My dream vacation is to go to Santorini, Greece. Just seeing the crystal blue waters and white-domed buildings make my heart go pitter patter.
I know that one day I will make it there to that little island off the coast of Greece and be able to experience it for myself. However, today is not that day.
So instead of focusing on where I can’t go, I’m going to bring Greece to America! I love Greek food. Give me all the gyros with tzatziki sauce I can stand (but they can keep the octopus…no thanks! lol)
After I found a bag of lentils in the back of the pantry, I was determined to put them to use…with a Greek twist! I took boring lentils, cooked them, added some traditional Greek flavors of olive oil, lemon, garlic, and oregano, and we have a winner on our hands!
This is a super cheap salad to make and is a great, budget-friendly meal. It’s cheap to put together and is packed with flavor.
How Can I Make this Recipe into a Complete Meal?
To make this a one pot meal, you’ll just add diced rotisserie chicken or chickpeas to amp up the protein.
How Can I Meal Prep This Salad?
This is a great salad to take with you to work or pack in a lunch! Simply take a mason jar and put the dressing in the bottom. Load the lentil mixture on top and screw on the lid. When you’re ready to eat, simply shake the jar to evenly distribute the salad dressing.
Greek Lentil Salad
Ingredients
- Lemon Garlic Dressing
- 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- Salad
- 1 cup dry brown lentils
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1 pint grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 1/4 small red onion
- 1/2 cucumber petite diced
- 2 oz feta crumbled
Instructions
- Cook the lentils according to the package directions. For most brown lentils, bring 3 cups of water to boil in a pot, add the lentils, then continue to boil for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Drain the lentils in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water until they are cooled.
- While the lentils are cooking, prepare the lemon garlic dressing. Use a microplane, zester, or small-holed cheese grater to remove about 1 Tbsp of the lemon's zest (the thin, yellow, outer layer of the peel). Set the zest aside. Juice the lemon and measure 1/4 cup of the juice to use for the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
- When the lentils are cooked, cooled, and well drained, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the chopped parsley, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, crumbled feta, lemon zest, and the prepared dressing. Stir to combine the ingredients and coat everything in dressing.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. Always stir the salad just before serving to redistribute the dressing and flavors.
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