Mung bean + Lentils
Promising but untested: they share 219 flavor molecules (strong aroma overlap), yet only 4 recipes use both. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs.
Do mung bean and lentils go together?
Possibly. 4 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 219 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 2% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything lentils carries, mung bean has too: 219 of lentils's 230 flavor molecules also occur in mung bean. Among the shared key aromas are coumarin (sweet, hay) and 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
What each one brings
mung bean
The floral side. Floral notes make up 15% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 12% for lentils. It carries 46 molecules lentils doesn't have.
lentils
Much the same character. It carries 11 molecules mung bean doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Turmeric: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with mung bean, top 1% with lentils.
- Cumin: top 2% of pairs with mung bean, top 1% with lentils.
- Cashew nut: top 7% of pairs with mung bean, top 1% with lentils.
- Spinach: top 1% of pairs with mung bean, top 1% with lentils.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with mung bean and lentils
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (83% of mung bean's and 95% of lentils's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 219 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 46 only in mung bean and the 11 only in lentils.
Mung bean and lentils questions
Do mung bean and lentils go together?
Promising but untested: they share 219 flavor molecules (strong aroma overlap), yet only 4 recipes use both. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do mung bean and lentils taste good together?
Almost everything lentils carries, mung bean has too: 219 of lentils's 230 flavor molecules also occur in mung bean. Among the shared key aromas are coumarin (sweet, hay) and 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
What goes with mung bean and lentils?
Turmeric is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with mung bean and top 1% with lentils. Cumin and cashew nut also fit both.
What can you make with mung bean and lentils?
Almost always mains: 1 of the 1 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Mung Dahl.
Can I use lentils instead of mung bean?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (83% of mung bean's and 95% of lentils's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Mung Bean vs Lentils. https://compkitchen.com/compare/mung-bean-vs-lentils. Accessed 2026-11-06.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_mung_bean_vs_lentils_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Mung Bean vs Lentils},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/mung-bean-vs-lentils},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-06}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.