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Home Side Salads

Sexy Lentil Salad

By:Nagi
Published:5 Jul '17Updated:13 Nov '20
157 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Not just another lentil salad….this is Can’t-Stop-Eating-It delish. Made with green lentils, feta, tomatoes, cucumber and drizzled with a beautiful lemon salad dressing. Cooking the lentils in a simple flavoured broth rather than just water or marinating canned lentils in the dressing makes all the difference – you will be amazed!

Can't-Stop-Eating-It Lentil Salad! Secret: Cook lentils in a simple flavoured broth or marinated canned lentils. recipetineats.com

“OMG! That Lentil Salad!”, my friend exclaimed as we stood shivering in the cold, fully covered head to toe in waterproof gear, throwing toys into the water for our dogs. Prancing out of the way of the spray of ice cold water when they shook right next to us (where else would they do it?), yelling at them if they dared to leap up and touch us.

I realise it’s completely ironic to be talking about a lentil salad when I’m describing a freezing cold winter day at the dog beach, but I think that’s a testament as to how good this salad is – that my friend got so excited about it even though we’re in the height of winter and it should be all about soups and stews.

I really hate blowing my own horn, but truly, I promise, this is not just another lentil salad. And there’s just one little thing I do differently that makes all the difference – cook the lentils in flavoured liquid. 🙂 Nothing fancy here, just adding some vegetable or chicken broth, some fresh or dried herbs, garlic, lemon zest (the juice is used for the dressing) and some floppy celery I found in the fridge.

Try it. You will be amazed. You can eat it plain. Seriously!

Can't-Stop-Eating-It Lentil Salad! Secret: Cook lentils in a simple flavoured broth or marinated canned lentils. recipetineats.com Can't-Stop-Eating-It Lentil Salad! Secret: Cook lentils in a simple flavoured broth or marinated canned lentils. recipetineats.com

I made this recipe with dried lentils which is my preferred way because it soaks up all the flavour while cooking. But I’ve also included directions for how to make canned lentils extra tasty – just warm them up then drizzle with a bit of dressing, leave to soak up the flavour. Works a treat!

I was actually contemplating making this recipe just about how to make the tasty lentils, rather than a salad recipe. But at the last minute, I couldn’t resist all that bright colour and the overall deliciousness of a lentil salad that will wipe away any bad memories you may have of tasteless, soggy lentil salads!

So while I have provided the recipe for this whole salad, I’ve also added notes for other ways to use the flavoured lentils as a side and warm salads.

Can't-Stop-Eating-It Lentil Salad! Secret: Cook lentils in a simple flavoured broth or marinated canned lentils. recipetineats.com

As for the name? Well, it came about after a lengthy, serious discussion that went something like this (still on that freezing cold winter day at the dog beach):

Me: What should I call it?? Lentil Salad just sounds so meh. Think I can get away with calling it a SEXY Lentil Salad?

My friend: Yes!

And thus the name was born. 😉

Enjoy! – Nagi xx

Can't-Stop-Eating-It Lentil Salad! Secret: Cook lentils in a simple flavoured broth or marinated canned lentils. recipetineats.com

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Can't-Stop-Eating-It Lentil Salad! Secret: Cook lentils in a simple flavoured broth or marinated canned lentils. recipetineats.com

Sexy Lentil Salad

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
4.95 from 57 votes
Servings4
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Not just another lentil salad....this is Can't-Stop-Eating-It delish. Made with green lentils, feta, tomatoes, cucumber and drizzled with a beautiful lemon salad dressing. Cooking the lentils in a simple flavoured broth rather than just water or marinating canned lentils in the dressing makes all the difference. Outrageously long-looking ingredient list is misleading! Keeps well for 2 days, recipe video below.

Ingredients

Lentils:

  • 1 cup / 200g dried green lentils (or other lentils) (Note 1 for canned)
  • 1 cup / 200g vegetable or chicken broth (or water + 1 bouillon cube, crumbled)
  • 1 1/2 cups / 375 ml water
  • 1 large garlic clove , smashed (Note 2)
  • Lemon peel (about 1.5 x 5 cm / 3/4 x 2")
  • 1 bay leaf , dry or fresh
  • 2 sprigs thyme , or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 rib celery , broken into 3 or 4 pieces (or just a handful of leafy fronds)

Salad:

  • 250 g / 8oz cherry tomatoes , halved or quartered (Note 3)
  • 2 cucumbers , cut into quarters then diced
  • 1 red onion , finely diced
  • ¼ cup coriander / cilantro , finely chopped
  • ¼ cup parsley , finely chopped
  • 90 g / 3 oz feta , crumbled (or more!)
  • 2 handfuls rocket / arugula lettuce (optional - bed for salad)

