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    Oh My Veggies » Vegetarian Recipes » Gluten Free Vegetarian Recipes

    Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad {vegan}

    Published: Jan 24, 2019 · by Nicole · Updated: Aug 22, 2023 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    This hearty Vegan Lentil Salad is a nutritional powerhouse packed with French lentils, mushrooms, and lemon. And it comes together fast with just a handful of ingredients which you probably already have in your pantry!

    This vegan, gluten-free Mushroom and Lentil Salad is a healthy, light and easy salad that’s perfect to bring along to your next BBQ or picnic.

    While this may look like a winter dish, the tart brightness and freshness of lemon really brings this mushroom lentil salad into summer.

    This vegan lentil salad is healthy, light, easy and perfect to bring along to your next bbq or summer picnic.

    Vegan and gluten free, and made from ingredients you are already likely to have in your fridge or pantry it's sure to satisfy everyone!

    Tips for Making Vegan Lentil Salad:

    Experiment with your favorite mushrooms.

    In this salad, I've used a mix of swiss brown (crimini) mushrooms and button mushrooms (champignons). Really though you can use whatever variety of mushrooms you prefer or have on hand.

    Meaty portobello mushrooms would also be lovely in this vegan lentil salad, as they have a richer, deeper, almost meaty flavor. King brown mushrooms would be great too, or even a mix of wild mushrooms.

    Caramelize the mushrooms over high heat for the best flavor.

    The secret to this vegan lentil salad is cooking the mushrooms over a high heat to allow them to caramelize slightly.

    The key to lovely caramelized mushrooms is to not add salt to the mushrooms while cooking them!

    Adding salt will cause the mushrooms to release water and will prevent them from caramelizing, resulting in flabby watery mushrooms, which is not what you want.

    The mushrooms will release a little moisture as you cook them, but much less so than if they were seasoned.

    You'll want to cook the mushrooms in batches as well, to make sure they aren't over crowded in the pan. I cooked them in 4 batches to make sure the mushrooms didn't overlap.

    Seasoning your vegan lentil salad.

    The other key to this mushroom lentil salad is seasoning. A simple salad, such as this, all hangs on the dressing.

    Season with a couple of pinches of salt, toss to combine, taste and add more until the flavors really start to come alive.

    If serving this salad straight from the fridge you will need a little more seasoning than if you were serving it at room temperature.

    Cook the lentils in vegetable stock.

    Another tip I like to use is to cook the lentils in vegetable stock, to add a lovely depth of flavor.

    If you don't have vegetable stock, water will do, but I do think vegetable stock makes a great addition.

    Dress up your vegan lentil salad.

    There are plenty of ways to dress up this Mushroom Lentil Salad to make it your own.

    If you aren't vegan, add some crumbled feta. Or even better, fry up some haloumi and place it over the top.

    If you are vegan, try adding thinly sliced celery or radish or replacing the rocket (arugula) with oven baked kale chips for a little crunch.

    A Reader Favorite Recipe!

    This recipe first appeared on Delicious Everyday way back in 2013. It's been a reader favorite, which is why I've updated it for 2019. While the recipe remains the same, I've added some tips and tricks. And of course new photos.

    Check out the original photo below. Pretty horrible right? I know this recipe isn't the most visually appealing, but I think the new photos do it a little more justice 🙂

    This hearty Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad is a nutritional powerhouse! Even better it only needs a handful of ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!

    And here's what this same vegan lentil salad looks like today. A little better, huh?

    This hearty Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad is a nutritional powerhouse! Even better it only needs a handful of ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!

    If you like this recipe, make sure you check out my new five-minute vegan lentil salad. It's a surefire way to get a tasty dinner on the table quick!

    And if you're a big mushroom lover, be sure to check out these recipes:

    • Vegan Mushroom Wellington
    • Mushroom Bolognese {vegan}
    • Mushroom Quinoa Burgers with Roasted Garlic and Thyme Mayonnaise {vegetarian}
    • Mushroom Bouguignon {vegan}

    Recipe

    Vegan Mushroom Lentil Salad

    This hearty Vegan Lentil Salad is a nutritional powerhouse packed with French lentils, mushrooms, and lemon. And it comes together fast with just a handful of ingredients which you probably already have in your pantry!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Email Recipe
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
    Course: Main Course, Salad
    Cuisine: Gluten free, Vegan, vegetarian
    Keyword: Delicious Everyday, mushroom salad, vegan lentil salad
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 122kcal
    Author: Oh My Veggies

