Sprouted Lentil Salad {with Lemon Dressing & Feta

This healthy sprouted lentil salad is a flavor-packed side dish for any meal. Lentils are the most nutritious when sprouted, and the lemony garlic dressing with feta keeps you coming back for more!

This Lentil Salad Recipe is a Keeper

When I first got married, I tried a lot of new things in order to develop my individuality as a homemaker. I planned my meals each week to save money, and tried several new recipes every week. One of the recipes I tried during my first couple months as a homemaker has been a favorite in our household ever since: Lentil salad!

Since then, I have adapted it to be more nutrient dense and digestible by sprouting the lentils and tweaking some ingredients, making it a healthful candidate for regular summer meal plan appearances.

It’s perfect for lunches, dinners, and potlucks. It’s also a great recipe to make in large batches and eat all week; the flavors improve over time as it marinates in the fridge.

In this post, I’ll be sharing my recipe with you, plus how and why to sprout lentils!

How & Why to Properly Prepare Lentils

Grains, seeds, and legumes all contain phytochemicals called antinutrients. Put simply, antinutrients are plant compounds that reduce your body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients, like minerals (as is the case with phytates, which are present in the aforementioned foods).

These compounds serve to protect the plant, discouraging the consumption of its seeds by producing undesirable outcomes in its predators (that’s us) including digestive discomfort and possible long term nutrient deficiencies, if we tend to eat a lot of these foods.

Thankfully, wise traditions have been handed down from our earliest ancestors to remedy this problem and render grains, seeds, and legumes digestible and nourishing.

These traditions include soaking, sprouting, and/or fermenting (collectively known today as “proper preparation”). While our ancestors may not have been aware of the exact chemical mechanism behind their traditions, they knew that preparing their foods properly brought health and vitality to their families.

Now, we know that these practices serve to activate an enzyme called phytase, which neutralizes the harmful phytates. 

I have tried both soaking and sprouting lentils. With soaking, you are effectively neutralizing the phytates and thus making the vitamins and minerals more available to your body. It’s a very simple and easy practice.

Are sprouted lentils healthy?

Yes! If you take a little extra time to sprout your lentils (most of it is a hands-off process), you will actually be changing the composition of the lentil by starting the germination process.

In addition to the aforementioned soaking benefits, when you sprout your lentils, some more of the indigestible starches (the kind that earn legumes their infamy, if you know what I mean) are broken down, and certain vitamins and minerals are made more abundant (B vitamins, C, and carotene, to name a few).

You’ll be optimizing an already budget-friendly meal by increasing its nutrient value! I have come to call this “nutritional bang for your buck” (which is an important theme in my ebook, Creating A Nutrient Dense Kitchen Within Your Resources).

How to Sprout Lentils (step by step)

First, sort your lentils (I use a one pound bag for this recipe). One of the first times I made this salad as a newlywed, I accidentally served my husband a little pebble among his lentils. How embarrassing!

Despite their high mineral content, pebbles in your dinner are not beneficial to dental health. Thus, it is better to find the pebbles in the sorting process than in the eating process. I digress. 

You can sort your lentils efficiently by making a pile of them on a cutting board at your table, spreading it thin with your hand so that they are in a single layer, inspecting them, and then sweeping them off the cutting board into a large bowl on your lap. Repeat that process until you are sure that none of your lentils are actually pebbles (or anything else).

Now, it’s time to soak your lentils. They should already be in a large bowl; just cover them up with a generous amount of water (filtered if your municipal water has chemicals in it, which may hinder sprouting). The lentils will soak up a great deal of water, at least doubling in size. Let them soak overnight, 6-10 hours.

Now that they’re soaked, drain the soaking water off and give your lentils a good rinse. Leave them in the bowl, covered with a breathable cloth. 

Every 8 hours or so, check on your lentils and give them a rinse. In around 24 hours, you should see little sprouts popping out!

Once most of your lentils have cute little tails, it’s time to make sprouted lentil salad!

How to Make Sprouted Lentil Salad

I like to make the dressing first, so that the flavors meld together as I prep my other ingredients. Gather all the dressing ingredients first.

Combine the zest and juice of 2 large lemons (preferably organic since you are consuming the zest), ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil (the best quality you can get), 4 cloves of minced garlic, a tablespoon of dried oregano, and a teaspoon each of sea salt and pepper.

Now, let’s cook those sprouted lentils! Put them in a pot with enough water to cover, bring them to a boil, add a generous bit of salt (2 teaspoons at least) and then simmer them until tender (but not mushy). They usually cook in about 20-25 minutes.

Keep the bowl you sprouted them in on hand; you’ll need it soon. Drain the cooked lentils and let them cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Now, prepare the rest of your ingredients and combine them in your lentil bowl. Tear the leaves off the parsley, slice grape tomatoes, dice red onion, and crumble or cube feta cheese.

Now, add your cooked/cooled lentils and your dressing to the bowl and pour the dressing on top.

Mix up your salad and let it marinate in the fridge for a couple hours before serving (for best flavor).

Enjoy your new favorite summer salad!

More salad recipes you’ll love:

Mediterranean Pearl Barley Salad with Goat Cheese

Roasted Broccoli Salad with Bacon & Pecans

Tomato, Cucumber, & Onion Salad

Lentil Salad Storage Tips

Sprouted lentil salad is only healthful if stored properly! You can keep it in the fridge for up to a week.

If you are able, use a container that is glass or stainless steel rather than plastic. Even though this is a cold dish, the oily and acidic dressing can degrade the plastic, causing harmful chemicals to leech into your food.

Possible Variations:

Turn this salad recipe into your own by adding your unique creative touch to make it perfect for your family.

You can use different varieties of tomatoes (maybe homegrown?), try using fresh oregano instead of dried for a stronger flavor, change up the cheese, add avocado or cucumber, try a fancy natural salt, add boiled eggs for an extra satiating factor… the sky’s the limit!

I have been known to add fermented vegetables (like lactofermented green tomatoes from my garden), substitute with sheep’s feta, and even add bite-sized boiled quail eggs to my sprouted lentil salad! Tell me what combinations you try. I’d love to hear how make this wonderful salad your own!

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