Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions)
A humble Levantine pilaf of brown lentils and rice cooked together and crowned with deeply caramelized onions, seasoned simply with cumin.
Jordanian (Levantine) · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 45 min
~420 cal · 17g protein · 80g carbs · 3g fat · 8g fiber · 6g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Mujaddara is a humble, nourishing of lentils and rice built on one thing above all: onions caramelized long and slow until they are deep mahogany and sweet. It is a staple in Jordanian, Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese households, essentially peasant food, and it has been on Levantine tables for centuries. The name is commonly linked to the Arabic word for pockmarked, describing the lentils dotted through the grain.
Two-thirds of the caramelized onions are stirred through the lentils and rice as they cook, while the rest crown the finished dish. The seasoning is spare, usually just cumin, salt, and pepper, letting the onions and earthy lentils carry the flavour. Small brown or green lentils are used because they hold their shape rather than turning to mush.
Some households use coarse in place of the rice for a nuttier, chewier version. Mujaddara is naturally plant-based and is served hot or at room temperature, traditionally with a bowl of cool yogurt and a simple salad or pickles alongside.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed
1 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp, plus more to taste salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, to finish
Instructions
1
Simmer the lentils in about 2.5 cups water for 15 to 20 minutes until almost tender with a slight bite, then set aside in their liquid.
✎ Chef’s note
Undercook the lentils slightly here, they finish cooking with the rice, so a little bite now keeps them from turning to mush.
2
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and cook the sliced onions with a pinch of salt over medium to medium-low heat, stirring, for 30 to 45 minutes until deep mahogany brown.
✎ Chef’s note
This slow caramelization is the whole dish, so do not rush it; lower the heat and add a splash of water if the onions start to catch.
3
Reserve about a third of the onions for topping and stir the rest into the pot with the lentils.
4
Add the rinsed rice, cumin, salt, pepper, and enough of the lentil liquid topped up with water to total about 1.5 cups, then stir once to combine.
5
Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce to the lowest heat, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes without lifting the lid, until the liquid is absorbed.
6
Rest off the heat, covered, for 5 minutes, then fluff gently with a fork so the grains stay separate.
7
Mound onto a platter, top with the reserved caramelized onions, drizzle with the finishing olive oil, and serve with yogurt and a salad.
Levantine home cooking, a staple across Jordan.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Amman. The sauce is the difficult part. Jameed is yoghurt drained, salted and dried into hard pale balls that keep for months, then broken up and loosened back into the tart white liquid the lamb cooks in. Mansaf itself is eaten well beyond Jordan, so what is Jordanian is the ceremony rather than the dish.
🗺️
Jordan. Jordan's national pride is mansaf, lamb cooked in fermented dried yogurt over rice and flatbread, eaten communally. Levantine mezze, flatbreads, and the Bedouin tradition of hospitality shape its warm, generous cuisine.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Jordan
Maqluba (Upside-Down Rice)Layers of chicken, fried eggplant, cauliflower, and spiced rice cooked in one pot, then flipped tableside.
FattehLayers of toasted bread, warm chickpeas, and garlicky yogurt topped with sizzled butter and pine nuts.
MansafLamb cooked in a tangy fermented-yogurt sauce over rice and flatbread, Jordan's national dish of hospitality.
Browse all Jordan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Jordan meal
Qamar al-DinDrink
MahalabiaDessert
Maqluba (Upside-Down Rice)Dinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions)?
A humble Levantine pilaf of brown lentils and rice cooked together and crowned with deeply caramelized onions, seasoned simply with cumin.
Where does Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions) come from?
Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions) is a Jordanian (Levantine) dish from Amman, Jordan.
Can Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Mujaddara (Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions) take to make?
About 55 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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