Lemon Dressing:

  • 2 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup / 85 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 1 tsp sugar, optional
  • ½ tsp salt + black pepper

Instructions

  • Place Lentil ingredients in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to simmer then turn down to medium low. Cook for 20 minutes for firm (I like this) or 25 minutes for soft. DO NOT overcook and make it mushy!
  • Drain in a colander, pick out celery etc. Rinse VERY quickly just to remove any grit coating the lentils (don't want to rinse away flavour!). Set aside.
  • Place Dressing ingredients in a jar, shake well.
  • Place lentils, tomato, cucumber, onion, coriander, parsley and some of the feta in a large bowl. Pour over most of the Dressing, then toss.
  • Place rocket lettuce on a serving platter. Pile salad on top. Drizzle over remaining Dressing and crumble over feta. Serve! (I like serving with pita bread to stuff it in)

Recipe Notes:

1. This recipe can be made with any lentils except I don't recommend red (gets too mushy, is good for curries and soups). My favourite is green because of the size and because it holds its shape well when cooked, making it perfect for salads. Adjust cook time to lentil type - start checking for doneness at 20 minutes.
CANNED LENTILS: Use 2 cans, drain and rinse, the microwave briefly until warmed through. Pour over some of the dressing (hot lentils soak up flavour better), stir then leave to marinate for 1 hr+ (even overnight is fine). Then proceed with recipe (no need to make extra Dressing).
2. Smashing Garlic: Makes it burst open to release flavour into the liquid but still easy to pick out. Just use the side of your knife and press down with your palm so the garlic bursts open, slip skin off and discard.
3. You could also use 3 tomatoes but make sure you deseed them i.e. scrape out and discard watery centre, then dice. Otherwise it will make the salad soggy.
4. STORAGE: A rare gem that truly keeps well for 2 days. Keep rocket lettuce separate because the Dressing will make it soggy. The less Dressing on the Lentil Salad = keeps better. It would keep for longer except I never keep raw garlic longer than 48 hours for safety reasons (can cause nasty food poisoning).
5. OTHER WAYS to use this way of cooking lentils:
a) Warm side with more stuff: Start by sautéing crushed garlic, finely chopped onion, carrot and celery with oil in a saucepan, then add Lentil ingredients per recipe (skip the garlic and celery) and cook. Drain then serve warm as a terrific side.
b) Warm meal: Follow a) then return to pot, stir through handfuls of baby or chopped spinach, top with fried runny yolk egg and burrata/yoghurt (something wet or salty), drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with paprika and squeeze of lemon.
c) Make a warm salad by adding roasted pumpkin or sweet potato.
d) Make a thin omelette and put spoonfuls of this inside with other stuff like feta/cheese/tomatoes, roll up or fold omelette.
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 340gCalories: 341cal (17%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Sexy Lentil Salad recipe video!


LIFE OF DOZER

The amount of water his fur holds is outrageous. PS It was 8C / 45F on the day I took this.

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157 Comments

  1. Maddie says

    August 27, 2021 at 5:44 pm

    5 stars
    Omg .. This lentil salad is super tasty I will be making this many more times to come. Thank you

    Reply
  2. Angela Stavast says

    July 13, 2021 at 7:27 am

    5 stars
    This is my second time making a salad. It is very forgiving if you don’t have the exact ingredients on hand. I didn’t have red onions, so I soaked white onions in vinegar and sugar, used regular tomatoes and for the arugula I used leftover garden salad. Was so fantastic!

    Reply
  3. Mindy says

    July 12, 2021 at 5:39 am

    For the salad I didn’t have tomatoes, feta, red onion, or arugula. But I had everything else and it is absolutely fantastic as is.

    Reply
  4. Anita M Cianciolo says

    June 12, 2021 at 11:39 am

    5 stars
    So tasty and definitely would make it again … and again…

    Reply
  5. Melissa says

    May 25, 2021 at 6:35 am

    5 stars
    Just made this for lunch and it was absolutely delicious! Can’t believe I’ve gone so long without trying a lentil salad but so glad this turned out so good on my first try. Thank you for this recipe!

    Reply
  6. Nitsa says

    January 30, 2021 at 9:41 pm

    5 stars
    Nagi I’m in love with your recipes! You are an amazing cook. This is the 4th recipe I’ve tested and has been divine! I used tin lentils so made the dressing and marinated them in it. I decided to only use half the lentil mixture today and the other half tomorrow. This way I just added the fresh salad ingredients on the day! Thanks for sharing with us!

