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This Mediterranean Lentil Salad is full of bold flavors from tender lentils, juicy tomatoes, crisp vegetables, briny olives, feta cheese, and fresh herbs, all tossed in a light lemony dressing. Serve it as a flavorful side dish or enjoy it with pita bread and hummus for a satisfying lunch.
I am excited to share this Mediterranean Lentil Salad with you! It is fresh, vibrant and full of classic Mediterranean flavors you love. After sharing this Mediterranean Bean Salad, I received countless requests for a lentil version. This recipe delivers all the hearty, wholesome goodness of a fresh salad.
Mediterranean food has been a big part of my daily life since I was little. With my mom’s Lebanese roots, dishes like this Lebanese Hummus Recipe with Tabouli Salad, Lebanese Green Beans and Lebanese Meat Pies were staples on our family table. This salad fits right in, simple, nourishing and works great as part of a Lebanese meal. If you love cooking with lentils try this Lebanese Lentil Soup, Lemon Lentil Soup Recipe, Italian Style Lentil Soup or this Red Lentil Curry.
Why You Will Love this Lentil Salad Recipe
This lentil salad is light and full of flavor. Here is why we love it:
• Quick to Prepare: This salad comes together in under 20 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights or meal prep.
•Tastes Better Over Time: The flavors deepen as it sits, so leftovers taste even better the next day. It holds up well for several days in the fridge.
• Customizable: This salad is easy to adapt. Add what you have on hand like artichokes, pickled red onions, goat cheese, or any extra veggies you like.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s an overview of the simple ingredients we’re using. Jump to the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and printable instructions.
- Lentils: lentils are the base of this salad. I prefer French, brown, green or black lentils, as they hold their shape well and don’t get mushy like red or yellow varieties. Always rinse and pick through your lentils before using.
- Vegetables: you can mix and match your favorite vegetables. This salad uses cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, roasted red peppers, and both red and green onions for color and crunch.
- Olives: optional for olive lovers! I use a mix of kalamata and green olives, but any variety works. Try adding Lemon Marinated Olives for extra flavor.
- Feta Cheese: use crumbled feta for a creamy, tangy finish. You can also buy a block of feta and crumble it yourself.
- Dressing: this simple dressing mixes extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and a pinch of spice.
Recipe Substitutions
- Herbs: mix up the herbs with fresh dill, oregano, or basil.
- Olives: green olives or capers can add a salty, briny element.
- Beans: canned chickpeas are an easy way to add protein and bulk. White beans like cannellini or great northern also work.
- Dressing: for a creamy lemon dressing, stir in 1–2 tablespoons of tahini or Greek yogurt.
- Protein: to turn this into a main dish, I add Greek Chicken, Mediterranean Shrimp, or hard-boiled eggs. Leftover baked salmon or tuna patties are great protein options too.
How to Make a Protein-Packed Lentil Salad
Step 1: Cook Lentils: Cook the lentils according to the package. Drain and set aside to cool.
Step 2: Mix Salad Ingredients: In a large bowl mix together the lentils, olives, roasted red peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, feta cheese, mint, parsley and green onions.
Step 3: Create Dressing: In a large mason jar or salad dressing container add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and whisk together. Add salt and pepper to taste and 1 teaspoon of an additional spice if you like {try sumac, za’atar, oregano}. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat with the dressing. Let the salad marinate for 30 in the fridge before serving if you can. This helps let the flavors meld and enhances the taste. Serve with hummus and pita bread or use this salad as a topping for pita wraps, hummus plates or falafel.
Recipe Tip: Cook the lentil until just tender so they hold their texture and stay firm in the salad. For a shortcut you can buy pre-cooked lentils at the store usually in the produce section.
Meal-Prep Ideas
This is a great meal prep lentil salad.
- Cook Lentils: Cook the lentils 1-2 minutes less than on the package so they stay firm and hold up the texture in the fridge. Green or brown lentils will work best for this salad because they won’t get as mushy.
- Create Dressing: Store the dressing in a separate container until you are ready to make the salad.
- Prep Veggies: You can also prep the vegetables and keep those in a separate container until you are ready to make the lentil salad.
Storage Tips
- If you store your lentil salad in an airtight container in the fridge it should last between 4 to 5 days. Then when you are ready to eat the salad add additional dressing to freshen the salad.
- Ideally if you know you will have leftovers keep the dressing separate to prevent the salad from getting mushy.
Recipe FAQ
Use green or brown lentils. They hold their shape better than red lentils, which can get mushy. Make sure to cook until tender but firm. Don’t overcook; they should be soft but still slightly toothsome for the best texture in a salad. Let the lentils cool before mixing with other ingredients to prevent wilting the veggies or melting the cheese
Yes this is a great make-ahead salad. I think the flavors meld even better the second day. You may want to refresh with a bit more lemon or olive oil before serving. Serve chilled or at room temp.
More Lentil Recipes
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Mediterranean Lentil Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked french, black or green lentils
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved {you will want to use pitted olives-you can use any olive of your choice}
- 1/3 cup roasted red peppers, drained, chopped {try fire roasted for nice flavor}
- 1/2 of a small red onion, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced {or color of your choice}
- 1/2 of an english cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese {optional or try goat cheese}
- Handful of fresh mint, chopped
- Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional spices: 1 to 2 teaspoons of any spice you like {try sumac, za’atar or oregano}
Instructions
- Cook the lentils according to the package. Drain and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl mix together the lentils, olives, roasted red peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, feta cheese, mint, parsley and green onions.
- In a large mason jar or salad dressing container add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and whisk together. Add salt and pepper to taste and 1 teaspoon of an additional spice if you like {try sumac, za'atar, oregano}. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat with the dressing.
- Let the salad marinate for 30 in the fridge before serving if you can. This helps let the flavors meld and enhances the taste.
- Serve with hummus and pita bread or use this salad as a topping for pita wraps, hummus plates or falafel.
Notes
- This salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days in an air tight container.
- This salad is easily modified to your tastes. Try adding artichokes, different vegetables, green olives, fire roasted tomatoes or goat cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is there a reason not to add precooked lentils? I have a package of Trader Joe’s pre-cooked French Lentils and was searching for recipes. My guess would probably be for freshness and texture
Just freshness but precooked would work great! I have used them to save time and they are great.
Hello and thank you so much for this recipe! My family is a huge fan of lentils, and my husband is Greek; for a family BBQ this weekend, I was looking for something different than my usual, “classic” Lentil Salad. I put “Mediterranean lentil salad recipe” into my search bar, and scrolled down, looking at the pictures until I came upon yours. Just by looking at it, I knew that this is exactly what I had in mind, and even though I’m not making it until this afternoon, I can tell by the ingredients that it’s going to be fabulous!
Now that your style of cooking and your food blog are on my radar, I’m looking forward to exploring more of your recipes! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and talents with us!
I am so glad you found this recipe and I hope that you really enjoy it! <3
It says cooked and uncooked lentils. Do you cook all lentils?
Sorry it is confusing. It is 1 cup of uncooked lentils. Hope you enjoy.
Really yummy!! Just made for my lunch. Added the sumac and oregano and omitted the red wine vinegar and it was soooo tasty!!
So glad you liked this! We love it too. I like the addition of sumac.
Made this for lunch and it was fantastic!
So glad you liked it!