This is a great way to prepare lentils and makes a salad that is healthy, flavorful, crunchy, and goes with almost any grilled entree. I’ve served it with steak, tri-tip, chicken, salmon, halibut, cod, pork chops and more. This is an awesome summer side. The colors, crunch, and bright flavors make it a really great go to in the summer.
One of my original sources for this salad is Skinny Tastes, although I’ve modified quite a bit. And the cooking method for the lentils is based on Rancho Gordo recipes and my own Primer for cooking beans.
This is a very healthy dish, to say the least. And if you cook the lentils with either water or vegetable stock it is suitable for people who eat vegan or vegetarian. It’s also completely appropriate for keto diets with a total carb load of only 18 grams per serving.
Chilled Lentil Salad
Course: SaladsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes30
minutes300
kcal40
minutesA chilled lentil salad makes a great side for summer grilling. Easy to prepare ahead of time and the flavors just get better sitting in the fridge up to 24 hours before serving. Use French style green or brown lentils, not red, yellow, orange, etc. Colored lentils are used in stews and soups and tend to break down and get mushy/soft.
Ingredients
- For Cooking the Lentils
1 cup uncooked French style lentils.
2 bay leaves
bouquet garni with herbs de Provence, fresh or dry
1 carrot, unpeeled, chopped into 2″ pieces
1 celery stalk, chopped into 2″ pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
- Vinaigrette
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed is better)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Salad
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup diced celery
Method
- Combine lentils, bay leaves, carrots, celery, garlic, bouquet garni in a medium size sauce pan. Add 6 cups water (or chicken or vegetable stock). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. The lentils should be tender to the bite, but not mushy or soft.
- Drain the lentils well and remove all the vegetables and herbs, put in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator while preparing the rest of the salad.
- Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold your final salad. Whisk together well.
- Add diced carrots, pepper, celery to the vinaigrette and stir in. Then gently add the lentils to the bowl and stir together until well coated. Allow to stand in refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours. The longer, the better.
- Serve alongside a grilled main dish such as steak, tri-tip, flank steak, halibut or salmon, chicken.
Notes
- About salt: I like to not put salt in with the lentils when cooking. I find that salting them at that point tends to break the skin.
Nutrition Facts
6 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories206
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
5g
8%
- Saturated Fat 1g 5%
- Sodium 574mg 24%
- Potassium 577mg 17%
- Total Carbohydrate
30g
10%
- Dietary Fiber 12g 48%
- Sugars 2g
- Protein 5g 10%
- Vitamin A 29%
- Vitamin C 116%
- Calcium 4%
- Iron 17%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
