Healthy Vegan Lentil Salad | Quick Easy Lunch Recipes

This salad is full of health benefits! In particular, the lentils really will keep you full and provide the protein in this dish. Actually, lentils are made of over 25% protein, which is a perfect alternative to meat or other animal proteins! You’ve got 18 grams of protein per cooked cup! In this recipe, we’ll be using 1/4 cup of dry lentils, which will yield about 3/4 cup cooked.

Lentils are rich in iron and folate. This contributes to lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of heart disease, as levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol have been shown to be increased while LDL cholesterol or “bad” cholesterol were reduced.

They also contain polyphenols, which have anti-inflammatory effects and may prevent cancerous cells to grow in the body.

Finally, lentils have lots of fiber! I don’t think I need to share the benefits of fiber for regular bowel movements and healthy gut bacteria. We sometimes take our digestion for granted, but let’s be mindful of that important part of our lives!

Source: Healthline.

In the meantime, let’s forget the toilet talk and go back to discussing this delicious salad!

Many types of lentils exist and each can be enjoyed in various forms. I bet most of you have tried at least half of them. Here are just a few types of lentils:

• Black lentils (or urad dal)
• Red lentils
• Brown lentils (masoor dal)
• Small split peas or yellow lentils (chana dal)
• Pigeon peas (toor dal)
• White lentils - split and skinless black lentils
• Whole mung beans
• Green lentils - Grown in North America
• French Puy lentils - Green lentils grown in France

I would recommend you substitute green lentils with brown lentils or the Puy lentils if you can find them. I would not recommend red lentils or yellow lentils because these lentils tend to break down while cooking. On the other hand, if you would like to use red and yellow lentils, be sure to check out my North Indian Chana Dal recipe!

However, a fun experiment would be to try whole mung bean in this salad! These could add a nice texture to your salad! Potential recipe idea, anyone?

I’ve soaked my lentils as well as not have soaked them! You can do either or. Unlike beans, however, lentils don’t need to be soaked before cooking them. You’ll shorten the cooking time, but it won’t make a huge difference.

I recommend using an Instant Pot to cook your lentils. This has helped me out so much, and they always turn out great! The lentils will cook in 8 minutes. You can find my guide to cooking the perfect beans and lentils in the Instant Pot by clicking here!

Getting the cook timing for your lentils can be a bit tricky! Here is a side by side comparison of perfectly cooked lentils versus over cooked lentils. I’ll be humble here and show you that I make mistakes too! That’s okay, because I have something to show you lovely people and help you learn! I’m more than happy to do that because that’s what this platform is all about:)

You sure can! This nutritious salad with lentils is perfect for meal prepping! To store, add the prepared salad into containers. I would recommend keeping it in the fridge for up to one week.