Lentil Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Lentil Cucumber & Tomato Salad- summer’s best vegetables tossed in a tangy lemon dressing. Served with fresh herbs, it makes for a light and refreshing summer meal!
Think of this as your favorite cucumber and tomato salad jazzed up enough to make it a meal. It’s tangy, light, refreshing, and is my go-to recipe to prep for summertime lunches.
Outside of cooking the lentils, it’s just a matter of chopping the vegetables and herbs, and squeezing a few lemons. It takes less than 30 minutes to prep and holds up great in the refrigerator for several days.
Lentil, Cucumber and Tomato Salad Ingredients
- French Green Lentils- If you’re not familiar with green lentils, they are a bit smaller than brown lentils but have a very similar flavor. I like to use them here because they tend to hold their shape better which makes for a prettier salad. However, you can also use brown lentils if that’s what you have on hand.
- Cucumbers- Any kind of cucumbers will work, just make sure they are fresh and crisp.
- Tomatoes- Cherry tomatoes are my top choice for this salad but I’ve also used roma tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes with good results. Just keep in mind if you use the latter you will probably want to deseed them first.
- Red Onion- I recommend sticking with red onion over other varieties as it’s best eaten raw and blends seamlessly into this salad.
- Fresh Parsley and Mint- Fresh herbs are key to making this salad stand out. Parsley pairs so well with the lemon and fresh mint lends a refreshing flavor that’s a perfect match for the salty feta.
- White Vinegar- You could probably get away with using all lemon juice here but I love the tangy flavor that vinegar has to offer.
- Lemon Juice- The brightness of the lemon juice really makes this salad and it also offers up a nice dose of vitamin C to help us absorb the iron in the lentils.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- The fruitiness of the olive oil balances out the tanginess and contributes a healthy serving of omega-3s.
- Crumbled Feta Cheese- This ingredients is totally optional but we enjoy the salty bite it offers. I prefer to keep it vegan by using Violife’s dairy-free feta cheese. A homemade tofu feta would also great here.
How to Make Lentil, Cucumber and Tomato Salad
- Cook the Lentils. I prefer to soak mine for at least 6 hours prior to cooking as this step helps aid in proper digestion. Pre soaking them also reduces the cooking time to about 15 minutes.
- Chop the vegetables and herbs. This step is pretty straightforward and can be done as the lentils cook.
- Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. So simple yet so good.
- Add everything to a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!
As I said above, this is great for prepping in advance because the vegetables and lentils continue to absorb the flavors of the dressing as it sits. If you’re serving for a party it’s best to prep a few hours in advance but it will hold up for several days if you’d like to make it for lunches. It’s just not as pretty as it is on the first day. :)
Want more refreshing summer salads?
Lentil, Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Summer's best vegetables tossed in a tangy lemon dressing. Served with fresh herbs, it makes for the perfect light and refreshing summer meal!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked French green lentils, about 1 cup dry
- 2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped into quarters
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, juice of approximately 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
- 4 ounces feta cheese, I use vegan feta to make it dairy-free
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils and pick out any hard pieces. Combine them with 2 cups water in a saucepan then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-30 minutes, until tender. Strain any excess liquid then rinse with cold water, and strain again.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked lentils and chopped vegetables/herbs. Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil then pour on top of the lentils and veggies. Stir to combine.
- Sprinkle feta cheese on top then stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
*To presoak the lentils, add them to a bowl and cover with water. Allow to sit for 6-8 hours or up to overnight. Strain and rinse before cooking with water. This step will also reduce cooking time to about 15-20 minutes, whereas cooking them straight from dry will take closer to 35 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 255kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 225mg, Potassium: 648mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 750IU, Vitamin C: 30.3mg, Calcium: 136mg, Iron: 3.7mg
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback!
Dayyyyyum, girl! That is one fresh n sexy salad, indeed! I miss having a garden and now am feeling a little green envy…I did successfully purchase and kill a basil plant in the course of one week, so I get points for effort, yes? Any tips on bringing basil back to life? ;) I want this salad for breakfast. The End.
I love how fresh and summery this salad looks ;-) How wonderful to have a garden and be able to make a beautiful dish like that using fresh ingredients! I also planted some tomato at my patio garden. They are much juicer ;-)
I can eat once in a day, lovely
Hi Sarah! Hahahha! Your sexy gardener has done well. :) I love a good dish that gets better as it sits in the fridge and soaks up its own goodness. This sounds divine. Props to you and your man on the fruits of your labor.
a light summer lunch, mmm!
Yes yes please give me all the lentils!!! What a fantastic salad! I’m loving the fresh herbs on this!!
As I was opening this post, I thought about how I’m a sucker for anything that says garden fresh. It just immediately makes me hungry and crave a salad — this looks delicious!
O hoe I wish I had a garden!
So fresh and so delicious! Love the colors and the protein from the lentils :)
Ohhh I’ve always wanted to pick food from my own garden, but… that would require actually -having- a garden. And keeping the plants in it alive :lol: I don’t really have the room for one, and I also tend to have a bit of a black thumb and kill pretty much all plants in my possession… as is evidenced by the herb garden that didn’t even manage to last 2 weeks in my care :lol: So I just steal fresh veggies from my parents instead :P
Nothing like fresh veggies from the garden! I love the tomato/cucumber/onion combo. It’s so summery and fresh!
So jealous your cucumber plants are already producing! Both my zucchini and cucumber plants have just been flowering now for a week now without any sign of growth… I just wanna eat em! :)
Home grown vegetables taste the best!! They always have so much more flavour – and there’s always that sense of achievement from growing them yourself! This salad looks sooo delicious. I love adding lentils to salads, they make such a yummy addition. What a perfect summer dish!
I loooove salads with Mediterranean flavours like this one. Also, super cool that the ingredients are right from your garden! Right now all I’m growing is a few herbs on my patio (we don’t have a garden at our place) but I’m hoping to do lettuce next year – I’ve found in the past that it actually does pretty well in pots!
Lettuce would be awesome to have home grown!
I love all of those fresh herbs in this! Herbs make EVERYTHING better! No exceptions ;) And not to mention all of the health benefits of this! LOVE IT!
I thought green lentils were the same as French green lentils. Based on the yield, I’m guessing the French lentils are way smaller! That being said, aside from my mistake, this is a delicious salad. I’ll try again with the proper ingredients next time.
Sorry for the confusion Lela! French green lentils are much smaller than brown lentils which are also sometimes referred to as green lentils. They don’t make it easy when there are so many varieties with similar names!
I remade this with the proper lentils and didn’t skip the Violife feta this time. It is a new lunch favorite!