Black Beluga Lentil

Lens culinaris 'Black Beluga'

vegetable

Black Beluga is a gourmet small black lentil named for its resemblance to beluga caviar - tiny, round, glossy-black seeds that hold their shape and shine beautifully after cooking. The plants are low and bushy, roughly 12 to 18 inches tall, with small leaves and slender pods that each hold a seed or two. Lentil is a cool-season annual legume that is more drought-tolerant than most pulses and matures fast for a dry bean, in under three months, making it one of the more practical pulses for a home garden in a cooler climate. It fixes its own nitrogen and doubles as a soil-building cover crop.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Cucumber — Uses the open ground around the low, airy lentil plants while they fix nitrogen
• Corn — A tall companion that shares the bed and benefits from the fixed nitrogen
• Summer Savory — A traditional aromatic bean companion that helps deter some pests

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aphids →

  Rinse colonies and encourage ladybugs; watch for the viruses aphids can transmit

• Anthracnose →

  A fungal disease worse in wet weather - plant clean seed, rotate crops, and give plants airflow

• White mold →

  A soilborne fungus in damp, dense stands - space for airflow, rotate, and avoid overhead watering

🌾 Harvest & storage

Black Beluga matures in roughly 80 to 90 days. Harvest when the lower pods have turned brown and rattle and most of the plant has dried down; pull or cut whole plants and finish drying them under cover, then thresh out the seeds. Do not wait too long, as overripe pods shatter and drop their seeds. The little black lentils need no soaking and cook quickly.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Cooked lentils are an outstanding plant protein at about 116 calories per 100 g, with around 9 g protein, a high 7.9 g fiber, a strong 181 mcg folate, and 3.3 mg iron (pair with vitamin C to absorb more). They cook quickly with no soaking and hold their shape, ideal for salads, soups, and grain bowls.