Stonefruit & Lentil Salad With Creamy Mustard Vinaigrette

Makes 6 servings
Total time: 20 minutes || Active time: 20 minutes (not including time to cook lentils)

I love summer food, and it doesn’t get much more summery than a fresh stonefruit lentil salad. Nectarines, apricots, peaches, you name it, but enjoying a seasonal bowl shouldn’t mean you are left staring blankly into the pantry ten minutes later. Enter the lentil.

This salad, studded with the little legume, makes the most of the season. It’s hearty and light at the same time. Sweet and savory, whimsical, yet down to earth. It’s full of contradiction. It’s the Zooey Deschanel of salad.

I love to toss together field greens, with their pretty colors and velvety textures, and romaine, for the crunch. The fruit adds sweetness (obviously), but texture, too. Choose fruit that is a little bit more firm than you’d like to eat as is, that way it holds its sweet form once you mix it with the dressing. And the lentils make the salad substantial without making it boring.

The quick pickled red onions are barely a step: toss them in a little vinegar and sugar right before you prep everything else. They add a sweet-tart sharpness the salad misses without them, so while they’re technically optional, I’d make them. You also, now, make pickles. “Hey, I make pickles” is a better cocktail party line than most people are working with.

This lentil salad is a versatile recipe. It works as a quick side dish or the protein in your weekly meal prep. Serve it alongside a pasta salad for your next party. Serve it at the cookout right next to veggie burgers and hot dogs and vegan egg salad. Serve it at a dinner party with a fancy pasta.

Ok, now go forth and salad.

How to Cook Lentils For Salad (So They Aren’t Mushy)

How to Cook Lentils for Salad (So They Aren’t Mushy)

To get your lentils Goldilocks perfect, not too soft and not too hard, follow a rough sequence rather than a stopwatch:

• Submerge the dry lentils in a large pot of slightly salted water by about 3 inches.
• Toss in a bay leaf if you want extra flavor, then cover the pot and bring the water to a boil.
• Lower the heat to a steady simmer and cook with the lid slightly ajar so the steam escapes.
• Check the tenderness after 20 minutes or so. Total cook time runs anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes depending on how long the lentils have been sitting in your pantry (or at the store), so keep testing and don’t trust a strict timeline.
• Drain completely in a colander with holes small enough that the legumes do not make an escape attempt into the sink.
• Spread them out to cool, or pop the colander into the freezer for 15 minutes or so to speed-chill, stirring every few minutes.

More Lentil Salad Tips

Choose the right legume: Stick to French green lentils or beluga lentils, since they hold their shape under pressure. Brown lentils work if you watch the clock, but do not mess with red lentils unless you want an accidental mush salad.

Store-bought shortcuts: To skip cooking dry lentils entirely, grab a can or box of pre-cooked lentils. Rinse them well to get rid of the canning liquid before assembling, and keep in mind they come out a little softer than lentils you cooked yourself.

Mix up the fruit: Use any fresh stonefruit, or whatever looks good at the market. Combine plums, peaches, and apricots, or toss in some pitted sweet cherries.

Mix up the bean: Black beans or black-eyed peas are great in this one too. Any hearty bean works here.

Lentil Salad FAQs

Can I use brown lentils instead of French ones? Yup yup yup. Brown or regular green lentils work fine as a backup. The one no-no is red lentils, unless mush is the goal.

Do I really need to make the pickled red onions? Technically optional, but I urge you to make them. They take one minute: a quick toss with a little vinegar and sugar right before you prep the greens, and they give the whole salad more flavor.

Is it safe to cook the lentils ahead of time? Hells yeah. Boil, drain, and cool the legumes a few days ahead so dinner takes five minutes flat. Just make sure they’re cooled completely before you seal them in an airtight container.

How did I end up here? Probably searching for summer salads, vegan salad recipes, or how to make lentil salad. Your search is over. This is the recipe you need.

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Stonefruit And Lentil Salad With Creamy Mustard Vinaigrette

Isa Chandra

This hearty lentil salad pairs earthy French green legumes with crisp romaine and fresh summer stonefruit. Everything gets tossed in a quick, creamy mustard vinaigrette and topped with easy homemade pickled red onions for a vibrant, flavorful summer salad.

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Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salad

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

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For the Pickled Red Onions:

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 pc small red onion sliced into thin half moons

For the Creamy Mustard Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup vegan mayo storebought or homemade
• 2 tablespoons chopped shallot or onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• Big pinch salt

For the Lentil Salad:

• 4 oz mixed baby greens
• 1 heart romaine chopped
• 1 lb stone fruit (I used nectarines) diced small
• 2 cups cooked lentils (see cooking notes above)

Instructions

 

• Make the quick pickled onions: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar and salt. Add the onions and splash them around. Let them soak while you prepare everything else, giving a stir every now and again. You can also prepare these a few hours, or even a few days ahead, for a more pickly pickled onion.
• To make the dressing, wizz everything together in a small blender. Taste for salt and seasoning.
• In a large mixing bowl, toss together the greens, fruit and lentils. Top with pickled onions and drizzle with dressing. Serve!

Keyword lentil salad, lentils in a salad, stonefruit lentil salad, summer salad, vegan salad recipes

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