Legumes are nutrient-dense crops with health-promoting benefits. However, several barriers are associated with their consumption. Emerging issues including food neophobic tendencies or taboos, unclear dietary guidelines on legume consumption, health concerns, and socio-economic reasons, as well as long cooking procedures, adversely affect legume consumption frequency. Pre-treatment methods, including soaking, sprouting, and pulse electric field technology, are effective in reducing the alpha-oligosaccharides and other anti-nutritional factors, eventually lowering cooking time for legumes. Extrusion technology used for innovative development of legume-enriched products, including snacks, breakfast cereals and puffs, baking and pasta, represents a strategic way to promote legume consumption. Culinary skills such as legume salads, legume sprouts, stews, soups, hummus, and the development of homemade cake recipes using legume flour could represent effective ways to promote legume consumption. This review aims to highlight the nutritional and health effects associated with legume consumption, and strategies to improve their digestibility and nutritional profile. Additionally, proper educational and culinary approaches aimed to improve legumes intake are discussed.

Legumes, as functional foods, face barriers to consumption despite their undeniable benefits. The presentation exposes innovative strategies. Through methods such as soaking, sprouting and the application of advanced technologies, anti-nutrients are reduced, and digestibility is improved. Extrusion allows the creation of enriched functional foods. Culinary approaches, such as inclusion in salads and hummus, amplify palatability. Synergies with bioactive compounds are investigated for targeted results. These educational actions promote sustainable environmental choices. The combination of science, culinary and education promotes the acceptance and use of legumes, leading to improved quality of diet and health benefits.