Mixed bean and lentil salad

This Mixed Bean and Lentil Salad Recipe

Bean and lentil salad recipes are so versatile!

With a light, delicious dressing (like this one!) to pull together all the flavors, you can use pretty much whatever veggies and beans you happen to have on hand.

You can make the whole salad out of just vegetables if you are eating it as a side dish alongside a protein-source. If this bean and lentil salad is your main course, it’s great to have some legumes in the salad for protein.

We love to use canned lentils and beans for added convenience, but you can  absolutely use precooked beans or lentils.

If you use canned legumes (we often do, for convenience), make sure to rinse them well to remove any added salt. We also recommend that you buy low sodium canned beans.

Bean and lentil salad is great eaten over a green leafy salad. It’s also yummy scooped up with crackers or a spoon. Some people love it stuffed into a pita or a tortilla. Our favorite is to eat it in lettuce cups. The choice is really up to you!

This Dressing

Many bean salads, especially the American-favorite three-bean salad, use chili powder and cumin in the dressing. While that makes for a great Southwest flavor, sometimes I just don’t want that kind of heavy flavor.

The dressing on this bean and lentil salad is super light and zesty, with the use of vinegar, garlic, and lime juice. It’s also full of good-for-you ingredients. Two of these ingredients are olive oil and apple cider vinegar (in addition to all those beans and vegetables, of course).

Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of dressing if you prefer more or less dressing on your bean salads.

Is Olive Oil good for you?

Even though ten years ago fat had a bad rap, research has pretty much dispelled this myth. The right kind of fat is incredibly healthy for you!

We love this article that goes into many of the benefits of the types of unsaturated fats found in olive oil. One reason that the Mediterranean Diet has been called the Healthiest Diet (for three years in a row!) is because of the focus on olive oil.

Extensive research has shown that an olive oil-rich Mediterranean Diet can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease (as much as 30 percent!)

Is apple cider vinegar good for you?

Vinegar would be a good addition to many diets.

It brings tons of flavor to foods without many calories or added salt. It is made by fermenting sugar from apples, which turns into acetic acid. This acetic acid is one of the main active ingredients in vinegar, and what makes it taste sour. This is also probably what provides the benefits.

While more research is needed, some of the possible health benefits include: killing harmful bacteria, providing antioxidants, and managing sugar levels and diabetes.

Try some more!

Do you love salads? Check out our Soups and Salads page for more delicious recipes.

For really easy meals, try our Mediterranean Diet Meal Plans! Complete with an organized calendar of recipes & grocery lists, our meal plans put great nutrition on auto-pilot. 

Mixed bean and lentil salad

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Category

Main Course

Servings

4 to 6 servings

Prep Time

15 minutes

Bean and lentil salad recipes are so versatile! With a light, delicious dressing (like this one!) to pull together all the flavors, you can use pretty much whatever veggies and beans you happen to have on hand. You can make the whole salad out of just vegetables if you are eating it as a side dish alongside a protein-source. 

We love to use canned lentils and beans for added convenience, but you absolutely use precooked beans or lentils. If you use canned legumes, make sure to rinse them well to remove any added salt. We also recommend that you buy low sodium canned beans. Bean and lentil salad is great eaten over a green leafy salad. It’s also yummy scooped up with crackers or a spoon. Some people love it stuffed into a pita or a tortilla. Our favorite is to eat it in lettuce cups. The choice is really up to you!

Author: Ashley Keating

Ingredients

• For the salad:

• One 16-ounce can of reduced-sodium beans
• One 16-ounce can of reduced-sodium lentils
• 3 cups of sliced veggies: here we used peas, zucchini, and tomatoes (other great choices include: carrots, corn, and bell peppers)

• For the dressing:

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ tsp lime zest (from one lime)
• 2 TBS lime juice (from one lime)
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp salt (optional)

Directions

1. To make the salad: Chop everything that needs to be chopped to roughly the same size.

   Gently stir together all of your beans and vegetables in a medium-sized bowl. (If you are using tomatoes, cucumbers, or avocado and you plan to eat the salad over the course of a few days, I recommend adding these when you are ready to eat. Otherwise, they can get soggy.)

2. To make the dressing: Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl and stir very well to combine.

3. Add the dressing to the salad, mix gently, and serve!

   This keeps well for a few days and seems to get even better as it sits in the fridge.