Scroll down to watch the step-by-step video.
Have you ever had one of those days when you are suppose to bring a side dish to a friends house, so you look for the perfect recipe, write down all the ingredients, but then the day gets crazy and you never get to the store?
Yes? Well thats what happened to me a few weeks back and this salad was the result of using what I had on hand (and let me tell you, this was a very happy accident because I am now obsessed with this simple salad.).
The only step that takes a bit of time is cooking the lentils if you don’t already have them made. Which is simple enough; 1 cup lentil + 2 cups water, bring to a boil and then simmer until the liquid has been absorbed (takes about 20-25 minutes).
The grapes add a super fresh, juicy texture while the avocados bring their creamy, rich goodness. I found the avocados coated the lentils a bit once I mixed it together so there was no need for any added oil but if you’re avocado isn’t super ripe or if you just want to add extra richness, a glug of a high quality extra virgin olive oil would be just lovely.
This salad makes a great side dish but can also hold up on it’s own as a light summer meal. Oh, and by the way, lentils are packed with protein so this my be a good addition to your meatless Monday menu.
This recipe, along with my Colorful Corn + Black Bean Salad and Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad, is featured in my ‘Simple Summer Salads’ video. If you want to jump right to the step-by-step guide for this recipe it starts at 4:10.
Green Lentil Salad with Grapes, Spinach + Mint
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:0 minutes
Total Time:20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2.5 cups cooked green lentils
- 1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped scallion
- 1 cup grapes, halved
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped mint
- 3 tbsp. pistachios, chopped (I like the roasted and salted)
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Adjust seasonings. Serve and enjoy!
I love this salad! It’s great just as it is for a light lunch but I also used it the next day by using some shredded chicken and a half slice of cheese on a whole wheat wrapped, topped the the lentil salad, delicious! Thanks for sharing Dani. 🙂
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kandi 🙂
My husband made this. I did not think I would like it….but wow!! The flavors were amazing. I loved the mint and how the grapes brighten up the meal. Another winner Dani!!
Yay!! I’m so happy that you loved it! And I totally agree that the grapes brighten it up 😉
Deelish! I added about a cup each of fresh corn kernels off the cobb, chopped hothouse cucumber, asparagus and celery (mixed with a bit of fennel, just because I had it). I doubled the lemon juice (due to having more volume in the salad bowl), and I sort of marinated the avocado and mint leaves in the lemon juice before adding to the rest of the items, which i’m hoping will help deter the avocado from browning. I decided to swap in some cut/pitted fresh cherries for the grapes, just to bring in a different color (probably should have just used red grapes!), and I’m bringing this to a party tomorrow so I’m going to hold off on adding the cherries until it’s time to serve, just in case the cherry juice bleeds all over and makes the salad look messy. I sampled the salad now, and it’s delicious. Thanks for sharing!
YUM! I love reading all of the tweaks you made… sounds SO good.