Best 20 Lentil Salad Recipes

MEDITERRANEAN LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine lentils, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy.
• Drain lentils and vegetables and remove bay leaf. Add olive oil, lemon juice, celery, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss to mix and serve at room temperature.

MEDITERRANEAN STYLE ROASTED RED PEPPER AND LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Toss red pepper halves with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place them on a baking sheet and roast until the peppers are very soft and crisp at the edges, about 20 minutes. Allow peppers to cool, then dice into 1/4-inch cubes. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.
• Combine lentils and cold water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, add a pinch of salt, and simmer, covered, until the lentils are just tender to the bite, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and cool. Transfer cooled lentils to the mixing bowl.
• Gently mix in the onion, celery, carrots, and parsley. Add 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Combine the Dijon mustard, chopped shallots, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar in a blender. Blend on High for 10 seconds. Gradually add olive oil and blend again until the dressing is fully emulsified and smooth. Pour 1/2 cup dressing over lentils and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Taste the salad and add remaining dressing if desired.

FRENCH LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 6 minutes. Add lentils and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining oil, lemon juice, and red-pepper flakes. Season with salt. Add lentils, almonds (if using), cabbage, and herbs and toss to combine. Lentil salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

WARM LENTIL SALAD WITH ROASTED BEETS AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Begin by roasting the beets.
• Tie onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, and thyme sprigs together in cheesecloth. Place chicken stock in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the lentils, season with salt and pepper, and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and discard the cheesecloth bag of aromatics.
• Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until lightly golden brown. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a dish lined with paper towels. Add the garlic and carrot to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and bacon to the pan and stir to combine. Stir in the chopped thyme and 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm.
• To assemble, place the frisee in a large bowl, toss with half of the vinaigrette, and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the roasted beets around the outside of 4 dinner plates. Divide the greens among each plate in the center. Top the frisee with some of the warm lentils and place a slice of the goat cheese on top. Drizzle each salad with the remaining vinaigrette. Serve with slices of French bread.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Coat beets lightly with oil. Wrap beets in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven until cooked through, approximately 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then peel and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, thyme and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil and whisk until emulsified.

WARM LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Bring the broth to a boil. Add the lentils and bring them back to a boil. again. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered just until the color of lentils changes, about 6 or 7 minutes only.
• If there is excess water, then drain it. Transfer the lentils to a bowl and add the diced radish, and differently colored bell peppers. When at room temperature, but still somewhat warm, dress with vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Right before serving, toss with the parsley and serve as a bed for the chili scallops.

MEDITERRANEAN COUSCOUS AND LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• In a small saucepan simmer lentils in water to cover by 2 inches until tender but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes, and drain well. Transfer hot lentils to a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Cool lentils completely, stirring occasionally.
• In a saucepan bring water to a boil and add couscous and salt. Remove pan from heat and let couscous stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil and cool completely, stirring occasionally.
• In a small bowl whisk together garlic paste, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir lentils and dressing into couscous. Chill salad, covered, at least 3 hours and up to 24.
• Just before serving, stir in remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

LENTIL AND KIELBASA SALAD

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan, add the leeks, and cook uncovered over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for one minute. Add the lentils, onion, turnip, and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Discard the onion and turnip and drain the lentils, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Place the lentils in a large bowl
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil, add to the lentils, and toss. If it's dry, add a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking liquid.
• Add the scallions, thyme, parsley, kielbasa, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and toss. Set aside to cool.
• Toast the baguette slices and spread with the goat cheese. Taste the salad for seasonings and serve at room temperature with the goat cheese toasts.

BEET AND LENTIL SALAD WITH CHEDDAR

Steps:

• Prepare the salad: In a medium pot, add the lentils, garlic and 4 cups water. Season with salt and bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until just tender. (The lentils should still have some bite). Drain in a colander and stir to break up and evenly distribute the garlic. Let the lentils cool slightly.
• While the lentils cook, prepare the vinaigrette: In a large serving bowl, whisk the garlic, vinegar, oil, maple syrup and mustard with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
• Add the warm lentils to the serving bowl, then add the arugula, herbs and beets. Season with salt and black pepper and toss. Add the Cheddar and toss gently, but don't overdo it because you don't want the cheese to turn crimson from the beets. To serve, top with hazelnuts.

COLD LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Peel outer skins from garlic bulbs and cut about 1/4 inch from the top of each bulb to expose cloves; place each bulb onto a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle each with about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, and wrap garlic bulbs in the foil. Place wrapped bulbs into a baking dish.
• Bake garlic in the preheated oven until soft, about 30 minutes. Let bulbs cool.
• Place lentils into a 5-quart pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until lentils are tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes; stir occasionally. Drain lentils in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse with cold water to cool; drain again.
• Break garlic bulbs apart and squeeze cloves to release cooked garlic. Place garlic into a large salad bowl and add grape tomatoes, parsley, and green onions. Whisk balsamic vinegar with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Fold lentils into tomato mixture and pour dressing over salad; gently toss to coat. Keep refrigerated until serving time.

WILD RICE AND LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare rice according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water. Place lentils in a small saucepan. Add water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until tender, 20-25 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water., In a small bowl, whisk oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and salt until blended. In a large bowl, combine rice, lentils, tomatoes and green onions; drizzle with dressing. Just before serving, stir in arugula and cheese.

