i already started cooking! So i’m using one teaspoon of good quality curry powder since it has cumin in it, and i’m blooming it in the onion oil. Wish me luck!
That sounds like a good alternative, Kaitlynn! Good luck!! Can’t wait to hear how it turned out.
Easy and delicious! We actually had it alongside your recipe for beef kofta!
Yum, love that!! So glad you liked it! Thanks!!
Super delicious!!! This will definitely be eaten in my house often! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Yay!! So glad it was a big hit at your house, Dawn!! Thank you!
I made this tonight and absolutely love it! I also made your yogurt cucumber mint dip. Such a fresh creamy addition. I toasted pine nuts and walnuts and sprinkled them on top with the onions. Also, I had fresh lightly pickled radishes on the side. Thank you for sharing this!
Yum, that sounds amazing!! So glad you enjoyed it, Kim!! Thank you!
Oh yum, this sounds delicious & I can’t wait to try this.
Yay! Can’t wait to hear what you think!!
Very good! We added toasted pine nuts on top!
Yum, that sounds so good!! So glad you liked it, Jessica. Thank you!
Could I use prepackaged fried onions instead?
Yup, that works!
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