This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Greek Lentil Salad is a must-make for a healthy, light dinner or an easy side dish! With protein-packed lentils, tomatoes, feta, cucumbers and mint, this easy-to-make salad will be on repeat this summer!
Greek Lentil Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
Greek Lentil Salad with Tomatoes and FetaWe are digging into our pantry and using up one of our tried and true staples we always have on hand: lentils! This Greek Lentil Salad is so flavorful and loaded with veggies and herbs! It tastes as fresh as it looks and is the perfect dish to serve as a light dinner or as a side. It also can work as meal prep for a few days. With a base of nutritious protein-packed lentils, this hearty salad is hype-worthy.
Ingredients Needed for this Lentil Salad
Ingredients Needed for this Lentil Salad- Cooked Lentils (ideally these are cooked the day before, though we have included instructions for using them if made fresh)
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Bell Pepper
- Red Onion
- Feta (though you can omit it for vegan or dairy-free!)
- Fresh Herbs (we love mint, parsley, basil)
- Red Wine Vinegar (or another vinegar you have on hand)
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
How to Customize It
What we love about salads is that that they are so easily customizable! Don’t have fresh bell peppers, but have roasted red peppers? Swap them in! Don’t have tomatoes? Leave them out!
You can also add in some extra protein here if you want. Leftover rotisserie chicken would be great here, as would canned tuna or salmon!
How long will this salad keep?
How long will this salad keep?This salad as made is best served the day it is made. But if you’d like to keep it longer, or use for meal prep you can make the salad up to 3 days ahead of time.
If you like this healthy salad recipe, check out these others:
- Chopped Antipasto Salad with Chicken
- Israeli Salad
- Mediterranean Tuna Salad with No Mayo!
- Gluten-Free BLT Pasta Salad
GREEK LENTIL SALAD
Ingredients
- 1 cup green or brown lentils picked through and rinsed
- 2 cups water or broth more as needed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 red pepper diced
- ½ red onion diced fine
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup fresh herbs mint, parsley, basil are our favorite picks here
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- To cook lentils: Add lentils, and water to a medium pot. Turn on heat and bring lentils to a rolling boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to let simmer gently for 20-30 minutes until lentils are tender but not mushy. Occasionally check lentils to see if the water has evaporated, adding more water as needed. Remove from heat and strain lentils. Once strained, add 1 teaspoon salt to lentils to season them. Let lentils chill overnight in the refrigerator, or place on a sheet pan and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes, until lentils are well chilled.
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix together. Season to taste.
- Salad is best served on the day it is made, but will keep for up to 3 days.
Notes
- For more information on how to cook lentils, including how to cook them in the Instant Pot, check out this Guide to Cooking Lentils.
Loved how fresh and vibrant this salad is – makes me feel like spring even with snow on the ground! Also super nutritious and easy. I used pre-made Trader Joe’s lentils to save on time and added lemon juice and garlic powder to the dressing. I served it with chopped arugula mixed in and left out the feta to be dairy-free. Love it, thanks!
I made this tonight and it was a huge hit ! The recipe is so quick and easy. It was such a nice change from the usual cookout foods and I didn’t feel guilty eating it !
great salad, like the lentil for lettuce swap, or at least that’s how I see it, and love all of the other ingredients of a Greek salad, and so a really nice change and a good source of protein as you write, so thank you!