Middle Eastern & North African · Lunch · Dinner

Koshari

Name: Koshari
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 65 min
Cuisine: Middle Eastern & North African
Ingredients: 3/4 cup brown lentils, dry; 3/4 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed; 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat elbow macaroni, dry; 1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 2 large onions, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp olive oil; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 can (400 g) no-salt-added crushed tomatoes; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1/2 tsp chili flakes; 2 tbsp white vinegar; 1 tsp salt; 6 cups water (for lentils, rice and sauce); 8 cups water (for pasta); 2 tbsp lemon juice (for garlic dressing)

كشري (Koshari)

By BerryFit Kitchen · Nutrition checked with USDA data · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · How we make recipes

Egypt's beloved street-food bowl, with lentils and rice, whole-wheat macaroni and chickpeas under a tangy, cumin-spiced tomato sauce. It is finished with crisp oven-baked onions instead of deep-fried ones.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 65 min
Serves: 4

Medium
Vegan
Dairy Free

30%

Per serving603kcal30% of a 2,000 kcal day

24gProtein

108gCarbs

11gFat

16gFiber

Calories come from: Carbs 70% · Fat 15% · Protein 15%

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Ingredients

For 4 servings

3/4 cup150 gbrown lentils, dry
3/4 cup150 glong-grain white rice, rinsed
1 1/2 cups150 gwhole-wheat elbow macaroni, dry
1 1/2 cups240 gcanned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 large300 gonions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp27 golive oil
4 cloves12 ggarlic, minced
1 can (400 g)no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp16 gtomato paste
1 tspground cumin
1 tspground coriander
1/2 tspchili flakes
2 tbsp30 gwhite vinegar
1 tsp6 gsalt
6 cups1,500 gwater (for lentils, rice and sauce)
8 cups2,000 gwater (for pasta)
2 tbsp30 glemon juice (for garlic dressing) (optional)

Steps

1
Heat the oven to 220 °C / 425 °F and line a baking tray with parchment.
2
Toss the sliced onions with 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of the salt, then spread them in a single layer on the tray.
3
Bake the onions for 25–30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until deep golden and crisp at the edges.
4
Meanwhile, put the lentils in a pot with 1 litre (4 cups) of the lentil water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes until almost tender, then drain.
5
In the same pot, warm 1/2 tbsp olive oil and stir the rinsed rice in it for 1 minute.
6
Add the drained lentils, 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) water and 1/4 tsp salt, bring to a boil, then cover and cook on low for 18 minutes.
7
Turn off the heat and leave the rice and lentils covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
8
While the rice cooks, bring the pasta water to a boil with 1/4 tsp salt and cook the macaroni for about 9 minutes until just tender, then drain.
9
For the sauce, warm the remaining 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and cook three-quarters of the garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant.
10
Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, coriander and chili flakes and cook for 1 minute.
11
Add the crushed tomatoes, the remaining 125 ml (1/2 cup) water, 1 tbsp vinegar and the remaining salt, then simmer for 12–15 minutes until slightly thickened.
12
Warm the chickpeas in the sauce for the last 3 minutes, or heat them separately if you prefer.
13
If making the garlic dressing, mix the remaining garlic with the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tbsp vinegar.
14
Layer each bowl with rice and lentils, then macaroni, chickpeas and tomato sauce. Top with the crispy onions and drizzle with the garlic dressing.

Swaps, storage and make-ahead

Swaps

Use a pasta labelled gluten-free instead of the whole-wheat macaroni; the other ingredients are naturally gluten-free, but check that your spices and canned goods are labelled gluten-free too.
Swap the dry brown lentils for green lentils, which hold their shape just as well and cook in about the same time.
Use brown rice instead of white rice, adding extra water and simmering about 40 minutes before combining with the par-cooked lentils.
If you can't find no-salt-added crushed tomatoes, use regular crushed tomatoes and cut back on the added salt in the sauce.

Storage

Refrigerate the rice and lentils, pasta, sauce and chickpeas in separate airtight containers within 2 hours, and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating until steaming hot. Refrigerate the baked onions too, as they are only crisp at the edges and not fully dried. Eat within 3 to 4 days, re-crisping them in a hot oven for a few minutes before serving.

Make ahead

The tomato sauce and the garlic dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge. The onions can be baked a day in advance and refrigerated, then re-crisped in a hot oven. The rice-lentil mix and pasta can be cooked the day before, refrigerated, and reheated until steaming hot.

Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.

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Allergens and nutrition

Contains: Gluten

Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.

Full nutrition

	Per serving (1,247 g)	Per 100 g
Calories	603 kcal	48 kcal
Protein	23.5 g	1.9 g
Carbohydrates	107.9 g	8.7 g
of which sugars	10.5 g	0.8 g
Fiber	15.5 g	1.2 g
Fat	10.6 g	0.9 g
of which saturated	1.4 g	0.1 g
Sodium	768 mg	62 mg

Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.