Lentil vs. Couscous — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

Compare

How are lentil and couscous different?

Lentil is higher in folate, iron, fiber, copper, phosphorus, manganese, vitamin B6, zinc, and potassium; however, couscous is richer in selenium.
Daily need coverage for selenium for couscous is 45% higher.
Lentil contains 12 times more folate than couscous. While lentil contains 181µg of folate, couscous contains only 15µg.
Lentil has a lower glycemic index (29) than couscous (65).

Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt and Couscous, cooked are the varieties used in this article.

Infographic

Infographic link

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Lentil

Couscous

Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium	+350%
Contains more CalciumCalcium	+137.5%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium	+536.2%
Contains more IronIron	+776.3%
Contains more CopperCopper	+512.2%
Contains more ZincZinc	+388.5%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus	+718.2%
Contains less SodiumSodium	-60%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+488.1%

Contains more SeleniumSelenium

+882.1%

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Lentil

Couscous

Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C	+∞%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1	+168.3%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2	+170.4%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5	+72%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+249%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K	+1600%
Contains more FolateFolate	+1106.7%

Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E

+18.2%

~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg

~equal in Vitamin A ~0µg

~equal in Vitamin B3 ~0.983mg

~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient			DV% diff.
Selenium	2.8µg	27.5µg	45%
Folate	181µg	15µg	42%
Iron	3.33mg	0.38mg	37%
Fiber	7.9g	1.4g	26%
Copper	0.251mg	0.041mg	23%
Phosphorus	180mg	22mg	23%
Manganese	0.494mg	0.084mg	18%
Protein	9.02g	3.79g	10%
Vitamin B6	0.178mg	0.051mg	10%
Potassium	369mg	58mg	9%
Zinc	1.27mg	0.26mg	9%
Vitamin B1	0.169mg	0.063mg	9%
Magnesium	36mg	8mg	7%
Vitamin B5	0.638mg	0.371mg	5%
Choline	32.7mg	3.3mg	5%
Vitamin B2	0.073mg	0.027mg	4%
Vitamin C	1.5mg	0mg	2%
Carbs	20.13g	23.22g	1%
Calcium	19mg	8mg	1%
Vitamin K	1.7µg	0.1µg	1%
Polyunsaturated fat	0.175g	0.064g	1%
Calories	116kcal	112kcal	0%
Protein per 100 calories	7.8g	3.4g	N/A
Calories per 10 g protein	129kcal	296kcal	N/A
Weight per 100 calories	86g	89g	N/A
Fats	0.38g	0.16g	0%
Net carbs	12.23g	21.82g	N/A
Sugar	1.8g	0.1g	N/A
Sodium	2mg	5mg	0%
Vitamin E	0.11mg	0.13mg	0%
Vitamin B3	1.06mg	0.983mg	0%
Saturated fat	0.053g	0.029g	0%
Monounsaturated fat	0.064g	0.022g	0%
Tryptophan	0.081mg	0.049mg	0%
Threonine	0.323mg	0.1mg	0%
Isoleucine	0.39mg	0.147mg	0%
Leucine	0.654mg	0.259mg	0%
Lysine	0.63mg	0.073mg	0%
Methionine	0.077mg	0.059mg	0%
Phenylalanine	0.445mg	0.184mg	0%
Valine	0.448mg	0.162mg	0%
Histidine	0.254mg	0.077mg	0%