Mediterranean Lentil Salad
This Mediterranean Lentil Salad is a hearty salad that’s perfect for lunch, a side dish or even a vegetarian main dish. Full of cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, feta and protein packed lentils. You’ll absolutely love the flavours and textures in this healthy salad!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Oh my goodness, I do love me some lentils. I stocked up on several bags of them for my pantry a few weeks ago so they’re my new favourite play-thing when it comes to experimenting in the kitchen.
For the past few days we’ve been eating them instead of rice or potatoes as side dishes with supper because they’re soooooo much better for you (high fiber, high protein) and they cook up just as fast.
Since the weather is warming up, and again, I’m currently obsessed with lentils, I made up a big batch of Mediterranean Lentil Salad.
What are lentils?
Lentils are grouped with beans and peas as part of the legume family because, like all legumes, they grow in pods. Lentils are high in protein and fiber and low in fat, which makes them a healthy substitute for meat. They’re also packed with folate, iron, phosphorus, potassium and fiber.
There are many types of lentils. However, the three most common varieties are brown, green and red. Most lentils come in dried form, although you may also find them in ready-to-eat packages. Most grocery stores carry brown lentils, which are also known as European lentils. Green and red lentils may be found at specialty food markets.
In this recipe I used green lentils, but you could use brown lentils instead. Red lentils are the fastest cooking lentils and they lose their shape and turn golden when cooked, so they aren’t good for salads.
What You’ll need to make Mediterranean Lentil Salad
- lemon
- olive oil
- minced garlic
- dried oregano
- salt
- black pepper
- dry green or brown lentils
- parsley
- grape tomatoes
- red onion
- crumbled feta cheese
How to Green Cook Lentils
Preparing lentils is simple. Start by sorting through the lentils to pick out any small, hard debris, and then rinse to remove dirt. Unlike other legumes, lentils cook quickly without presoaking.
I place 1 cup of lentils in a pot with 3 cups of water, salt and garlic, and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, I reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for about 20-25 minutes. Don’t overcook.
How to make Best Ever Mediterranean Lentil Salad
- After cooking, draining and cooling the lentils, some knife skills are all you need!
- Combine chopped red onions, cucumbers, halved cherry tomatoes, and lots of fresh Italian parsley.
- Add some garlic, lemon juice, good olive oil, salt and pepper
Enjoy!
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Best Ever Mediterranean Lentil Salad Recipe
This Best Ever Mediterranean Lentil Salad is a hearty salad that’s perfect for lunch, a side dish or even a vegetarian main dish. Full of cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, feta and protein packed lentils. You’ll absolutely love the flavours and textures in this healthy salad!
Ingredients
Lentil Salad
- 1 cup dry green lentils
- 2 tbsp dry parsley flakes
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 1/4 small red onion
- 1/4 cup feta, crumbled
Mediterranean Salad Dressing
- 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the lentils according to the package directions. For most green lentils, bring 3 cups of water to boil in a pot, add the lentils, then continue to boil for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Drain the lentils in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water until they are cooled.
- While the lentils are cooking, prepare the lemon garlic dressing. Use a microplane, zester, or small-holed cheese grater to remove about 1 Tbsp of the lemon's zest (the thin, yellow, outer layer of the peel). Set the zest aside. Juice the lemon and measure 1/4 cup of the juice to use for the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
- Rinse the parsley well, shake off as much water as possible, then pull the leaves from the stems. Roughly chop the parsley leaves. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Finely dice the red onion.
- When the lentils are cooked, cooled, and well drained, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the chopped parsley, tomatoes, red onion, crumbled feta, lemon zest, and the prepared dressing. Stir to combine the ingredients and coat everything in dressing.
Notes
Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. Always stir the salad just before serving to redistribute the dressing and flavours.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 114Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 192mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g
