80 minutes•Easy•Serves 1
Mediterranean Kissed Lentil & Tomato Salad with Zesty Yogurt Dressing
By @chef1
A vibrant and refreshing lentil salad featuring tender lentils, juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp red onion, and fresh herbs, all brought together with a bright and creamy lemon-herb yogurt dressing. Perfect for a light and satisfying lunch.
Recipe Rating
Not yet rated by chefs
Ingredients
- ●1/2 cup Green or Brown Lentils
- ●1 cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth
- ●1 cup, halved Cherry Tomatoes
- ●1/4 small, finely diced Red Onion
- ●1 clove, minced Garlic
- ●2 tablespoons, chopped Fresh Parsley
- ●1/4 cup Plain Yogurt
- ●1/2, juiced Lemon
- ●1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- ●1/4 teaspoon, or to taste Salt
- ●1/8 teaspoon, or to taste Black Pepper
Instructions
- 1Rinse the lentils thoroughly. In a small saucepan, combine the rinsed lentils with 1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Drain any excess liquid and let the lentils cool slightly.
- 2While the lentils are cooking, prepare the fresh ingredients. Halve the cherry tomatoes, finely dice the red onion, mince the garlic, and chop the fresh parsley.
- 3In a small bowl, whisk together the plain yogurt, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper until well combined. This is your zesty lemon-herb yogurt dressing.
- 4In a medium bowl, combine the cooled lentils, halved cherry tomatoes, diced red onion, minced garlic, and chopped parsley.
- 5Pour the prepared lemon-herb yogurt dressing over the lentil and vegetable mixture. Toss gently to ensure all ingredients are evenly coated.
- 6Taste the salad and adjust seasoning with more salt or pepper if needed. Serve immediately for a refreshing lunch, or chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld further. Garnish with an extra sprig of fresh parsley if desired for an elegant touch.
Recipe details
- Cuisine
- Mediterranean-inspired
- Category
- Salad
- Preparation
- 52 minutes
- Cooking
- 28 minutes
Estimated total: 80 minutes. Planning estimate: stated duration ranges use their midpoint; standard preparation, heating and handling allowances are included. Overlapping tasks are counted once. Resting/chilling is included in total time.
How these estimates were calculated
- Initial setup: 5 min planning allowance (setup)
- Prepare vegetables (tomatoes, onion, garlic, parsley): 10 min planning allowance (vegetable_prep)
- Measure other ingredients: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Rinse lentils: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Combine lentils and broth in saucepan: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Bring lentils to simmer: 10 min planning allowance (boil_heat)
- Drain lentils: 2 min planning allowance (transfer)
- Cool lentils slightly: 5 min planning allowance (brief_cool)
- Confirm fresh ingredients prepared: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Whisk dressing ingredients: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- Combine cooled lentils and prepared vegetables: 5 min planning allowance (assemble)
- Pour and toss dressing with salad: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- Taste and adjust seasoning: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Garnish salad (optional): 2 min planning allowance (garnish)
- Optional chilling for 30 minutes is not included in the timing plan.
- This task represents the completion of the prep described in step 2, which was actively performed in task 1.
- Green or Brown Lentils: USDA cup portion weight
- Generic raw lentils used for green or brown lentils.
- Chicken or Vegetable Broth: USDA cup portion weight
- Chicken broth used as a generic option for chicken or vegetable broth.
- Cherry Tomatoes: USDA cup cherry tomatoes portion weight
- Halved cherry tomatoes matched to whole cherry tomatoes cup portion.
- Red Onion: USDA small portion weight
- Generic raw onion used for red onion. Finely diced assumed to be equivalent to raw onion portion.
- Garlic: USDA clove portion weight
- Minced garlic assumed to be equivalent to raw garlic clove.
- Fresh Parsley: USDA tbsp portion weight
- Chopped fresh parsley matched to fresh parsley tablespoon portion.
- Plain Yogurt: USDA cup (8 fl oz) portion weight
- Generic plain low-fat yogurt used for plain yogurt.
- Lemon: USDA lemon yields portion weight
- Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon matched to raw lemon juice yield.
- Olive Oil: USDA tablespoon portion weight
- Olive oil matched to salad or cooking olive oil.
- Salt: USDA tsp portion weight
- Salt to taste is estimated as 1/4 teaspoon per 4 servings, so 1/4 teaspoon for 1 serving.
- Black Pepper: USDA tsp, ground portion weight
- Black pepper to taste is estimated as 1/8 teaspoon per 4 servings, so 1/8 teaspoon for 1 serving.
- Green or Brown Lentils: 96 g · USDA reference 172420
- Chicken or Vegetable Broth: 249 g · USDA reference 174536
- Cherry Tomatoes: 149 g · USDA reference 170457
- Red Onion: 17.5 g · USDA reference 170000
- Garlic: 3 g · USDA reference 169230
- Fresh Parsley: 7.6 g · USDA reference 170416
- Plain Yogurt: 61.25 g · USDA reference 170886
- Lemon: 24 g · USDA reference 167747
- Olive Oil: 13.5 g · USDA reference 171413
- Salt: 1.5 g · USDA reference 173468
- Black Pepper: 0.29 g · USDA reference 170931
lentils · tomatoes · yogurt dressing · lemon
Estimated nutrition per serving
558 calories · 30.5 g protein · 77 g carbohydrate · 16.4 g fat · 12.8 g fiber · 1568 mg sodium
Source and basis: USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (2018), ingredient-based calculation per serving. Standard USDA portion weights; all listed ingredient mass included before cooking losses. Full ingredient matches and assumptions below.
Recipe Context
This recipe was created with the following context in mind:
fall
easy
medium energy