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Spinach Lentil Salad with Vinaigrette Recipe (Vegetarian)

ByKelly Jensen Posted onJanuary 3, 2023April 6, 2024 Updated onApril 6, 2024

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This Spinach Lentil Salad recipe is a vibrant hearty salad, with a simple 5-minute vinaigrette dressing! Nothing like a vibrant bold salad to let that summer produce shine!

I love a hearty no-cook meal in the summer, and this salad is great to put together if you have canned or cooked lentils ready to go! This salad is loaded with fresh sweet vegetables, bright herbs, and hearty lentils. The simple vinaigrette dressing couldn’t be easier to make: just olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.

A quick, tasty, an easy summer time lunch or dinner.

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Table of Contents

This delicious spinach lentil salad is an absolute pleasure to have for lunch or dinner! I made a huge batch of it for Meal Prep Sunday and I was able to enjoy it throughout the week.

This is great to enjoy for dinner with toast or a light lunch. Browse all our delicious meal prep recipes as well. Meal prepping is a great tool for keeping food organized throughout the week.

This Spinach Lentil Salad Is

Vibrant
Bright
Earthy
Packed with plant protein
Loaded with flavor
Versatile: you can swap in any fresh ingredients that you have on hand
Vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free!

lentil spinach salad recipe with brown lentils feta cheese and an apple cider vinaigrette dressing recipe

What’s In This French Lentil Salad?

Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!

Lentils – I love using use French lentils, brown lentils, or black lentils for this salad. Don’t use red, as they fall apart when they are cooked. You can cook lentils on the stove top, but I usually use my recipe for Perfect Rice Cooker Lentils, which are ready in about 45 minutes.
Spinach – I recommend fresh spinach for this salad, as opposed to thawing frozen or using canned. Fresh leaves make this salad crunchy and delicious!
Apple Cider Vinegar: which gives this dressing a little extra tang! There are great benefits to apple cider vinegar with the mother aside from it’s fantastic flavor. I think it gives a nice extra sweetness and depth.
Really Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Feta Cheese – I used a crumbled feta for this recipe, but you can also use a block of feta cheese, mashed with a fork before adding to the salad.

Enjoy Filling Inexpensive Salads All Year

This salad is super budget friendly as well! I always stock up on lentils as they are inexpensive to keep in the pantry, and are always ready for a quick and easy meal.

And the vinaigrette couldn’t be easier or simpler to make: apple Cider Vinegar, good olive oil, salt, and pepper. You could also add some honey or maple syrup for some sweetness, but I found that this dressing actually didn’t need it at all. Keep it simple!

I made a list of my Top 125 Plant-Based Pantry Staples that always keep stocked.

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Ways to Cook Lentils

I love cooking lentils in my rice cooker, which always come out perfect. The stovetop method used to be my go-to cooking method for lentils, however I find that the rice cooker to be much easier. Just add the lentils, add the water, set it, and forget it! You can also use cooked lentils in a can or a pouch from the grocery store.

How Do I Make This Brown Lentil Salad with Spinach?

In a large bowl, add the fresh spinach, and top with cooked lentils.
To a quart sized mason jar add the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Shake well for a minute to combine dressing, and evenly pour the dressing over the salad. Top with feta cheese.
Enjoy immediately, it’s best fresh!

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Dietary Modifications

This recipe is naturally vegetarian, and dairy free.
- To make vegan, omit the feta cheese or make my vegan feta recipe!
It’s gluten free, and contains so grain or wheat.
This recipe is refined sugar free! If you’d like to add a sweetener in the dressing I’d recommend honey (because I’m a beekeeper so it’s my sweetener of choice!) or maple syrup.

More Hearty Salad Recipes You’ll Love

Vegan Chopped Chickpea Salad (Gluten Free, Vegan, Dairy Free)

Caprese Pasta Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette (Vegetarian, GF, Vegan Option)

Thai Quinoa Cabbage Salad (Vegan, Gluten Free, Summer Side Dish)

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Sweet Vinegar & Oil Coleslaw (Vegan, GF)

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If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

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Kelly Jensen

Kelly Jensen has 7 years experience as a food blogger, freelance recipe developer, content creator, beekeeper, and loves cooking everything she can from scratch.

14 Comments

Susan says:

January 6, 2023 at 3:14 pm

Love to try and eat a variety of salads. This one is yummy

Reply
Susan says:

July 31, 2020 at 7:29 am

Always love a salad and the dressing is one of my favorites

Reply

5 from 6 votes (4 ratings without comment)