Lentil Salad

Add this lentil salad recipe to your lunch rotation ASAP! Packed with fresh veggies, olives, and feta, it's super flavorful and great for meal prep.

This lentil salad recipe is helping me ease into a new lunch routine. After a summer filled with picnic leftovers and impromptu farmers market meals, I’m trying to get back in the rhythm of doing at least a little meal prep at the start of the week. That way, at lunchtime, I’m not totally stumped by what to eat.

Luckily, this lentil salad recipe is simple to make, so it’s a breeze to put together on a Sunday. It also tastes so good that I don’t mind eating it for a few days on repeat. I douse al dente lentils, juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp veggies, briny olives, and feta in a zingy lemon dressing. And, because I believe that fresh herbs make any salad better, I toss in mint and parsley for a cooling, refreshing finishing touch.

If you’re looking for new lunch ideas right now, I can’t recommend this lentil salad highly enough. It’s intensely flavorful and super satisfying. It won’t be leaving my lunchtime rotation anytime soon. I think you’ll love having it in yours too.

Lentil Salad Recipe Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this lentil salad recipe:

• Lentils, of course! I like to use French lentils for this salad. They hold their shape nicely when cooked, and they don’t get mushy like brown or red lentils do. Find my guide to cooking the lentils here.
• Grape tomatoes – I love their sweet flavor and juicy texture in this salad. Any type of cherry or grape tomatoes will work here, but I think yellow ones are especially pretty.
• Cucumbers and radishes – For crunch.
• Red onion – For sharp, savory flavor.
• Lacinato kale – I always like to sneak greens into lunch salads when I can. I use kale here because it holds up well under the dressing even when I make this salad in advance.
• Green olives – They add delicious briny flavor. Not a green olive person? Feel free to use kalamata olives instead.
• Feta cheese – For saltiness and tang.
• The dressing – It’s a zingy combo of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. To add complexity to the salad, I also mix in ground cumin and either Italian seasoning or za’atar. Use whichever you keep in your pantry.
• And fresh mint and parsley – For cooling, aromatic flavor.

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients at the bottom of a large bowl.

Then, add the salad ingredients on top. Toss to coat and season to taste.

That’s it!

Lentil Salad Serving Suggestions

This lentil salad recipe keeps well for up to 4 days in the fridge, so it’s perfect for making ahead for lunches. Enjoy it on its own, or serve it as a side dish with a Caprese sandwich, chickpea salad sandwich, or healthy lunch wrap.

I also love to include this lentil salad on a mezze platter if I’m putting together a light dinner or making lunch for friends. It pairs nicely with tabbouleh or a tomato salad and a few spreads like muhammara, whipped feta, baba ganoush, or hummus. Round out the meal with lots of fresh pita bread!

How do you like to serve this lentil salad? Let me know in the comments!

More Favorite Lunch Salads

If you love this lentil salad recipe, try one of these packable lunch salads next:

• Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
• Black Bean and Corn Salad
• Three Bean Salad
• Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
• Orzo Salad
• Kale Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
• Or any of these 41 Healthy Lunch Ideas!

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Lentil Salad

rate this recipe:

5 from 21 votes

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Serves 4 to 6

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This lentil salad recipe is a perfect make-ahead lunch or healthy side dish! It's filled with fresh veggies, feta, olives, and a zingy lemon dressing. It keeps well for up to 4 days in the fridge.

Ingredients

Dressing

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, or za'atar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad

• 2½ cups cooked French green lentils, from 1 cup uncooked
• 3 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced into half-moons
• ¾ cup yellow grape tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup diced red onion
• 4 lacinato kale leaves, stemmed, leaves torn
• 4 red radishes, thinly sliced
• Heaping ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• Heaping ½ cup green olives, pitted and halved
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves

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Instructions

• Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, Italian seasoning, salt, cumin, and several grinds of pepper.
• Assemble the salad: Add the lentils, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, kale, radishes, feta, and olives to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat. Add the parsley and mint and toss again. Season to taste and serve.