This hearty Vegan Lentil Salad is a nutritional powerhouse packed with French lentils, mushrooms, and lemon. And it comes together fast with just a handful of ingredients which you probably already have in your pantry!
While this may look like a winter dish, the tart brightness and freshness of lemon really brings this mushroom lentil salad into summer.
This vegan lentil salad is healthy, light, easy and perfect to bring along to your next bbq or summer picnic.
Vegan and gluten free, and made from ingredients you are already likely to have in your fridge or pantry it’s sure to satisfy everyone!
Tips for Making Vegan Lentil Salad:
Experiment with your favorite mushrooms.
In this salad, I’ve used a mix of swiss brown (crimini) mushrooms and button mushrooms (champignons). Really though you can use whatever variety of mushrooms you prefer or have on hand.
Meaty portobello mushrooms would also be lovely in this vegan lentil salad, as they have a richer, deeper, almost meaty flavor. King brown mushrooms would be great too, or even a mix of wild mushrooms.
Caramelize the mushrooms over high heat for the best flavor.
The secret to this vegan lentil salad is cooking the mushrooms over a high heat to allow them to caramelize slightly.
The key to lovely caramelized mushrooms is to not add salt to the mushrooms while cooking them!
Adding salt will cause the mushrooms to release water and will prevent them from caramelizing, resulting in flabby watery mushrooms, which is not what you want.
The mushrooms will release a little moisture as you cook them, but much less so than if they were seasoned.
You’ll want to cook the mushrooms in batches as well, to make sure they aren’t over crowded in the pan. I cooked them in 4 batches to make sure the mushrooms didn’t overlap.
Seasoning your vegan lentil salad.
The other key to this mushroom lentil salad is seasoning. A simple salad, such as this, all hangs on the dressing.
Season with a couple of pinches of salt, toss to combine, taste and add more until the flavors really start to come alive.
If serving this salad straight from the fridge you will need a little more seasoning than if you were serving it at room temperature.
Cook the lentils in vegetable stock.
Another tip I like to use is to cook the lentils in vegetable stock, to add a lovely depth of flavor.
If you don’t have vegetable stock, water will do, but I do think vegetable stock makes a great addition.
Dress up your vegan lentil salad.
There are plenty of ways to dress up this Mushroom Lentil Salad to make it your own.
If you aren’t vegan, add some crumbled feta. Or even better, fry up some haloumi and place it over the top.
If you are vegan, try adding thinly sliced celery or radish or replacing the rocket (arugula) with oven baked kale chips for a little crunch.
A Reader Favorite Recipe!
This recipe first appeared on Delicious Everyday way back in 2013. It’s been a reader favorite, which is why I’ve updated it for 2019. While the recipe remains the same, I’ve added some tips and tricks. And of course new photos.
Check out the original photo below. Pretty horrible right? I know this recipe isn’t the most visually appealing, but I think the new photos do it a little more justice 🙂
And here’s what this same vegan lentil salad looks like today. A little better, huh?
And if you like this recipe, make sure you check out my new five-minute vegan lentil salad. It’s a surefire way to get a tasty dinner on the table quick!
Vegan Mushroom Lentil Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup French Green Lentils
- 2 cups vegetable stock or water
- 4 cups mix of button and swiss brown mushrooms sliced (300g or 10 1/2 oz)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 shallot or small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes or more to taste
- 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
- 3 tsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup rocket (arugula)
Instructions
- Begin by cooking the lentils. Place the lentils and vegetable stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Place a large ]frying pan over a high heat. When the pan has come to heat (don't add oil) add 1/3 of the mushrooms. Leave for 2 minutes before then give the pan a shake to flip them over. The mushrooms should be lightly golden. Cook for a further minute before removing from the pan and repeating with the remaining mushrooms.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and add 2 tsp of olive oil or vegan butter and add the shallot or onion. Cook until slightly golden on the edges and return the mushrooms to the pan and add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant, but not browned as it will taste bitter. Set aside to cool.
