Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Cumin, and Cilantro
(This recipe has been removed from my blog, but I am leaving the printer-friendly recipe here in case anyone was a fan.)
Makes 6 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (about 1/2 pound) lentils
- 1 can black beans
- 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped green onion (scallions) green part only
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Dressing Ingredients
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 T vegetable stock (or use chicken stock if you don’t care if it’s vegan)
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 T fresh lime juice (can use apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. finely minced garlic (I used garlic puree from a jar)
- 1/2 tsp. dried Oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- 1 tsp. cumin seed (can use ground cumin)
- 1/2 tsp. Ancho chile powder (or use any mild chile powder)
- 1/2 tsp. Spike seasoning (or more)
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- hot sauce to taste (I used green Tabasco sauce)
Instructions:
- Put lentils into a small sauce pan with plenty of water to cover, bring to a slow simmer and cook until lentils are tender, about 40-60 minutes for green lentils or 30-40 minutes for brown ones.
- Drain lentils and let cool slightly.
- While lentils cook, put beans in a colander and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears.
- Let drain well, then blot dry with paper towels.
- Put olive oil, chicken stock, Dijon mustard, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic in a small bowl.
- In mortar and pestle, grind together oregano, cumin seed, chile powder, Spike seasoning, and pepper.
- Whisk into liquid in bowl, then add hot sauce to taste and whisk again.
- When lentils are slightly cooled, combine with half of dressing and let marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Wash, spin dry, and finely chop cilantro and set aside.
- Chop red bell pepper, red onion, and green part of green onions finely and add to lentils.
- Add drained beans to lentil and vegetable mixture, and stir in rest of dressing, then gently mix in chopped cilantro.
- This will taste best if refrigerated for an hour or so before serving, but it can be served sooner if you’re short on time.
Recipe created by Kalyn, and often on served on houseboat trips at Utah’s lake Powell!
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25 Comments on “Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Cumin, and Cilantro”
This is not meatless or vegan if using chicken stock. I hope you didn’t serve this to vegans in the restaurant and tell them there was no meat in here
Oh my, sorry that I messed up and forgot to say to replace the TINY amount of chicken stock with vegetable stock to make it vegan. I do normally try to make sure to state that, and wouldn’t normally ever say something was vegan without clarifying. But seriously, isn’t it obvious how easy it would be to make this vegan? And I don’t have a restaurant, so I don’t know what you’re talking about there.
I love salads. This one is worth a try. Thanks for sharing!
hi Kalyn! if I want to use canned lentils, how many 14 oz cans would I substitute? about 2?
I have actually never used canned lentils, but one pound of lentils makes about 5 cups of cooked lentils, so that sounds about right. Hope you enjoy!
thanks! it's in the upper 90's in NYC this weekend so was looking for something I could make sans stove. 🙂 this sounds great!
I don't measure out servings, so if you're calculating nutritional info you'll have to estimate whether you ate 1/4 or 1/6 of the salad.
Hi Kalyn, just was curious as to what the serving size is… says it makes 4-6 servings but not sure of the measurement.
Btw made this for a birthday dinner and it was enjoyed by vegetarian and meat eaters alike, huge crowd pleaser! Thank you
absolutely wonderful!!! cumin is my all-time fave!!! good for you!
Ooh! Except for fresh cilantro, I have all the ingredients on hand, including lentils I bought in Paris. I could make this!
What a great idea – I share your love of cilantro!
This recipe made me laugh with delight. I’ve made similar salads just with black beans, and similar salads just with lentils, but I’ve never paired the two in a single dish. Great idea!
Gotta love lime in something like this. I’ve made something similar in the past with black beans and corn, but haven’t tried black beans and lentils combined before. I shall have to, once the Easter culinary explosion is past. 🙂 Thanks!
this looks like a delicious lunch!!
Interesting substitution, certainly. A very nice salad: it makes me think of summer evenings, not sure why.
I’m glad people are liking this recipe. Hope everyone is having a nice Easter weekend. I’m definitely going to try something seasoned with celery leaves. (And I did manage to take one extra day off Erin, so at least I’m getting a four day weekend.)
Wish we were all at Lake Powell right now!
That’s a wonderful looking salad, Kalyn. The mix of ingredients is perfect. I can picture eating that on a houseboat at lake Powell.
Blogs are alive with lentils! They seem to pair well with oregano, eh?
MMM, I love black beans and have been looking for more ways to use them now that the season for heavy winter soups is drawing to a close. Thanks for the inspiration!
Lots of protein and flavor in this one!! Great recipe, thanks!
This looks fab Kalyn–I was needing inspiration for “school” lunches and this will be great. I’ll make a big batch on Sunday and enjoy throughout the week. By the way, regarding your comment last week–I can’t believe you only get ONE DAY OFF!! I’m so sorry!
Cilantro tastes like shoes to someone???!!! Heck, I wish my shoes tasted like cilantro. I’d eat them.
this is a fabulous way to use lentils and beans! thank you for sharing!
I actually bought cilantro seeds and I’m adding them to my herb garden. Since I usually eat what i grow that will be added incentive.
And, if all else fails, I’ll try the celery leaves…which I love!
I also love the sounds of this dressing….
Celery leaves are a great idea for winter, when good parsley is hard to find in the market. Of course I’m a bit spoiled by having my own great parsley in the herb garden, and I seldom buy it in the winter. This salad looks like a great vegetarian main dish or picnic dish.
I don’t look forward to the 100°s of summer but I do look forward to the cool bean salads like this one. Black beans and la Puy Lentils are perfect! Thanks Kalyn!