This fresh, zesty Greek-Inspired Lentil Salad is everything I want for an easy lunch or a colorful side: tender lentils, juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp Persian cucumbers, briny Kalamata olives, creamy feta, and a bright lemon-oregano dressing.
It’s a staple in my warm-weather rotation, but honestly delicious any time of year. Serve as a side with one of my Grilling Recipes or Main Dish Recipes to complete a weeknight meal.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy: pantry-friendly lentils + quick-chopped veg + a no-fuss lemon/EVOO dressing = weeknight win.
- Seasonal: at its best with late-summer tomatoes and cukes, but flexible year-round with market swaps. Also, try my Mediterranean Lentil Salad.
- Pairing-friendly: plays nicely with grilled meats, seafood, or a mezze board for effortless hosting. I think it works perfectly with my Greek Meatballs or Greek Chicken and Potatoes.
Ingredients
This recipe comes together quickly and with standard pantry and fridge staples. Here’s what you will need:
- Lentils: Green or brown hold their shape best; black beluga also works. Don’t use red lentils, as they turn to mush when cooked. If you prefer to “Beef up” your salads with beans instead, try my Greek Bean Salad and Kale Chickpea Salad recipes too.
- Tomatoes: Classic Greek Salad ingredient. I am using cherry tomatoes here. They are sweet and easy to work with. You can totally use larger tomatoes, but I would recommend removing some of the seed cavities before chopping them into chunks for the salad. Check out more of my Tomato Recipes.
- Cucumbers: Persian cucumbers are perfect here. They are thin-skinned and crunchy. You can sub in an English cucumber, but I recommend cutting out the seed cavity and peeling it if the skin is tough.
- Feta cheese: Greek Feta Cheese is the only way to go here! But if you want to keep this recipe vegan, use a plant-based feta substitute. You’ll find many of my Mediterranean Salad Recipes feature Greek feta.
- Olives: Greek-Inspired salads call for classic Greek Kalamata olives. It’s what I use in my Traditional Greek Salad recipe, of course. But this recipe will also work with green or black olives. Use what you have on hand.
- Onion: I am using a small red onion. If raw onion is too sharp for you, soak the chopped onion in cold water to mellow it out. Or use scallions or green onions.
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh dill and fresh mint for that signature flavor. I sometimes add fresh chopped parsley to this recipe too.
Refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make this Greek Lentil Salad Recipe
Step 1. Boil and Drain Lentils. Rinse and pick over, then boil in water until tender but not mushy, about 20-25 minutes. Drain in a fine mesh sieve, run under cold water and let the lentil drain completely.
Step 2. Make Dressing. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper until emulsified.
Step 3. Assemble. Add the cooked and drained lentils, sliced cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, red onion, Kalamata olives, and feta cheese, chopped dill and mint to the bowl.
Step 4. Toss and Adjust the Seasoning. Toss to coat evenly, taste, and adjust with more lemon, salt, and pepper as needed. Garnish with fresh dill and serve.
Pairing and Menu Ideas
There are so many ways you can enjoy this hearty salad.
Grill night. Serve as a side dish with Chicken Souvlaki Skewers, Greek Lamb Chops, Shrimp Skewers, Salmon Skewers, or Middle Eastern Beef Shish Kebabs.
Mezze spread. Serve as part of a large spread with Roasted Eggplant Dip, Tzatziki, Muhammara (roasted red pepper dip), Homemade Labneh, and/or Greek Pita Bread.
Expert Tips
- Choose the right lentil. For salads, pick green, brown, or black (beluga) lentils. They keep their shape better than red/yellow, which turn mushy.
- Cook like pasta for perfect texture. Boil lentils in a lot of water and drain. This keeps them tender with bite, which is ideal for salads.
- Don’t salt the water. Adding salt to the boiling water may make your lentils tough and take them longer to soften. The lentils will absorb the salad dressing later on.
- Aim for “tender, not mushy.” Start checking early and pull when just tender.
- Make-ahead friendly (with one tweak). This salad is great for meal prep, but for max crunch and minimal mush, keep the dressing separate.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. rinse and drain very well. The texture will be softer than freshly cooked, but it works in a pinch.
Green or brown (or black beluga) hold their shape and give a pleasant bite for salads. Avoid red or yellow lentils here.
Cook lentils and whisk the dressing up to 3 days ahead. This salad is great for meal prep, but for max crunch and minimal mush, keep the dressing separate.
Cooked lentils generally keep 5–7 days in the fridge. However, once assembled with fresh veg and dressing, aim to finish leftovers within 1-2 days.
Other Salad Recipes
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Greek-Inspired Lentil Salad
Ingredients
For Cooking the Lentils
- 1 cup Brown Lentils
- 3 cups Water
Dressing Ingredients
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Fresh Ingredients
- 2 cups Cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 3 Persian cucumbers (chopped)
- 1 Small red onion (finely chopped)
- ½ cup Greek feta (crumbled)
- ¼ cup Kalamata olives (pitted and chopped)
- 2 tablespoon Fresh dill (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Fresh mint (chopped)
Instructions
- Boil and Drain Lentils. Rinse and pick over 1 cup Brown Lentils, then boil in 3 cups Water until tender but not mushy, about 20-25 minutes. Drain in a fine mesh sieve, run under cold water and let the lentil drain completely.
- Make Dressing. In a large serving bowl, whisk together ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoon Lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Dried oregano, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon Black pepper until emulsified.
- Assemble. Add the cooked and drained lentils, 2 cups Cherry tomatoes (halved), 3 Persian cucumbers (chopped), 1 Small red onion (finely chopped), ½ cup Greek feta (crumbled), ¼ cup Kalamata olives (pitted and chopped), 2 tablespoon Fresh dill (chopped) and 1 tablespoon Fresh mint (chopped) to the bowl.
- Toss and Adjust the Seasoning. Toss to coat evenly, taste, and adjust with more lemon, salt, and pepper as needed. Garnish with fresh dill and serve.
Notes
- Lentils: Green or brown hold their shape best; black beluga also works. Don’t use red lentils, as they turn to mush when cooked.
- Tomatoes: Classic Greek Salad ingredient. I am using cherry tomatoes here. They are sweet and easy to work with. You can totally use larger tomatoes, but I would recommend removing some of the seed cavities before chopping them into chunks for the salad.
- Feta cheese: Greek Feta Cheese is the only way to go here! But if you want to keep this recipe vegan, use a plant-based feta substitute.
- Olives: Greek-Inspired salads call for classic Greek Kalamata olives. But this recipe will also work with green or black olives. Use what you have on hand.
- Onion: I am using a small red onion. If raw onion is too sharp for you, soak the chopped onion in cold water to mellow it out. Or use scallions or green onions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Prepared this for lunch today. Needed to substitute parsley for the mint. Otherwise followed the recipe. Topped it with leftover rotisserie chicken and it was delicious.
Glad you enjoyed it, Sandra!