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup French Green Lentils
    • 2 cups vegetable stock or water
    • 4 cups mix of button and swiss brown mushrooms sliced (300g or 10 ½ oz)
    • 2 tsp olive oil
    • ½ shallot or small onion finely chopped
    • 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
    • ¼ tsp chilli flakes or more to taste
    • 1 ½ tbs lemon juice
    • 3 tsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
    • sea salt and pepper to taste
    • 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
    • ½ cup rocket (arugula)

    Instructions

    • Begin by cooking the lentils. Place the lentils and vegetable stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
    • Place a large ]frying pan over a high heat. When the pan has come to heat (don't add oil) add ⅓ of the mushrooms. Leave for 2 minutes before then give the pan a shake to flip them over. The mushrooms should be lightly golden. Cook for a further minute before removing from the pan and repeating with the remaining mushrooms. 
    • Reduce the heat to medium low and add 2 tsp of olive oil or vegan butter and add the shallot or onion. Cook until slightly golden on the edges and  return the mushrooms to the pan and add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant, but not browned as it will taste bitter. Set aside to cool.
    • Toss the lentils, mushroom and garlic together along with the lemon juice and the extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste and add the parsley and rocket just as you're serving.

    Notes

    Don't slice the mushrooms too thinly. You want them to have a bit of substance and also you don't want them to dry out when they are cooked over a high heat.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 122kcalCarbohydrates: 14.12gProtein: 3.28gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 0.997gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.831gMonounsaturated Fat: 4.9gSodium: 949mgPotassium: 276mgFiber: 1.4gSugar: 4.8gVitamin A: 2600IUVitamin C: 76.7mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 1.4mg
    Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!
    This hearty Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad is a nutritional powerhouse! Even better it only needs a handful of ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. S Knapp says

      November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

      5 stars
      I was raised a vegetarian by vegetarian parents, so I learned early how to survive in a meat-eating world. My favorite story is when I was driving thru Montana in the late 1990's. We stopped for lunch in Missoula at a Mexican restaurant. I asked them to make my tacos with beans instead of meat. They just looked at me with a confused expression and said they didn't think they could do that. I said, "Do you make refried beans?" "Of course," they replied. "Well, just put refried beans, lettuce, tomato and cheese on the tortilla instead of meat." They were still quite confused. It took a good five minutes of explaining before they could figure out how to make a taco without meat! And I'm sure they thought I was crazy.

      Reply
      • Nicole says

        November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

        That's hilarious! I have many similar memories growing up - so much easier these days!!

        Reply
    2. Susan says

      November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

      5 stars
      Very tasty , healthy and easy to make will be a regular in my kitchen 😃

      Reply
    3. Rachel lewis says

      November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

      5 stars
      Made this today and it’s now one of my favourite lentil dishes. I served it warm and used a bag of mixed salad leaves of rocket, beetroot & spinach, they wilted nicely. Also grated some lemon zest over the top too. Extremely moorish xx

      Reply
      • Nicole says

        November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

        I'm so glad you liked it - thanks for coming back to tell me!!

        Reply
    4. Felicia says

      November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

      5 stars
      Turned out delicious!! Highly recommend!

      Reply
    5. Shoshana says

      November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

      5 stars
      This was DELICIOUS, and also super simple to cook (also much faster than it said, as I prepared the mushrooms, shallots etc while the lentils were cooking). Really helpful instructions, thank you. The only thing I might change is adding a little pepper, but otherwise was perfect.

      Reply
    6. Ann Davis-Rowe says

      November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

      5 stars
      Granted, I added feta, capers, walnuts, and currants for funsies and our lemon/EVOO was dressing leftover from last night’s salad BUT my carnivorous husband was very happy and looking forward to the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow since arugula holds up so well. What an easy meal using things we usually have on hand. Perfect for subbing in when we’re too tired to cook and could easily cook the mushrooms and lentils for meal prep and then add in arugula the day of. Thank you!

      Reply
    7. marcy says

      February 25, 2024 at 9:01 am

      5 stars
      I haven't try it yet but it sounds delicious, 2 of my favorite lentils and mushrooms, yummy! thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
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    Nicole is a life long vegetarian and the author of the popular vegan cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. She loves sharing her recipes and showing the world just how easy and delicious meatless meals can be!
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