    Reply
  7. Kate says

    November 28, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    5 stars
    OMG that lentil salad! It’s definitely sexy 😉 Made this tonight to have with some lemony chicken on the bbq. Can’t stop eating it! Thank you Nagi for your wonderful recipes; I’m adding this to the rotation.

    Reply
  8. Jo says

    October 17, 2020 at 8:08 pm

    5 stars
    I wasnt sure if hubby would like this one but thought I would give it a try as he is trying to eat healthily and I know lentils are super good for you. Hubby enjoyed it very very much even with the coriander in it! Delicious

    Reply
  9. Lungiswa Nxokweni says

    October 15, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    Looking good love recipes

    Reply
  10. Christine says

    October 10, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    5 stars
    Literally had all the ingredients already before consulting this recipe – had a spoonful of it and it was AMAZING. I’ve heard to cook it with broth and bay leaves before but first time attempting it. We’re going to box it up and bring it on a hike with us. Looking forward to it!

    Reply
  11. Mariana says

    September 30, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    If I have to choose one salad to eat everyday for the rest of my life, it would definitely be this one! This is the best combination of food ever possible. Boiling the lentils with the broth, lemon peel, garlic and herbs does really make a HUGE difference. I usually cook it as a side dish because it is very satisfying – it goes very well with grilled meat. As aways, thank you Nagi x

    Reply
  12. Tracie Astin says

    September 1, 2020 at 9:36 am

    5 stars
    Another winner Nagi! I made this as a warm salad with roasted sweet potato. Looking forward to lunch leftovers today! Thanks Nagi.

    Reply
  13. Rachel says

    August 31, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    3 stars
    I wanted to love this but instead was only satisfied with it. My husband really loved it though so might just be me. Kids cried when they saw it unsurprisingly.
    Maybe I’ll try cooking my own lentils next time?

    Reply
  14. Helene Tozier says

    August 28, 2020 at 10:24 am

    5 stars
    I’ve made both this lentil salad and your Greek Chickpea. Today I substituted chickpeas for the lentils and it was fabulous. I did heat the chickpeas in the dressing in the microwave. Thanks for your great recipes and Dozer pics.

    Reply
  15. Lisa M says

    July 29, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    5 stars
    Hi, Nagi
    Thank you for this delicious lentil salad! Mom and I really liked it. I served it over romaine cuz we don’t care for arugula.. We have enough for either tomorrow’s lunch or dinner. Will serve it with spinach instead of romaine. Forgot the cucumber and red onion so that will be a nice add-on. I used almost 1/2 container of Feta – basil & sun dried tomato flavor which was nice. Be sure to use a lot of Feta.

    I’ve been following you for about a year, Nagi. Love your personality and all the hard work you put in to your recipes and sharing each week. Dozier is a great, sweet partner. How old is he? See you soon and thank you again for alll your recipes. Stay safe. A hug and pet for Dozier. Lisa in Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Reply
  16. Nadhirah says

    July 1, 2020 at 3:15 am

    5 stars
    I don’t even like lentil salads so much but this one is GOOD. With capitals.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 1, 2020 at 6:46 am

      YES! (Name and all LOL)

      Reply
  17. Caroline Barr says

    June 2, 2020 at 3:22 am

    5 stars
    Easy and yummy

    Reply
  18. Kerstin says

    May 31, 2020 at 1:43 am

    5 stars
    Yum! I made this today with beluga lentils and it turned out soooo good. Put a fried egg on top… delicious! I believe cooking the lentils in the broth is really key here, it gives them such an interesting flavour. Thanks for this recipe!

    Reply
  19. Lisa Cupp says

    April 21, 2020 at 3:54 am

    My husband asked me to find a lentil barley loaf recipe. The ones I found looked like homogenous paste. This recipe looks like food. Do you have a recipe for lentil barley loaf? I didn’t see one. BTW, we loved your vegetable burgers. We aren’t vegetarians, just trying to eat less meat. Keep up the awesome work.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 21, 2020 at 4:44 pm

      Hi Lisa, no this is definitely not a loaf! I don’t have one but feel free to pop it on my recipe request page, I have along list I’m working through 🙂 N x

      Reply
  20. Anne says

    March 27, 2020 at 5:28 pm

    Loved this usually not a fan of lentils but wow this recipe changed my mind. used canned Lentils and followed your notes. Yum Yum

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 28, 2020 at 7:05 pm

      You’re totally converted Anne! This is the BEST! N x

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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