French Lentil Salad

By Lisa Donovan

Updated April 29, 2025

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop Stylist: Sophia Eleni Pappas.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Rating
5(3,979)
Comments
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Bright with flavor, dynamic and crisp with a combination of roots and chicory, and fresh with major herb appeal, this is a hearty, friendly, anytime salad that will work well with any grocery or farmers’ market haul. It can easily become a staple in your home: You can make it on Sunday and eat it throughout the week, its flavors changing as it marinates. Because of this, it’s also a salad you can adjust as days go by, adding more lemon here and there, maybe some cheese to change up its flavors after a day or two. Sturdy enough to stand alone as a light meal in and of itself, this lentil salad also makes a fantastic side served with roasted chicken or fish. This is one special and easygoing recipe to have on hand for all occasions. 

Featured in: How to Make a Salad for the Road, the French Way

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Ingredients

Yield:About 9 cups

  • 1 ½ cups dried lentils (preferably French green lentils)

  • 5 thyme sprigs, plus 2 teaspoons thyme leaves

  • 5 small rosemary sprigs

  • 2 fresh bay leaves

  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste

  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

  • 2 teaspoons honey

  • 1 large lemon, zested and juiced

  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper 

  • 2 medium shallots, trimmed, halved and sliced lengthwise (about 6 ounces)

  • 2 to 3 small garlic cloves, minced

  • 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced (about 8 ounces)

  • 1 small head radicchio, halved, cored and thinly sliced (about 6 ounces)

  • 1 large bunch parsley leaves and stems, finely chopped (about 4 ounces)

  • 1 tablespoon roughly chopped dill

  • 2 teaspoons chopped tarragon leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

47 grams carbs; 305 calories; 5 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 10 grams fiber; 488 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 8 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Sort through lentils, removing any small pebbles or stones, then rinse lentils well. Using kitchen twine, tie the thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs and bay leaves together in a small bundle to form a bouquet garni. (While not essential, this will make it easier to discard the herbs after cooking.)

  2. Step 2

    Add lentils and bouquet garni to a large pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil on high then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 12 to 20 minutes, depending on the type of your lentils. Discard the bouquet garni. Drain the lentils and rinse with cold water. Line a sheet pan with a towel and pour lentils out evenly onto the pan to dry and cool.

  3. Step 3

    While the lentils cook, prepare the vinaigrette: In a large bowl, combine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, honey, thyme leaves, half the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper; whisk well. Add the shallots and garlic and mix well to combine.

  4. Step 4

    Stir in the carrots and radicchio to coat, then add the cooled lentils and toss again. Stir in the parsley, dill, tarragon and half the lemon zest.

  5. Step 5

    Taste and adjust the seasonings for salt and pepper. Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice to taste and a few more pinches of lemon zest. This salad can keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but it likely won’t last that long. The flavor will improve with time, but you will need to readjust the seasoning again upon serving.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
3,979 user ratings
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Comments

Madame_P

I grew up eating that as a cheap meal made with canned lentils, tomato, shallots, hard boiled eggs and vinaigrette made from the bottom of the moutarde à l’ancienne pot. It’s healthy and affordable and I now make it to my close ones here in the US. I sometimes add blood orange, fennel, cumin and flat parsley mint to make it fancy.

outofstate

If the dressing is added to warm lentils the flavor will permeate them more effectively.

Chef du maison

Shortcut: use Trader Joe’s precooked lentils! They are delicious!

David

Given how enthusiastic other reviews are, I was expecting more. A lot of steps for recipe that ultimately tasted pretty bland and unnuanced - the flavor was dominated by vinegar and tarragon (even though I cut the red wine vinegar by half based on other reviews). It’s…fine. We will finish it. But it isn’t anything special, and it took a lot more steps and time for being so meh.

Jen

Yum!

Laurel W

This is really good and gets even better after it sits. I had red cabbage on hand so used in place of the radicchio and I also used some crunchy pickled vegetables I happened to have. Both were excellent — in fact I may pickle carrots and cauliflower just for this recipe next time.

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