Healthy Spanish Lentil Salad Recipe

We are glad that the Southern region of Spain is filled with simple lentil recipes, but some of them are meant to be made during the winter.

However, there is one that’s perfect for summer or at any time of the year, and that is the Spanish lentil salad.

Not only it is one of the best lentil recipes, but it’s also super easy to make, and if you keep reading this article then you will learn everything you need to know about this easy Spanish salad.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy via them, I’ll earn a small commission which helps me to keep this blog running. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are my own.

Background of the Dish

There isn’t an exact date or location of the creation of the Spanish lentil salad, but there are records that prove that it’s been between us for hundreds of years.

This salad is usually made during the warmer seasons of the year since it has an amazing freshness to it.

This salad stands out from other summer salads of the region like the Ensalada de mango or the Spanish mixed green salad because the lentils give a lot of nutrients besides the wonderful taste.

Pin for later!

Things You’ll Need for Spanish Lentil Salad

To make this Spanish lentil salad you will need: lentils, red onion, bell peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, and olive oil and vinegar for the dressing.

Feel free to try and make other Spanish salad recipes such as the Spanish tuna salad and the Spanish potato salad.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (500gr) cooked lentils
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped Fresh parsley (optional)
• Olive oil and vinegar for the dressing (to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Spanish Lentil Salad- Step by Step Guide

1. Making this lentil salad recipe will be much easier if you use cooked lentils. If you don’t have them, just use the regular ones and start making their cooking process the night before.

2. Now you have to wash and cut all of the vegetables into small pieces. Some people choose to grate the carrot, but small squares work better (you can boil them if you don’t like the crunchy texture).

3. After that, wash the cooked lentils with plenty of water, and then drain them.

4. Grab a large bowl and pour all of the ingredients. Start by seasoning the Spanish lentil salad with salt and pepper (to taste) so it adheres to each ingredient.

5. Then put the rest of the dressing, which is the oil and vinegar. You can add the amount you want, but keep in mind that the classic measure is 4 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

6. For the final step, you can serve the salad right away or leave it in the fridge to chill for an hour before serving. As an optional step, pour some chopped fresh parsley on top of the Spanish salad.

Substitution of Ingredients

We love how simple this Spanish lentil salad is, and you should have all of the ingredients by hand or be able to find them at any local store.

However, if you don’t have or don’t like one of them, then you should take inspiration from other lentil salad recipes for the replacements.

Add some feta cheese or any other type of cheese to your Spanish lentil salad if you like, since cheese goes very well with the freshness of the vegetables.

For example, some healthy lentil recipes only use a simple lemon dressing: it isn’t as tasty as the one from this recipe (which is pretty healthy too), but you can make that change.

You can also follow other Mediterranean salads and add more ingredients like cubed feta cheese, some lettuce leaves, and vinaigrette as the dressing.

Similar to other recipes using lentils, we recommend that you use cooked lentils (they can be canned) because it makes everything faster, but you can use any type of your choice.

Lastly, you can make a mix between this recipe and the Spanish bean salad, and use any type of bean that you have on hand.

Tips on Serving Spanish Lentil Salad

The main reason why the Spanish lentil salad stands out from other easy lentil recipes is that you can serve it right away: no heating process involved.

Most of the lentil recipes are for stews and soups, which are served as main dishes, but this one is usually served as a side dish.

You can turn this Spanish lentil salad into a main dish, just make sure to serve a larger amount.

Besides that, you can have this salad for lunch or dinner, and if it is summer then let it cool for an hour in the fridge, so it is at the perfect temperature.

Get a hold of our easy-to-make Spanish potato salad with beets, a nutritious and healthy salad you need to try.

How to Store Spanish Lentil Salad

The Spanish lentil salad has the downside that, like other Spanish salads, it can’t be stored for too long.

After adding the dressing, you can store this salad just for a couple of hours in the fridge. If you don’t add the dressing, then it can last one day in the fridge.

You can’t freeze the Spanish lentil salad because it loses all of its freshness.

Some recipes with lentils that can be stored for longer are the Spanish lentil stew or the soups that are made with lentils.

Recipe Card: Spanish Lentil Salad

---

---