- Toss the lentils, mushroom and garlic together along with the lemon juice and the extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste and add the parsley and rocket just as you're serving.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’re a big mushroom lover, be sure to check out these recipes:
- Vegan Mushroom Wellington
- Mushroom Bolognese {vegan}
- Mushroom Quinoa Burgers with Roasted Garlic and Thyme Mayonnaise {vegetarian}
- Mushroom Bouguignon {vegan}
Shoshana says
This was DELICIOUS, and also super simple to cook (also much faster than it said, as I prepared the mushrooms, shallots etc while the lentils were cooking). Really helpful instructions, thank you. The only thing I might change is adding a little pepper, but otherwise was perfect.
Felicia says
Turned out delicious!! Highly recommend!
Rachel lewis says
Made this today and it’s now one of my favourite lentil dishes. I served it warm and used a bag of mixed salad leaves of rocket, beetroot & spinach, they wilted nicely. Also grated some lemon zest over the top too. Extremely moorish xx
Nicole says
I’m so glad you liked it – thanks for coming back to tell me!!
Susan says
Very tasty , healthy and easy to make will be a regular in my kitchen 😃
S Knapp says
I was raised a vegetarian by vegetarian parents, so I learned early how to survive in a meat-eating world. My favorite story is when I was driving thru Montana in the late 1990’s. We stopped for lunch in Missoula at a Mexican restaurant. I asked them to make my tacos with beans instead of meat. They just looked at me with a confused expression and said they didn’t think they could do that. I said, “Do you make refried beans?” “Of course,” they replied. “Well, just put refried beans, lettuce, tomato and cheese on the tortilla instead of meat.” They were still quite confused. It took a good five minutes of explaining before they could figure out how to make a taco without meat! And I’m sure they thought I was crazy.
Nicole says
That’s hilarious! I have many similar memories growing up – so much easier these days!!
Jennifer Loveridge says
Great recipe. The mushrooms take a bit of time but so worth them not being soggy. I didn’t add them back in with the lentils and shallots/garlic until serving to make sure they weren’t soft. Also, I used a lot more arugula then noted. Piled up the arugula dressed with salt, lemon, olive oil and placed the mixture on the top. Will make again.
Nicole says
I’m so glad you liked it!
Donna says
I cooked this as a light dinner for my partner and I and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t think cooking the lentils in the vegetable stock would make such a difference but it did. Personally I wouldn’t use just water because the stock gives them so much flavour. Thanks for such a lovely recipe. Will definitely make this again.
Donna says
Made this again and added some chunks of both fried polenta and fried halloumi to make it more substantial. Very nice salad.
Nicole says
Thanks Donna! Those are great additions – I will have to try that myself.
Laura says
I loved, loved, loved this! I roasted my mushrooms to avoid frying and doubled the lemon and garlic. I will make this again and again! Would be yummy, room temp, with poached eggs, tomato and avocado.
Liana says
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
This was tasty, but I found it to be not very filling for lunch. Great for a very light meal, maybe, but I can’t imagine eating this for dinner.
5 stars for taste and healthiness, but if I make it next time I’ll probably double the recipe.
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Thanks for your feedback Liana. 🙂 Yes, it is definitely more of a lunch dish if you are having it as a complete meal or a side salad at dinner time.
Beth says
Looks yummy! Is this best eaten hot? Or, is it good cold also? Thanks!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
I prefer to eat the salad warm, but it is great cold too. I hope you enjoy it Beth 😀
Nicole says
Yum. I’ve been pretty obsessed with arugula lately, so I’ve found this at the right time. This sounds like a great flavor combo.
Ilona @ Ilona's Passion says
This is such a healthy meal idea. I love adding my mushrooms to my recipes:) Pinned it
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Thanks Ilona 🙂
Carly says
Made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious!
