This filling, yet healthy spiced lentil salad makes for a brilliant lunch time bowlful. Lentils flavoured with spices, mixed with aubergine, tomatoes and salad leaves and then dressed with a lemony minted yoghurt dressing.
It’s naturally gluten free and you can easily make it dairy free – simply switch in a dairy free yoghurt in place of the dairy yoghurt.
There’s lots of flexibility in this dish too, so it’s a fab one to make to use up leftovers in the fridge. I’ve made a few substitution suggestions below, but feel free to make your own spin on this tasty bowlful too.
Which Type of Lentils Do I Need?
This spiced lentil salad is quick to make too, as I’ve used tinned green lentils for this dish (plus these are great value). Tinned green lentils are readily available in most supermarkets and I’ve not seen any with a may contain warning.
Dried lentils without a may contain are harder to find (however, if you need a recommendation, try the Natco range – brilliant and no may contains at the time of writing). Coeliac UK also share their own advice about how to deal with lentils that have a may contain warning.
Can I Substitute the Ingredients?
Absolutely! There are loads of easy subs you can make to this dish. Instead of salad leaves, try baby spinach or even pan-fried kale.
While I’ve used aubergine, you could easily sub it for another vegetable such as pepper (capsicum), courgette or broccoli, depending on what you have in the fridge. You could also skip it entirely and up the salad elements. Avocado would be really nice in this dish, as would pre-cooked beetroot or chunks of cucumber.
Maybe even top with some halloumi or crumbled feta, if you want to add a cheesy hit to this bowful. It really is super flexible!
As for the spices, I am obsessed with zatar so have used that and paprika to give extra flavour to the lentil base. If you don’t have zatar, cumin is a brilliant alternative, bringing a lovely smoky flavour to the dish.
Can I Make it Dairy Free or Vegan?
Yes easily! All you need to do is switch the yoghurt in the dressing for a dairy free alternative. The rest of the dish is naturally dairy free.
Vegans, you will also need to swap the honey for either maple syrup or agave syrup.
Spiced Lentil Salad Bowl Recipe
You’ll find a full method below along with some pictures to help you as you work through the recipe. Feel free to email me any questions or comments you might have – laura@mygfguide.com – or DM me on social media @myglutenfreeguide. And if you enjoy this spiced lentil salad bowl, please do leave a review on the recipe card below :).
Enjoy! Laura xxx
Spiced Lentil Salad Bowl (GF, DFO)
Ingredients
- 1 aubergine
- 1 red onion
- 150g cherry/baby plum tomatoes
- 2 tsp zatar (if you don't have zatar you can use cumin)
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp honey (you can use maple syrup/agave instead if you prefer)
- 60g baby salad leaves (or pan fried kale also works brilliantly)
- Pinch of maldon salt
- 400g tin green lentils, drained and rinsed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tsbp plain yoghurt (or a dairy free alternative)
- Juice 1/4 lemon
- 0.5 tsp dried mint
- 1 clove garlic
Instructions
- Dice the aubergine and slice the red onion, before adding them to a frying pan with some olive oil. Cook for 10-15 minutes over a medium heat until completely softened.
- While they are cooking, you can prepare the yoghurt dressing. In a small dish add the lemon zest, lemon juice, dried mint, mince garlic clove and yoghurt. Mix well and set aside.
- Once the onion and aubergine have softened, add the zatar (or cumin), paprika, honey and salt to the pan and stir through. Add the cherry tomatoes and pan fry for a couple of minutes until they have swelled up from the heat.
- Add the drained, rinsed lentils to the warm and cook for 2 minutes to warm them.
- Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly (just a couple of minutes). Then toss the baby salad leaves through the lentil mixture and tip into bowls to serve.
- Drizzle the yoghurt dressing over the top and season to taste with salt and pepper to serve.
For more healthy gluten free recipe ideas, why not try some of these other dishes:
Bon appetit! Laura xxx
