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Last updated on May 27th, 2020 at 09:22 am
This healthy lentil recipe beats every dream of lentils I ever had – it’s healthy, high-fiber, satisfying, easy and soooo unbelievably perfect! I call it a lentil salad dip, but if you’ve got a better name for this delicious creation – let me know please!
Okay, okay okay. So it’s 726 degrees out there. And by out there I don’t mean hell. I mean outside. Nature, outside, not computer…out.
And the last thing you probably want to deal with is a giant pot of steaming hot lentils, right?
Tell me about it.
Remember last week when I was talking about leftovers and everyone thought “WTF is happening here”?
Well, I had just cooked that giant pot of lentils and wanted to feed it to the seagulls because I realized “Ummm. It’s too hot for that ish. I can’t eat it two days in a row.” I don’t even know what ish means, I see Beyoncé uses it. Issues?
Btw. Last week a HUGE freakin seagull attacked me, grabbed the pizza I was holding out of my hand, scratched my finger and flew away, before I could even protect myself or spit on him. I just hope I won’t get any flesh eating infection like this guy, for now I’m fine. And I thought pizza rat was something special. If I wasn’t scared like a rabbit, I’d probably think it was funny.
At least everyone else thought so.
Those seagulls are criminals.
Anyway, writing that ****genius**** leftover post inspired me to do something with my leftovers.
And boy, I’ve never been glad-der in my life.
I was imagining a dip or a salad or a hummus – anything that I didn’t need to eat warm.
I did a quick google search for lentil dip and they all looked good, but I saw one picture that made the saliva stream into my mouth and then…naturally out of it. (you can see the picture and recipe here)
Some sparks flew everywhere and it was done.
I didn’t read the recipe, I’m sure it’s something completely different and super delicious.
But that picture…I just couldn’t get it out of my head for hours.
I fell in love, people.
So I made this healthy lentil salad dip that same day using the leftover lentils I initially wanted to throw out.
I did cook the lentils once again with some fresh tomatoes and basil, I let them cool off a bit and then added the fresh stuff – herbs, vegetables and feta cheese. This was soooo good. I toasted a few slices of bread – even though I didn’t need to, and ate it for two days.
So meal prep?
Yes, it can.
But you might want to put a little more lentils. I wouldn’t double the recipe necessarily, but just add some more of everything – this ain’t baking, you know? You don’t need to use EXACT measurements.
And I wouldn’t keep this healthy lentil salad dip longer than 3 days in the fridge.
Work with what you’ve got
You also don’t need to use the lentil recipe I had prepared, cook your lentils with some salt, add some spice if you want and then cook with the tomatoes for a few minutes.
This recipe is perfect to use leftover lentils – you will so much appreciate this. If you’d like you can use my spicy turmeric lentils recipe – it’s super tasty and would do good here.
Health and Beauty Benefits
So this lentil salad dip was so tasty, I wouldn’t even care if it wasn’t healthy. But, um..it is. And it makes me feel even better about it.
Here are the main characters:
- Lentils (obviously) – high-fiber, good source of protein, good for weight loss (eat 3-4 times a week) andreduce inflammatory markers
- Tomatoes – rich in lycopene – an antioxidant shown to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer (tomatoes are one of the 8 foods you need to eat for healthy skin!)
- Parsley – good source of vitamin C + caratenoids (powerful antioxidant combo) and protein (it’s one of them high-protein, low-carb vegan foods I talked about here)
- Green bell peppers – super rich in vitamin C, which an antioxidant and is also important for fat oxidation and production of collagen (bell peppers are one of the 8 foods you need to eat for healthy skin!)
Yield: 3
Mind-blowing Lentil Salad Dip Recipe
Lentil salad dip - a delicious lentil recipe that isn't soup! This healthy snack recipe is satisfying, high-fiber, gluten-free and vegetarian!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
To cook the lentils:
- 2/3 cup cooked lentils
- 2/3 cup fresh ripe tomatoes
- handful basil leaves
- 2 small scallions (optional)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
After cooking
- bunch parsley
- squeeze of lemon
- 2 Tbsp chopped bell pepper (green or red)
- 8 olives, pitted
- 2 Tbsp feta
- black pepper
- toasted bread (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pan cook let the fresh, chopped tomatoes cook with olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add your cooked lentils and combine for 2 minutes. If using: add the scallions. At the end add basil mince garlic. Turn off heat and let cool while you're preparing the rest of the ingredients.
- Wash the vegetables, then thinly chop parsley, bell pepper and olives. Place in a mixing bowl.
- Add crumbled feta and the cooled off lentils you just cooked, squeeze some fresh lemon (about 1/2) - combine everything and add some black pepper to taste.
- Enjoy like this, with some salad like this one, as a lettuce wrap for a lighter version or live only once and serve on toasted bread.
Notes
If olives are way too salty - let sit in water to reduce salt content!
This healthy lentil recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian, and can be made vegan by not adding the feta cheese.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 166Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 177mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 6gSugar: 3gProtein: 7g
I hope you enjoy this tasty and healthy lentil recipe, please let me know how it goes or if you have any questions! If you do enjoy it, make sure to share this post with a friend and subscribe below for more healthy recipes and some health + fitness updates and tips!