I used sprouted lentils, which cook faster, so I was eating it within 30 min.
Am already looking forward to having leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Carly 🙂 And thanks for sharing the tip on sprouting the lentils first. I’ll have to give that a try!
Carly says
lol, I didn’t sprout them, I purchased them sprouted (they are dried). They hold up quite nicely and are easier to digest! Making it again tonight for a tapas potluck!
Ann Spies says
Tasty, easy to make, this is a real winner!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Thank you Ann 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Gena says
First of all, Jennifer, love the new blog layout! And I absolutely love this recipe — it’s really the ideal salad for fall and winter. I’m sure I’ll be trying it soon!
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Thank you so much for your kind words Gena. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Cassie says
Do you have any idea what the calorie count is per serving? This looks amazing and I am making it tonight! A breakdown of calories would be super helpful if you know.
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Sorry Cassie, I don’t have a calorie breakdown of this recipe. You could perhaps try plugging in the ingredients into this calorie calculator http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
Mysterious Unspeakable says
I love the recipe… but the ads on this page are borderline obnoxious. One of them was a 30-second video ad I couldn’t stop (despite being given the option to) and was locked into the comment section being forced to watch it until it was over, at which point I was finally able scroll up and see the recipe. I understand using ads to generate revenue but that was just annoying.
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Thanks for letting me know about this! And I’m sorry it caused you frustration. I’ve reported this issue to my ad network as frankly it shouldn’t happen at all.
Can I ask, do you remember what the ad was for, this will help my ad network to identify and remove the offending ad?
lola says
Where can I see the actual recipe? I’m not sure where is it. Thanks
Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says
Hi lola, you can find the recipe here https://www.deliciouseveryday.com/mushroom-lemon-lentil-salad/2/
Mira says
I love the combination of ingredients, healthy and delicious! Pinned!
chrissy says
I found this on Pinterest recently, and made it tonight with bulgar. It was quite delicious! Thank you!
Christine says
This recipe looks and sounds mouth watering I can’t wait to try it! Thank you!
julie says
what is rocket??
Jennifer says
Rocket is arugula. 😀
julie says
this looks amazing! quick question, can i sub regular lentils for french ones? I’m thinking it might get a bit mushy from what i’ve heard of the difference between regular and french lentils, but those are the ones i have on hand. anyone tried it?
Jennifer says
Hi Julie, to be honest, I haven’t tried making this salad with other lentils, but I understand wanting to use what you have on hand. You could try using regular lentils, but they may be a bit too soft for this salad, so you won’t get the chewy textural contrast you would otherwise get from using French green lentils. French green lentils (also called Du Puy lentils or Puy lentils) are really the best lentils when it comes to salads because they keep a firm texture even after cooking. Good luck and let me know how it turns out. 😀
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
What a hearty salad, I love the mushrooms!
Hannah says
Ahhh! Mushrooms have never looked so sexy to me.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
Oh bugger, I bought a kilo of mushies yesterday and I’ll bet I didn’t keep the receipt. 🙁
This combination of flavours and textures is terrific.
Sneha says
ThIs looks so yummy! Does it keep well as leftovers?
Jennifer says
Hi Sneha, left overs should be ok the next day, but really is best eaten on the day I think. 🙂
Susan says
This looks so good. My daughter has recently become vegetarian and I’ve been a little stuck for ideas on what to cook for her as I get used to her new diet. She loves mushrooms and lentils, as do I, so I’ll be making this for her on the weekend and it will be somethng we can both enjoy. Thank you! Even better that I can win a holiday buying mushrooms to make this too!!
Rosa says
A fabulous combo! I’d love to eat that dish.
Cheers,
Rosa
Christie @ Fig & Cherry says
That second close-up shot has me drooling Jen! Love your combination of lemon and mushrooms – it’s great to try mixing new flavours now and again. Oh and halloumi and mushrooms are a heavenly match too, that would definitely be my topper of choice 🙂