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  6. Lentil vs. Quinoa

Lentil vs. Quinoa — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

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What are the differences between lentil and quinoa?

  • Lentil is higher in folate, iron, fiber, copper, potassium, and vitamin B1, yet quinoa is higher in magnesium and manganese.
  • Lentil's daily need coverage for folate is 35% more.
  • Lentil has 3 times more fiber than quinoa. While lentil has 7.9g of fiber, quinoa has only 2.8g.
  • The glycemic index of lentil is lower.

We used Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt and Quinoa, cooked types in this article.

Infographic

Lentil vs Quinoa 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
Lentil
7
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 26% 5.7% 33% 125% 84% 35% 77% 0.26% 64% 15%
Quinoa
Quinoa
2
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 46% 5.1% 15% 56% 64% 30% 65% 0.91% 82% 15%
Contains more CalciumCalcium +11.8%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium +114.5%
Contains more IronIron +123.5%
Contains more CopperCopper +30.7%
Contains more ZincZinc +16.5%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus +18.4%
Contains less SodiumSodium -71.4%
Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium +77.8%
Contains more ManganeseManganese +27.7%
~equal in Selenium ~2.8µg

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
Lentil
8
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate Choline Choline 5% 0% 2.2% 0% 42% 17% 20% 38% 41% 0% 4.3% 136% 18%
Quinoa
Quinoa
2
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate Choline Choline 0% 0% 13% 0% 27% 25% 7.7% 0% 28% 0% 0% 32% 13%
Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C +∞%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1 +57.9%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3 +157.3%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5 +∞%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6 +44.7%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K +∞%
Contains more FolateFolate +331%
Contains more CholineCholine +42.2%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E +472.7%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2 +50.7%
~equal in Vitamin A ~0µg
~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg
~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient Lentil Quinoa DV% diff.
Folate 181µg 42µg 35%
Iron 3.33mg 1.49mg 23%
Fiber 7.9g 2.8g 20%
Vitamin B5 0.638mg 13%
Protein 9.02g 4.4g 9%
Starch 17.63g 7%
Copper 0.251mg 0.192mg 7%
Magnesium 36mg 64mg 7%
Polyunsaturated fat 0.175g 1.078g 6%
Manganese 0.494mg 0.631mg 6%
Potassium 369mg 172mg 6%
Vitamin B1 0.169mg 0.107mg 5%
Vitamin B3 1.06mg 0.412mg 4%
Phosphorus 180mg 152mg 4%
Vitamin B6 0.178mg 0.123mg 4%
Vitamin E 0.11mg 0.63mg 3%
Vitamin B2 0.073mg 0.11mg 3%
Zinc 1.27mg 1.09mg 2%
Vitamin C 1.5mg 0mg 2%
Fats 0.38g 1.92g 2%
Choline 32.7mg 23mg 2%
Monounsaturated fat 0.064g 0.528g 1%
Vitamin K 1.7µg 0µg 1%
Saturated fat 0.053g 0.231g 1%
Calories 116kcal 120kcal 0%
Carbs 20.13g 21.3g 0%
Net carbs 12.23g 18.5g N/A
Calcium 19mg 17mg 0%
Sugar 1.8g 0.87g N/A
Sodium 2mg 7mg 0%
Selenium 2.8µg 2.8µg 0%
Tryptophan 0.081mg 0.052mg 0%
Threonine 0.323mg 0.131mg 0%
Isoleucine 0.39mg 0.157mg 0%
Leucine 0.654mg 0.261mg 0%
Lysine 0.63mg 0.239mg 0%
Methionine 0.077mg 0.096mg 0%
Phenylalanine 0.445mg 0.185mg 0%
Valine 0.448mg 0.185mg 0%
Histidine 0.254mg 0.127mg 0%
Omega-3 - DHA 0g 0.015g N/A

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison
Lentil
Lentil
2
9% 20% 70%
Protein: 9.02 g
Fats: 0.38 g
Carbs: 20.13 g
Water: 69.64 g
Other: 0.83 g
Quinoa
Quinoa
3
4% 2% 21% 72%
Protein: 4.4 g
Fats: 1.92 g
Carbs: 21.3 g
Water: 71.61 g
Other: 0.77 g
Contains more ProteinProtein +105%
Contains more FatsFats +405.3%
~equal in Carbs ~21.3g
~equal in Water ~71.61g
~equal in Other ~0.77g

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison
Lentil
Lentil
1
18% 22% 60%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.053 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.064 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.175 g
Quinoa
Quinoa
2
13% 29% 59%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.231 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.528 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 1.078 g
Contains less Sat. FatSaturated fat -77.1%
Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated fat +725%
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat +516%

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References

All the values for which the sources are not specified explicitly are taken from FDA’s Food Central. The exact link to the food presented on this page can be found below.

  1. Lentil - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172421/nutrients
  2. Quinoa - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168917/nutrients

All the Daily Values are presented for males aged 31-50, for 2000-calorie diets.

Data provided by FoodStruct.com should be considered and used as information only. Please consult your physician before beginning any diet.