WARM LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Add olive oil to a pan on medium heat. Add onions and peppers and saute until tender.
• Stir in Patak's Tandoori Curry Paste.
• Add lentils and saute until hot.
• Pour the mixture into a serving bowl, top with lemon juice, parsley, and enjoy!

SARAH'S QUICK WARM LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Combine lentils and chicken broth in a pot. Add just enough water to cover. Bring to a low simmer and cook until lentils are cooked, but not falling apart, about 25 minutes. Add water when necessary in order to keep lentils covered.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook onion until translucent and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add lentils and their liquid to the saucepan. Gently fold in tomatoes. Season with salt, add in balsamic vinegar, and stir gently. Serve warm.

FETA-CRANBERRY LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the lentils, water and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain and discard bay leaves. Rinse lentils in cold water. , In a large bowl, combine the lentils, cranberries, walnuts, feta cheese and parsley. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Pour over lentil mixture; toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving.

CRANBERRY LENTIL AND QUINOA SALAD

Steps:

• Place lentils and 1 bay leaf in a saucepan with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes; drain and discard bay leaf. Rinse with cold water until lentils cool and transfer to a large bowl.
• Bring 2 cups water, quinoa, and remaining bay leaf to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse quinoa with cold water until cool, discarding bay leaf. Stir quinoa into lentils.
• Heat lemon juice in a microwave-safe bowl in a microwave until warm, about 30 seconds. Stir honey into juice until dissolved. Add vinegar and salt; whisk in olive oil and season with black pepper. Pour lemon juice mixture into lentils and quinoa.
• Mix walnuts, cranberries, feta cheese, and green onion into lentil and quinoa salad. Toss to coat. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme together in a large mixing bowl. Add the warm lentils and bacon and stir to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature.;
• Pick over the lentils, rinse and drain. Place the lentils along with the onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pork into a large 6-quart saucepan and cover with water by 2 to 3 inches. Place over high heat and bring just to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid and discard the onion, garlic, bay leaf and salt pork. Stir in black pepper and taste for salt. Serve immediately.
• Note from Alton: Those of you who watched this program on the 17th or 18th will want to disregard one particular suggestion I made regarding lentils: don't feed the left over onions to your dog. It turns out onions are not good for dogs in any shape or form. I'm grateful to the fans who emailed me after the airing for setting me straight on this nutritional peculiarity. As for my own dog's ability to digest onions, well...she's more hog than dog I guess.
• Cook smart,
• Alton

CURRIED RED LENTIL KOHLRABI, AND COUSCOUS SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk white wine vinegar, curry powder,and pressed garlic in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Cook lentils and kohlrabi leaves in heavy large saucepan of boiling salted water until lentils are barely tender but not too soft, about 6 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to cool. Drain again.
• Bring 1 1/4 cups water to boil in same saucepan; remove from heat. Add 3 tablespoons dressing, sprinkle with salt, then stir in couscous. Cover pot and let stand 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to medium bowl. Fluff couscous with fork to separate grains and cool slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, transfer lentils to large bowl. Add 1/2 cup dressing, diced kohlrabi bulb, and chopped green onions; toss to coat. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
• Arrange baby spinach leaves over large rimmed platter. Drizzle spinach with 2 to 3 tablespoons remaining dressing. Sprinkle spinach leaves with salt and pepper. Mound lentil mixture in center of platter over spinach leaves. Stir mint into couscous. Spoon couscous around lentils and serve with remaining dressing.

THE BEST LENTIL SALAD, EVER

Steps:

• Rinse lentils well, drain. Place in a pot and cover with a 3-4 inches of water, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Check lentils for doneness after 10 minutes, but they should take about 15 minutes in total. You will know they are cooked if they still retain a slight tooth - al dente! (Overcooking the lentils is the death of this dish) Drain & rinse the lentils under cold water and set aside.
• In a small bowl, make the dressing by whisking together the olive, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and all the spices (salt through cinnamon).
• In a large serving bowl, gently combine the lentils and dressing. Add the onions, cranberries and capers and stir to combine well. If using other add-ins such as herbs, greens, or cheese, wait to add until just before serving. Otherwise, this salad can hang out in the fridge for as long as a couple days!

GREEN LENTIL AND BACON SALAD

Steps:

• Cook bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add onion to drippings in saucepan; sauté until very tender, about 15 minutes. Add 6 cups water, ham hock, lentils, 1/4 cup parsley, and 2 teaspoons thyme. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Using tongs, transfer ham hock to work surface. Drain lentils. Cool ham hock and lentils. Cut ham from bone; dice. Transfer ham to large bowl.
• Whisk walnut oil, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard in small bowl to blend. Transfer lentils to large bowl with ham. Add dressing, red onion, celery, bacon, remaining 1/4 cup parsley, and remaining 2 teaspoons thyme. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.

GREEK LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Strain lentils and place in a large bowl. Pour in 1/2 of the salad dressing, and stir to coat. Place in the refrigerator while preparing other vegetables. Add feta cheese, cucumber, tomato, and red onion. Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Stir in remaining dressing when ready to serve. May be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

COLD LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Combine the lentils and garlic in simmering salted water for 10 minutes, or until the lentils are crisp-tender. Drain and run the lentils under cold water. Discard the garlic.
• In a bowl, toss together the lentils, celery, onion, and parsley. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, and water. Drizzle over the lentils and stir gently to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.