Mediterranean Cold Lentil Salad

Time to amp up your plant-based menu with this protein-packed Mediterranean Cold Lentil Salad! Earthy black lentils, crunchy tomatoes and cucumbers, and fresh herbs drizzled with a yogurt mint sauce for the ultimate summer dish.

As we move away from the cold wintry season and into lighter, spring days, my mind has been less on soups and more on light, refreshing meals. This Mediterranean cold lentil salad is the perfect combination of hearty, nutrition-packed lentils and summery flavors like fresh crispy veggies and the zing of lemon. Lentils are packed with protein, fiber and iron, and I truly believe that they belong in the weekly rotation of meals 3-4x a week! Most of my lentil recipes are served hot so I’m excited to share this cooler recipe with you.

A traditional Greek salad is made up mostly of tomatoes and cucumbers. It’s what we call a “xoriatiki” or “village” salad and during the summer, we eat this salad 3-4x a week. It’s light and refreshing, simple and delicious. The thought process behind building this out was, how can I add some plant-based protein to help keep us full but maintain the integrity of the classic salad. I chose black lentils because they’re meatier and hold their shape best.

The Cooking Process

The natural answer is lentils. The beauty of this dish is how truly simple and easy it is. You can use canned lentils or you can use dried lentils. With canned lentils, you can whip up this dish in under 15 minutes. If you decide to use dried lentils, the cooking time bumps up a bit by certainly not by much. The recipe is for dried but the canned substitution is quite easy.

With canned lentils, it’s best to drain and thoroughly rinse out. Strain them well so that your salad isn’t watery (liquid will already collect from the tomatoes and lemon). If you’re cooking dried lentils, it’s as easy as boiling for about 30 minutes with a pinch of salt. Salt is optional but it does help to maintain the shape of the lentil. Then you’ll drain and give a cold rinse to stop the cooking process. After they chill (either through the cold rinse or letting them sit), you can create the salad.

The Yogurt Lemon Mint Sauce

I am a firm believe that this sauce absolutely makes this dish because it adds such a different dimension of texture and flavor. The tanginess of the lemon paired with the herbaceous mint is such a beautiful compliment to the earthiness of the lentils. Which type of plant-based yogurt do you like? For us, we gravitate towards the Kite Hill Greek style almond milk yogurt. At this point, this brand is the only one we have found that has a thick yogurt! Many are runny. Traditional Greek yogurt is much thicker.

How to Eat this Salad

You can dig in as you would a salad; grab a fork or spoon and get haulin’. As you can see from the images above, we like to scoop it up with a piece of warm pita bread. You can wrap it up in a pita pocket. Top it over some fresh greens. The possibilities are endless. This dish would also hold really well at a party or gathering!

Mediterranean Cold Lentil Salad

Time to amp up your plant-based menu with this protein-packed Mediterranean Cold Lentil Salad! Earthy black lentils, crunchy tomatoes and cucumbers, and fresh herbs drizzled with a yogurt mint sauce for the ultimate summer dish.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 3 cups

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup dried black lentils
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 2 persian cucumbers, diced
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/3 cup sliced kalamata olives
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped mint
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• salt, to taste
• dried oregano optional

Yogurt Mint Sauce

• 3/4 cup thick vegan yogurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped mint
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

 

• Rinse out the lentils. Boil them in sauce pot with 2.5 cups water for 25 minutes.
• Chop & dice veggies and herbs while lentils cook.
• Cold rinse the lentils (make sure they're completely cool) and add to a bowl with all the rest of the ingredients. Gently mix until incorporated.
• In a small bowl, gently stir the yogurt, lemon, mint and EVOO.
• Serve with a generous drizzle of yogurt sauce.

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