This lentil salad is packed full of flavor with crunchy, fresh lentils, crisp veggies and tangy feta. The perfect make-ahead lentil salad to enjoy for lunches or dinners throughout the week!
My go-to recipe for making the ultimate lentil salad that packs a serious punch with delicious and nutritious ingredients. Read on for more!
Maven’s Quick Tips
Pick the right lentil. This lentil salad utilizes French puy lentils will tend to hold their shape best when it comes to using lentils in a salad.
Choose your cooking method. I’m sharing instructions for cooking lentils on the stove top but check out this detailed post for more tips for cooking lentils.
Customize your veggies. This lentil salad is inspired by a Greek salad with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and feta. That being said the veggies can easily be replaced with whatever you prefer or have on hand.
Make ahead. This lentil salad makes an awesome meal-prep dish. I like to prep it on the weekend to enjoy in lunches throughout the week. In fact, the flavors only get better the longer it sits (up to 1 week).
I love a recipe that just gets better with time and this lentil salad 100% fits the bill. It can be easily prepped on the weekend and sit in the fridge throughout the week for a quick lunch or even dinner. The best part? The longer it sits, the better it tastes!
I’ve been food blogging for over a decade and I can say with certainty that the best recipes are the ones that come together quickly and infuse flavors without a lot of effort. This could be a boring lentil salad recipe, but it’s not. It’s better than good. It’s great! Don’t believe me? Time for you to try it for yourself!
Ingredients in Lentil Salad
- French Puy Lentils – Sometimes called lentilles du Puy. These thick-skinned lentils are great for use in salads. With a thicker skin comes a longer cooking time (closer to 30 minutes on the stove top) so that’s a good thing to be aware of.
- Cherry tomatoes – or use grape tomatoes
- English cucumber – you can sub in any cucumber here (Persian cucumbers work great)
- Bell pepper – any color
- Red onion – you can use shallots or white onion in a pinch
- Kalamata olives – you can use a different olive or omit if you don’t like olives
- Feta cheese – or use a different crumbled cheese or omit if vegan
- Greek salad dressing – olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic powder, dried oregano and salt and black pepper (or use store-bought).
How to Make Lentil Salad
STEP 1: COOK LENTILS
Combine lentils and water in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and cover pot. Cook lentils for 20-30 minutes or until they have softened slightly and all liquid has been absorbed. OR if lentils are soft but there’s still some water simply strain them.
STEP 2: MAKE DRESSING
In a mason jar or small bowl combine all Greek salad dressing ingredients.
STEP 3: ASSEMBLE SALAD
Add lentils to a large bowl and top with chopped cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, olives and crumbled feta. Sprinkle with salt. Top salad dressing onto lentil salad until dressed to desired amount. Serve immediately or allow to cool to room temperature.
Easy Swaps & Substitutions
Add protein – Lentils are actually a great source of plant-based protein but for a little protein boost top your salad with grilled chicken. I like using one of these chicken thigh marinades.
Use store-bought dressing – keep things simple by using store-bought Greek salad dressing. This will save you time or help you out if you’re missing ingredients. Use roughly a 1/4-1/2 cup and add to taste.
Swap the lentils – To maintain texture I’d use a heartier lentil like black beluga lentils but any type of lentil will work in this recipe (just note that cooking times will vary).
Ditch the cheese – for a fully vegan recipe you can leave out the cheese.
FAQs
Yes! Lentils are naturally gluten-free and the veggies are too so this recipe is safe for those of you who are gluten-intolerant or celiac.
Yes! Simply omit the feta cheese or use a plant-based cheese instead.
You likely cooked your lentils on too high a heat or for too long. Cooking times vary depending on the freshness of your lentils so be sure to start on the lower end of cooking and add more time as needed.
You want your lentils to maintain some crunch but if they’re still too hard to consume simply cook for longer. Add more water if you need to and continue to cook on low until they are softer.
You certainly can. Note that cooking times will vary depending on the type of lentil (see this post for details). French lentils and black beluga lentils tend to lend best to salads but you can certainly sub in brown or green lentils if that’s what you have.
This lentil salad tastes great warm or cold or at room temperature. It’s really your preference!
Storage Instructions
Store your leftover lentil salad in a large bowl (covered) or airtight container for up to 5-7 days.
More Healthy Salad Recipes
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Lentil Salad
This lentil salad is packed full of flavor with crunchy, fresh lentils, crisp veggies and tangy feta. The perfect make-ahead lentil salad to enjoy for lunches or dinners throughout the week!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Greek
- Diet: Gluten Free
- 1 cup French puy lentils, rinsed + drained
- 2 cups water
- 1 dry pint cherry tomatoes (roughly 2 cups), halved
- 1/2 large English cucumber (roughly 1 cup), diced
- 1 bell pepper, seeded + diced
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Greek salad dressing:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- salt + pepper, to taste
- Combine lentils and water in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Reduce heat to low and cover pot.
- Cook lentils for 20-30 minutes or until they have softened slightly and all liquid has been absorbed. OR if lentils are soft but there’s still some water simply strain them.
- Add lentils to a large bowl and top with chopped cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, olives and crumbled feta. Sprinkle with salt.
- In a mason jar or small bowl combine all Greek salad dressing ingredients.
- Top salad dressing onto lentil salad until dressed to desired amount.
- Serve immediately or allow to cool to room temperature.
- Store in fridge for up to 1 week.
