This healthy lentil salad with cooked lentils and diced carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion, parsley and lemon juice is perfect for lunch prep, as the flavors only get better overnight.
lentil salad
I love warm lentils, like in my Chicken Lentil Soup and Lentils and Rice with Eggs and Bacon, but I’ve never really been a fan of lentils in a salad (I’m a picky legume eater). But that changed years ago when I bought a cold lentil salad in a health food store. I enjoyed everything about it except the high price. Lentils are so affordable to cook at home, so I knew I had to try making the salad myself. My homemade version was a fraction of the store bought ones, so save your money and make this salad ASAP! It’s also vegan, high in fiber and protein, and only has about 100 calories per serving.
What is lentil salad made of?
- Lenses: Cook brown lentils with bay leaf and fresh thyme. Green or black lentils would also work, and canned lentils are fine if you’re in a hurry. If you don’t like lentils, make it with legumes or grains like kidney beans, chickpeas, quinoa, or a mix of these.
- Vegetables: This salad recipe calls for celery, bell peppers, and carrots, but feel free to use what you have. Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, chopped baby spinach, and celery would all work.
- Onion: Swap red onions for shallots or green onions.
- Herbs: Sub fresh basil, mint or chives for parsley.
- Dressing: Add the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper directly to the lentil mixture – no separate stirring necessary. You can also replace the lemon juice with red wine or white wine vinegar.
How to cook lentils for lentil salad
Lentils cook much faster than dry beans. Plus, you don’t need to soak them before cooking.
- Combine the lentils, bay leaf, and thyme in a medium saucepan.
- Cover the lentils with an inch of water. Do not add salt to the water at this point or it will take much longer to cook.
- Bring the lentils to a boil, reduce the heat to minimum, and simmer, uncovered, until the lentils are tender but not mushy, 16 to 20 minutes.
- Drain the lentils and remove the bay leaf.
Lentil Salad Meal Prep
This Cold Lentil Salad recipe is so tasty you can make a few meals out of it. It keeps in the fridge for three days and is perfect as leftover bread for lunch. If you’re looking for more meal prep salads with legumes, try my Black Bean, Avocado, Cucumber, and Tomato Salad and Fiesta Bean Salad.
More Lentil Recipes You’ll Love:
lentil salad
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This healthy lentil salad with cooked lentils and diced carrots, celery, bell peppers, onions, parsley and lemon juice is perfect for lunch prep!
- 1 Cup dry brown lentils, *
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 Sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 Cup finely diced carrots
- 1/3 Cup finely diced celery
- 1/4 Cup finely diced red peppers
- 1/4 Cup finely diced red onion
- 1/4 Cup chopped parsley
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 5 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
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In a medium saucepan, combine lentils, bay leaf, and thyme.
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Add enough water to cover 1 inch.
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Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender but not mushy, about 16 to 20 minutes.
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Drain the lentils and discard the bay leaf and thyme.
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In a large work bowl, combine with the carrots, celery, bell pepper, red onion, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
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Swirl to combine and serve chilled or at room temperature.
*If you want to use cooked lentils, use 3 cups.
Portion: 1tight cup, Calories: 181kcal, Carbohydrates: 29.5G, Protein: 10G, Fat: 3.5G, Saturated Fatty Acids: 0.5G, Sodium: 251mg, Fiber: 5.5G, Sugar: 3G
WW-Points Plus: 3
Keywords: Vegetarian Meals
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