I’m trying to stock my fridge with some healthy options for the week ahead because I didn’t do so well last week. So, this morning I threw together some of my favorite flavors (garlic, lemon, feta) into an easy Marinated Lentil Salad. This salad makes a great side dish on its own, or you can bulk it up a number of ways to turn it into its own meal.
What Kind of Lentils Work Best for Lentil Salad?
I suggest a firm variety, like brown or green. I used brown lentils, which only take about 20 minutes to cook in boiling water. Green lentils take much longer, about 45 minutes. If you’re unsure of what type you have, check the cooking instructions on the package. I do not suggest using red, yellow, or orange lentils for this recipe, as they do not hold their shape when cooked.
Make Lentil Salad a Meal
If you want to bulk this up, you could add any of the following:
- chopped rotisserie chicken
- chickpeas
- chopped cucumber
- chopped bell pepper
- or even cooked and cooled rice
Serve as a salad or stuff it into a pita! I especially like to mix a dollop of hummus with the Marinated lentil salad, which gives even more garlicky flavor and a wonderful texture contrast to the lentils.
Tomato Options
The most expensive ingredient in this salad for me was the pint of grape tomatoes. They can be quite pricey, so if you want to cut costs even further just replace the grape tomatoes with about 3 diced Roma tomatoes, or whatever variety of tomato is least expensive at your grocery store. I tend to like Roma the best as a second choice here because the flesh is firm and they hold up well to the salad.
Meal Prep It!
This lentil salad tastes great right after mixing it all up, but it gets even better with time in the fridge (leftovers FTW!), which makes it perfect for meal prep! Just remember to give it a quick stir before eating to redistribute that wonderful dressing.
Marinated Lentil Salad
Servings 6 1 cup eachIngredients
LEMON GARLIC DRESSING
- 1 lemon ($0.59)
- 1/4 cup olive oil ($0.44)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly Cracked Pepper
SALAD
- 1 cup dry brown lentils ($0.40)
- 1/2 bunch parsley ($0.40)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes ($2.99)
- 1/4 small red onion ($0.24)
- 2 oz feta, crumbled ($1.12)
Instructions
- Cook the lentils according to the package directions. For most brown lentils, bring 3 cups of water to boil in a pot, add the lentils, then continue to boil for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Drain the lentils in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water until they are cooled.
- While the lentils are cooking, prepare the lemon garlic dressing. Use a microplane, zester, or small-holed cheese grater to remove about 1 Tbsp of the lemon’s zest (the thin, yellow, outer layer of the peel). Set the zest aside. Juice the lemon and measure 1/4 cup of the juice to use for the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
- Rinse the parsley well, shake off as much water as possible, then pull the leaves from the stems. Roughly chop the parsley leaves. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Finely dice the red onion.
- When the lentils are cooked, cooled, and well drained, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the chopped parsley, tomatoes, red onion, crumbled feta, lemon zest, and the prepared dressing. Stir to combine the ingredients and coat everything in dressing.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. Always stir the salad just before serving to redistribute the dressing and flavors.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
How to Make Lentil Salad – Step by Step Photos
Begin by cooking one cup of dry lentils. Lentils are incredibly easy to cook. It’s just like pasta. Bring a large pot of water to boil (for one cup lentils, make it at least 3 cups water), add the lentils, then cook until tender (20 minutes for brown lentils). Drain the lentils in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water to cool them off.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the Lemon Garlic Dressing. Remove about 1 Tbsp zest from the lemon using a microplane, zester, or small-holed cheese grater. Set the zest aside for later. Juice the lemon and use about 1/4 cup for the dressing.
To the 1/4 cup lemon juice, add 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Whisk the ingredients together. Set the dressing aside so it has a few minutes to blend.
Prepare the vegetables for the salad. Rinse 1/2 bunch of parsley and shake off as much water as possible. Pull the leaves from the stems, then give them a rough chop (about 1 cup once chopped). Slice the grape tomatoes in half. Finely dice the red onion. I really don’t like including small amounts like “1/4 red onion” in recipes, but red onion is one of those ingredients that is very potent and you really only need a small amount. To avoid wasting the rest of the onion, consider adding it to salads, pizzas, frittatas, or pickling the onions for longer storage.
Once the lentils are cooked, cooled, and drained, add them to a large bowl along with the lemon zest, chopped parsley, tomatoes, diced onion, and 2oz. crumbled feta.
Pour on the prepared Lemon Garlic Dressing…
Then just stir everything up until evenly combined and coated in dressing. The salad is pretty irresistible as is, but it gets even better as it sits in the fridge and those lentils absorb all that awesome flavor!
This is not going to last me long… I can’t stop scooping forkfuls into my mouth! In reality, though, this Marinated Lentil Salad makes about 6 cups, so depending on how you serve it, it’s about six servings. Ideas for bulking it out further can be found in the intro! Enjoy!
Delish!
Thank you Bernie!
I can’t wait to make this salad. It looks amazing.
Thank you Denise!
I love Budget Bytes so much. Mostly because the recipes are so simple and delicious, but also because they’re so affordable and many times I have the ingredients in my pantry. The recipes don’t require me to make special trips and I don’t have to look for hard to find items. I’ve been trying to eat a more plant-based diet, but it’s been an adjustment incorporating enough protein on days when I don’t eat meat. This is a great meal or side dish to whatever else you’re eating. Delicious and simple! Everything came together while I was cooking the lentils. If I still lived in the US I would 100% use the cooked ones at Trader Joe’s because they’re super yummy. Next time I will add chickpeas and cucumbers! Can’t wait to eat it tomorrow.
Thank you!
Simple,easy,delicious! In my experience when adding dressings to salads like this, I add the dressing when the dish is still hot. it absorbs the dressing better and adds to the flavor.
Thanks!
Yes great tip!
I roasted a couple of chicken thighs and shredded them into the salad. Then I deglazed the roasting pan with a bit of chicken stock, reduced the liquid a bit, and added that to the dressing. Also a couple of finely chopped scallions since I had them in the fridge, and, as other commenters have suggested, some sliced cucumber.
Great and healthy recipe!
This sounds so yummy!
What is the nutritional info per serving?
Thanks!
This is really delicious and easy to put together. It is very versatile. I bought precooked lentils from Trader Joe’s because I’m lazy and added cucumber and avocado. The flavors especially with the feta make this pop. I think next time I’ll add some halloumi cheese. Thank you so much for the recipe. It’s a definite keeper.
OMG. Halloumi cheese addition sounds amazing!!! I need to add this next time too.
This is absolutely delicious and perfect for summer meal prepping! I added a chopped cucumber and served it over some greens with a big scoop of hummus.
Love love love!! I used it as a meal prep for last week to have lunches each day and I was really nervous as I hadn’t really made lentils before. I ended up looking forward to eating it each day!! It is DELICIOUS, and super easy to make. I added avocado to it some days to give it some extra protein.
This was amazing! I didn’t think I could make salad at home that I actually like. I added bell peppers, cucumber, and quinoa, and I used pickled onions. But next time I think I will try kale. Thank you so much for sharing this. Cheap and healthy and tastes heavenly.
Thank so much for this recipe! One of my favorites!
Do you think mint would be OK to replace the parsley? And I would like to add cucumber.
I just can’t imagine the mint taste difference.
Sure, this salad is very versatile and you can customize it with many different ingredients. I think cucumber would go great! :)
I used dill instead of parsley and it was amazing! Highly recommend!
I’ve made this with a cucumber and a bit extra feta, and found it makes great lunches for work along with a piece of fruit.
The best lentil salad ever!