Lentils & dried beans purine content
across 25 measured preparations · median 118 mg · spans low to extremely high
Across the 25 lentils & dried beans measurements in this database, purine content runs from 3 to 307 mg per 100 g, with a median of 118 mg — a fairly high-purine food.
On this page (5)
Lower-purine soy foods and legumes
- Meat and seafood substitutes15 measured · 0–117.5 mg45.9mgFairly low
- Soybeans & soy milk15 measured · 8–218 mg48mgFairly low
- Miso56.1mgFairly low
- Veggie burgers or soyburgers, unprepared65.5mgFairly low
- Vegideli fish style fingers67.3mgFairly low
- Tofu9 measured · 21.9–292.3 mg68mgFairly low
Why the numbers vary
The soy foods and legumes measured here run from 45.9 mg to 192.4 mg per 100 g, so the category is a poor guide on its own — which specific food, and prepared how, decides almost everything.
Preparation matters more than the food's name. Fava bean measures 307 mg, while Mung bean sheet jelly measures 3 mg — a difference of 102.3 times. Drying and grilling remove water and concentrate what is left; boiling can move purines into water that is then poured away.
Every form of lentils & dried beans measured (25)
Highest first, each with the preparation that was measured.
| Food as measured | Per 100 g | Level | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fava bean | 307 mg | Extremely high | S1 |
| Lentils, dried, raw | 222 mg | Very high | S2 |
| Beans, great northern, dried, raw | 213 mg | Very high | S2 |
| Beans, small white, dried, raw | 202 mg | Very high | S2 |
| Mung bean | 196 mg | High | S1 |
| Small bean | 175 mg | High | S1 |
| Beans, pinto, dried, raw | 171 mg | High | S2 |
| Beans, adzuki, dried, raw | 162 mg | High | S2 |
| Adzuki bean | 156 mg | High | S1 |
| Lima beans, large, dried, raw | 149 mg | Fairly high | S2 |
| Lima beans, baby, dried, raw | 144 mg | Fairly high | S2 |
| White kidney bean | 125 mg | Fairly high | S1 |
| Speckled kidney bean | 118 mg | Fairly high | S1 |
| Beans, cranberry, dried, raw | 75 mg | Fairly high | S2 |
| Mung bean cake | 56 mg | Fairly low | S1 |
| Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), dried, raw | 56 mg | Fairly low | S2 |
| Broad beans, dried, raw | 35.5 mg | Fairly low | S2 |
| Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), no further specified | 26.1 mg | Low | S2 |
| Beans, pinto, canned | 25.2 mg | Low | S2 |
| Beans, black, canned | 24.1 mg | Low | S2 |
| Beans, kidney, dark red, canned | 23.4 mg | Low | S2 |
| Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), canned | 21.6 mg | Low | S2 |
| Beans, navy, canned | 21.2 mg | Low | S2 |
| Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), cooked | 11.2 mg | Low | S2 |
| Mung bean sheet jelly | 3 mg | Low | S1 |
Questions about lentils & dried beans and purines
Is dried pulses high in purines?
Median 118 mg per 100 g, dried pulses falls in the fairly high band (75–150 mg per 100 g) on the six-level scale used across this site. Individual measurements range from 3 to 307 mg.
How many purines are in a serving of dried pulses?
It depends entirely which preparation. Compared at the same 150 g: about 5 mg for mung bean sheet jelly, about 461 mg for fava bean. That upper figure is a like-for-like comparison rather than a serving — dried and concentrated foods are normally used by the spoonful, so their per-100 g value is the fairer read. The table on this page lists both for every preparation measured.
Does cooking change the purine content of dried pulses?
Substantially. In this database Fava bean measures 307 mg while Mung bean sheet jelly measures 3 mg per 100 g. Drying and grilling concentrate purines by removing water; boiling can leach some into the cooking liquid.
Where does this dried pulses purine value come from?
Dietary Guideline for Adults with Hyperuricaemia and Gout (2024 Edition) and USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2.0 (2025). Values are total purines in milligrams per 100 g of the food as described, and nothing is estimated or averaged across sources.
How does dried pulses compare with other soy foods and legumes?
The median for soy foods and legumes in this database is 67.7 mg per 100 g, with a range of 45.9 to 192.4 mg. Lentils & dried beans is above that median.
Source
- Dietary Guideline for Adults with Hyperuricaemia and Gout (2024 Edition) — National Health Commission of China, appendix 1. Issued February 2024.
- USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2.0 (2025) — Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Reference information only. Purine values describe foods, not people: they cannot tell you what is safe for you to eat, and nothing here diagnoses or treats gout. Talk to your doctor or dietitian about your own diet and medication.