Lentil Salad with Green Olives

Try this Lentil Salad with Green Olives for a unique salad idea; it also has red bell pepper, green onion, and herbs to boost the flavor! This recipe has 11 net carbs as written, but see tips below to make a version with fewer carbs.

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Last night I got home from Chicago, where I had fun attending Eat Write Retreat, hanging out with my friend Stephanie, eating at some favorite spots like Greek Islands and Frontera Grill, and meeting some food bloggers that I’d known online but hadn’t met in person. While I was gone Salt Lake has been having a heat wave, with temperatures hovering around 100F for a few days now, so cold dishes like this Lentil Salad with Green Olives are sounding good!

My love for brown lentils is well documented on the blog, and this lentil salad recipe  started with an idea that popped into my head to combine brown lentils and green olives, a combination I loved. Then I was inspired to add a generous amount of chopped red bell pepper plus Greek oregano and fresh Italian parsley from my garden, fresh ingredients that I really thought added an interesting twist to the salad.

How Can You Make This Salad Lower in Carbs?

Lentils are what some diet plans consider a “good carb,” but if you want to make the salad lower in carbs, I’d suggest using more red pepper and green onion and reducing the amount of lentils, for a lower-carb meatless salad that will be just as delicious. 

What ingredients do you need for this recipe:

• brown lentils
• fresh squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• red bell pepper
• green olives from a jar
• green onion
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or other all-purpose seasoning blend
• Szeged Sweet Paprika (affiliate link)
• chopped fresh Greek Oregano, probably optional but good
• chopped fresh Italian Parsley
• salt/fresh ground black pepper to taste

How to make this salad:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. Put lentils in pan with 3 cups water, bring to very low simmer, and let cook until lentils are soft. (This will be about 30 minutes, but cooking times can vary quite a bit depending on how fresh the lentils are.)
2. Drain the lentils well while you chop up the green olives. I used a jar of green olives with pimento, and after I drained them I used the bowl attachment of my immersion blender (affiliate link) to get coarsely chopped olives and pimento pieces.
3. Slice the green onions and chop the green olives red pepper, and herbs.
4. Combine one tablespoon each of lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil to make the marinade.
5. As soon as the lentils are drained well, marinate the warm lentils in this mixture.
6. Whisk together the rest of the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, Szeged Sweet Paprika (affiliate link), and Spike Seasoning; then whisk in olive oil to make the dressing for the salad.
7. Combine the lentils, chopped red pepper, green onion, and green olives with the desired amount of dressing, and gently stir in the chopped herbs.
8. Season salad with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve salad cold or room temperature.  This will keep in the fridge for a day or two, although I like it best when the fresh ingredients are still crunchy.

More Recipes with Lentils:

Lebanese Lentil Salad with Garlic, Cumin, Mint, and Parsley
Picadillo Lentil Stew with Peppers and Green Olives
Sausage and Lentils with Fried Sage 

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 6 servings

Lentil Salad with Green Olives

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

If you’re looking for a slightly unusual salad for a pot-luck, try this Lentil Salad with Green Olives, Red Bell Pepper, Green Onion, and Greek Oregano.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice (divided)
• 2 T balsamic vinegar(divided)
• 4 T olive oil (divided)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced small
• one 6 oz. jar green olives
• 3/4 cup sliced green onion
• 1/2 tsp. Spike Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Greek Oregano (or less)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Italian Parsley (or less)
• salt/fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Put lentils in pan with 3 cups water, bring to very low simmer, and let cook until lentils are soft. (This will be about 30 minutes, but cooking times can vary quite a bit depending on how fresh the lentils are, so just keep tasting until they’re soft.)
2. Dump lentils into a colander and let drain about 15 minutes, then toss with 1 T each of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar.
3. Let lentils marinate in this mixture while you prepare other ingredients.  (If you have plenty of time, marinate the lentils 20-30 minutes, but even a few minutes of marinating will add to the flavor.
4. Chop red bell pepper and green onions and place in medium-sized plastic or glass bowl.
5. Coarsely chop olives and add to bowl. (I used the bowl attachment of my immersion blender (affiliate link) to chop the olives, which worked well.)
6. Finely chop the Greek Oregano and Italian parsley.
7. Mix together remaining 1 T lemon juice, 1 T balsamic vinegar, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), and sweet paprika, then whisk in 3 T olive oil.
8. Add marinated lentils to ingredients in the bowl and gently combine with dressing. (You may not need all the dressing, depending on how wet you prefer your salads.)
9. Gently stir the chopped herbs into the salad. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
10. This will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, although I like it best when the fresh ingredients still have a little crunch.

Notes

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 675mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 9gSugar: 3gProtein: 5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Lentils are considered a “good carb” for the original South Beach Diet, and you could eat a small serving of this Lentil Salad with Green Olives for any phase of the diet.  To make this a lower-carb salad, decrease the amount of lentils and use more chopped red pepper and sliced green onion.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2009 and was last updated in 2021.

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