Red lentils are the fastest cooking lentil, but they lose their shape easily and become mushy, making them unsuitable for recipes that call for green or brown lentils. Whole red lentils will require a longer cooking time than split red lentils. Red lentils are actually more orange in colour. With their skins on, they actually wouldn’t look either orange, or red. They are sold to us “hulled”, meaning with the skins removed. Some Red Lentils are the same lentils as brown ones are, but with the skins removed.