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Lentil and feta herb salad with cucumber, tomatoes, parsley and mint in a ceramic bowl
Emily Carter

High Protein Lentil and Feta Herb Salad

5 from 2 votes
A vegetarian lentil and feta salad with 34g of protein and 19g of fiber per serving. Lentils dressed while warm, with herbs, lemon and cumin.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Servings: 2
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 564
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Salad
  • 400 g 2 cups cooked green or beluga lentils
  • 120 g ¾ cup feta, crumbled
  • 100 g scant ½ cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
  • 100 g ¾ cup cucumber, diced
  • 100 g ⅔ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 60 g ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
  • 40 g ⅔ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 20 g ⅓ cup mint, chopped
Dressing
  • 20 g 1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 30 g 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3 g 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Method
 

Dress the lentils
  1. Cook the lentils until just tender and still holding their shape, then drain them.
  2. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and ground cumin together and pour it over the lentils while they are still hot.
  3. Leave the lentils to cool to room temperature in the dressing, about 15 minutes.
Finish the salad
  1. Dice the cucumber, halve the tomatoes, slice the red onion thinly and chop the parsley and mint.
  2. Fold the vegetables and herbs through the cooled lentils.
  3. Add the crumbled feta and Greek yogurt last, folding two or three times only so streaks of yogurt and pieces of feta remain. Taste before adding any salt.

Notes

  • Use French green or black beluga lentils. Brown and red lentils break down and turn the salad to mush.
  • Dressing the lentils while hot is what gets flavor inside them rather than on them.
  • Canned lentils work and cut the time to about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse well.
  • The feta supplies 94% of the sodium. Reducing it to 80 g takes about 223 mg off each serving.