Lentil Quinoa Salad

This Spinach Lentil Quinoa Salad recipe is a delicious mix of spinach, quinoa, lentils, cucumber, tomato, onion, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, Feta and Parmesan cheese all tossed in a tasty Apple Cider Vinaigrette.  

I love everything about this Lentil Quinoa Salad recipe. It’s delicious, healthy and super easy to make. It’s perfect to pack for lunch, or serve as a side with grilled chicken and fish.

If you’re looking for an easy salad to toss together, this one checks all the boxes. To make this salad, I start off by cooking the quinoa, then while the quinoa is cooking, I’ll whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Then all that’s left to do is slice and chop a few vegetables and toss it all together.

Lentil Quinoa Salad Recipe

This Spinach Lentil Quinoa Salad recipe is a tasty mix of ingredients all tossed in an amazing vinaigrette.

• Dried lentils.  You can use. lentils cooked from scratch for this recipe or use 1 14-ounce canned lentils. 
• Quinoa. We use white quinoa for this recipe.
• Spinach. We use baby spinach for this recipe, but you can use baby arugula or a 50/50 mix of spinach and arugula.
• Cucumber.  Crispy cucumber add a lot of crunch to this salad. We use English cucumber for this recipe. English cucumbers don’t need to be peeled or have their seeds removed. You still will want to rinse the cucumber under water after you remove the plastic though. If you use a garden cucumber, you’ll want to peel it and remove the seeds using a spoon before slicing it. English cucumber have thinner skins and fewer seeds and taste less bitter.
• Cherry tomatoes.   We use cherry tomatoes for this salad because we like the flavor and texture of them, but you could also use chopped Roma or any other garden variety of tomato you like.
• Red onion.  We add thinly sliced red onion to the mix. You can soak the slices in a small bowl of water while you finish preparing this salad to mellow the flavor. 
• Marinated artichoke hearts. Marinated artichoke hearts add a lot of flavor to this salad. Either toss them in whole or chopped. 
• Kalamata olives. We add Kalamata olives to this salad, but you can toss in green Castelvetrano olives if you prefer. Just make sure the olives are pitted.
• Cheese. We toss this salad with both Feta and Parmesan cheese.
• Vinaigrette. This salad is tossed with a delicious Apple Cider Vinaigrette.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

• Add chopped zucchini and yellow squash.
• Toss in some pepperoncini.
• Add lots of fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons.
• Sprinkle in a little dried basil and oregano.
• Use a different vinaigrette  like this Italian Dressing, Greek Dressing,  Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette, Lemon Olive Oil Dressing or Parmesan Vinaigrette.

How To Make Spinach Quinoa Lentil Salad

1. Whisk Dressing. We use this Apple Cider Vinaigrette for this salad. You can whisk everything together in a bowl or add all the ingredients in a mason jar, seal the lid and give it a good shake to blend ingredients.
2. Cook Quinoa. This is my go-to recipe for how to cook quinoa. I always use 1 cup dried quinoa (rinsed) to 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then put lid on pot and reduce heat to low simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes then remove from heat. Set aside for 20 minutes for all of the liquid to evaporate before fluffing quinoa. This waiting for 15-20 minutes after cooking quinoa will give you light fluffy quinoa.
3. Lentils.  You can use either homemade cooked lentils or 1 14-ounce canned lentils for this recipe. 
4. Prep Ingredients. Cut the olives in half, slice cucumber and the onions. If you want to mellow the onion flavor, just soak the sliced onions in a small bowl filled with water for about 20 minutes before tossing them in the salad. Pat them dry before adding them to the salad. Refrigerate the salad for about 30 minutes so the ingredients are nice and chilled before tossing with the dressing. 
5. Toss Ingredients. Add the spinach, cooked quinoa, lentils,  kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, Feta and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. 
6. Dress Salad . Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to lightly coat the ingredients. 
7. Seasoning.  Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This dressing comes together in a pinch. Just add the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid tightly, and give it a good shake. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. You can also add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together. If properly stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, this dressing will last up to 5 days. 

• Apple Cider Vinegar. I use Bragg organic apple cider vinegar  with mother.  
• Dijon Mustard. I like to use Maille Dijon Originale mustard which adds great flavor to this dressing.
• Lemon Juice. I use fresh squeezed lemon juice  – not the bottled kind (Meyer lemons work great too).
• Herbs. We use dried oregano for this dressing, but you can also use a a combo of dried oregano and basil (1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried basil).
• Garlic.  Two cloves of garlic is smashed, finely minced and tossed into the mix.  Not a fan of garlic? Cut back and use just 1 clove or omit it altogether. You can also whisk in 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried garlic if you don’t have fresh garlic on hand.
• Extra-virgin Olive Oil.  You can also use avocado oil for this dressing.

Can I Make This Salad Ahead Of Time?

This is a great salad to make ahead of time. To do so, prep the ingredients and whisk together the ingredients for the vinaigrette, then store the dressing and the salad separately in air-tight containers until you’re ready to toss and serve.

Storing Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored this salad will last only a day or two because the spinach will wilt.  If you store the spinach separately and if the salad hasn’t been tossed with dressing, it can last 3-4 days. 

Looking For More Salad Recipes?

• Watermelon Arugula Quinoa Salad
• Greek Quinoa Salad
• White Bean Quinoa Salad
• Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Salad
• Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
• Southwest Quinoa Salad
• Beet Kale Quinoa Salad
• Mango Arugula Quinoa Salad
• Spinach Quinoa Salad

Still want more salad ideas? Check out all of our salad recipes.

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Yield: 6 servings

Lentil Quinoa Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

This Lentil Quinoa Salad recipe is a delicious mix of quinoa, lentils, spinach, cucumber, tomato, onion, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, Feta and Parmesan cheese all tossed in a tasty Apple Cider Vinaigrette.   

Ingredients

• 1 14-ounce can cooked lentils
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 cup English cucumber, sliced
• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
• 1 cup kalamata olives
• 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts
• 1/4 cup crumbled Feta
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
• Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar with mother
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
2. Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for about 15 - 18 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and let set in the pan for about 15-20 minutes then fluff with a fork or spoon.
5. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl covered with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to cool.
6. Add 1-1/2 cup of the cooked quinoa, the lentils, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts to a large bowl.
7. Drizzle the vinaigrette around the salad ingredients and lightly toss . Add the Feta cheese and toss again.
8. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top of the salad.

For the Vinaigrette

1. Add all of the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid tightly and give a good shake.  Or simply whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
3. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, it should last up to 5 days.

Notes

Variations

• Add chopped zucchini and yellow squash.
• Toss in pepperoncini.
• Add lots of fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons.
• Sprinkle in a little dried basil and oregano.
• Add more Feta and/or Parmesan cheese
• Use a different vinaigrette  like this Italian Dressing, Greek Dressing,  Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette, Lemon Olive Oil Dressing or Parmesan Vinaigrette.

Tips

To mellow the flavor of onions, just soak sliced onions in a small bowl filled with water for about 10-15 minutes before tossing them in the salad. Pat dry before adding them to the salad.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 468Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 856mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 10gSugar: 3gProtein: 14g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.