Lentil Dip makes the perfect summer dish for picnics, potlucks, or BBQs. This delicious protein-packed vegetarian lentil dip packed with flavor and goes well with corn chips or as a salad topper!
I love the flavors and spices in this salad, and how energized I feel after eating it. Lentils are high in protein and are considered a “slow-metabolizing” carbohydrate- the kind of carb that has so many health benefits. Plus I’m just a huge fan of lentils.
It’s can be consumed as dip or salad. This dip is also a good snack to bring to gatherings and potlucks because it is easy to make ahead.
Ingredients Needed for this Lentil Dip
- Cooked Lentils
- Red Onion
- Tomatoes
- Red Bell Pepper
- Corn
- Fresh Herbs(We love Mint, Basil, Coriander leaves, and parsley)
- Orange Juice
- Olive Oil
- Deli Mustard
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Canned black (or other) lentils: Is it okay to use canned lentils in the recipe rather than cooking from scratch? Yes, of course. You’ll need two 15-ounce cans, which you’ll want to drain and rinse well.
COOKING LENTILS
Cooking lentils of any kind is easy. They don’t need to be pre-soaked. Rinse them well, then combine in a saucepan with water in a 3 to 1 ratio.
Bring to a slow boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently until just tender, which usually takes 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the variety. Watch them closely at the end of cooking time.
You can also use pressure cooker or Instant Pot to cook the lentils.
Remember, lentils don’t have to absorb all the water like grains do, so chances are that there will be a little water to drain off once done. One cup dry lentils makes about 2 1/2 cups cooked.
How to make this dip?
- Prep the veggies while the lentils are cooking. Add them to a large serving bowl.
2. Make the dressing by whisking together all vinaigrette ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
3. Toss all ingredients together. Enjoy immediately or cover and chill until cooled, about 2-3 hours.
How to Customize It?
What we love about beans or lentils dip is that that they are so easily customizable! Don’t have fresh bell peppers, but have roasted red peppers? Swap them in! Don’t have tomatoes? Leave them out! Add mango, peach or pineapple to add an extra flavor!
Serving Suggestions:
- You can serve this dip in small portions as a side to chips.
- As a topper to salad.
- This makes a great stand-alone meal.
- Serve with crusty bread.
- It can be served as a salad along with any curry and naan.
- For a more substantial meal, pair it with a simple soup.
- If you want to bulk up the dip a little, you can serve it over a bed of greens, I personally love arugula with this dip.
- You can also serve it with pita bread. I love stuffing a warm pita with a lentil salad or using the salad as a dip with pita chips.
Lentil Dip Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Lentil Dip makes the perfect summer dish for picnics, potlucks, or BBQs. This delicious protein-packed vegetarian lentil dip packed with flavor and goes well with corn chips or as a salad topper!
Ingredients
- 2 cups lentils (cooked)
- 1 small red onion (finely chopped)
- ½ cup tomato (chopped)
- ¼ cup red bell pepper
- ¼ cup corn (frozen or fresh)
- ¼ cup chopped (mint or basil)
- ½ cup orange juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt (as needed)
- freshly ground pepper (as desired)
- 1½ tbsp deli mustard
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils with cold water and drain. Combine the lentils, bay leaf, and 1 tsp. salt in a medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 4 inches and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the lentils are tender and falling apart, about 10 minutes. Drain the lentils in a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the bay leaf and let the lentils cool for 10 minutes in the sieve.
- Prep the veggies while the lentils are cooking. Add them to a large serving bowl.
- Make the dressing by whisking together all vinaigrette ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
- Toss all ingredients together. Enjoy immediately or cover and chill until cooled, about 2-3 hours.
Notes
Serving Suggestions:
- You can serve this dip in small portions as a side to chips.
- As a topper to salad.
- This makes a great stand-alone meal.
- Serve with crusty bread.
- It can be served as a salad along with any curry and naan.
- For a more substantial meal, pair it with a simple soup.
- If you want to bulk up the dip a little, you can serve it over a bed of greens, I personally love arugula with this dip.
- You can also serve it with pita bread. I love stuffing a warm pita with a lentil salad or using the salad as a dip with pita chips.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Accompaniment, Appetizer, Salad, Snack
- Cuisine: American, Indian
Keywords: Lentil Dip, Lentil Snack, Lentils Salad
MORE SALAD RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE:
Roasted Feta Olive Tomato Salad
I don’t feel like I say this often enough, or that I could ever thank you enough. But THANK YOU for all of your support, for visiting my blog, commenting, and sharing my recipes with your friends and family. I am SO thankful for you!
If you make this recipe or any of my recipes, then don’t forget to rate it and leave a comment below. I would LOVE to hear about your experience and your comments just make my day!
This looks delicious. I plan to pick up the ingredients on my next shopping trip and try this out. Thanks for all your recipes Ashu and your wonderful insight!
Great lentil recipe
★★★★★