Edamame has been sneaking into so many of our meals! I love the texture — the beans almost pop in your mouth. I typically work them into stir fries or whip them up into a smooth edamame dip. Recently I thought about combining them with another plant-based staple: lentils! The softness of cooked green lentils and springy edamame is a textural match made in heaven for me personally. This salad is perfect for meal prep and keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve it alongside my baked sesame seed tofu for a complete and satisfying meal.
I turn to bright lemon and pantry spices in the dressing. My favorite trick lately is heating up the oil on the stove and then pouring it over the spices to bloom the flavor. As one reader put it, warming the oil is a pro tip that makes the dressing incredibly flavorful. The dressing will taste almost too tangy on its own. I promise it all becomes perfectly balanced in the salad. Have faith!
To thaw frozen shelled edamame for this salad, I just run it under hot water in the sink for a couple of minutes and then blot dry as much as I can. The lentils only take about 15 minutes to cook and then you are ready to assemble.
Green Lentil Edamame Salad with Spiced Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
Lentils
- 1 cup dry green lentils, rinsed
- pinch sea salt
Spiced Lemon Dressing
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground chilies
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (plus extra)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- sea salt, to taste
Edamame & Assembly
- 2 cups shelled frozen edamame, thawed
- 1 small red onion, small dice
- ½ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (plus extra)
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
Notes
- You can substitute French, brown or black beluga lentils here. All will have slightly different cooking times, so just double check the package before proceeding here and adjust as necessary!
- If you cannot find frozen shelled edamame, look for mukimame. It is the same thing, just marketed under a different name in some stores.
- You can use toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of toasted almonds to make this salad nut-free.
- Worcestershire sauce contains wheat. Substitute Tamari to keep this gluten-free.
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a medium saucepan and cover with 3-4 inches of water. Add the pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Simmer until lentils are just tender–you don’t want to overcook them! About 13-15 minutes is good. Once cooked, drain and set aside to cool slightly.
- Make the dressing. In a medium bowl, combine the cumin, coriander, chilies, and black pepper. In a small skillet, heat the avocado oil until it’s just starting to get hot. Then, pour the oil over the spices in the bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so before whisking in the lemon zest, lemon juice, maple syrup, Worcestershire, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked lentils, thawed edamame, red onion, parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour over the dressing and toss to combine. Serve with toasted almonds on top (plus extra parsley and lemon zest if you like) and enjoy!
This looks so good. I really want to make it RIGHT NOW haha but I neverr have the right fresh herbs on hand. Where I live in suburban Chicago it’s far too cold to keep growing them outdoors in winter and I don’t have a decent window in my house to use as a windowsill garden.
Any suggestions on growing herbs indoors ie: Aero garden or another method that works well and justifies the expense (and space)? I’m so tired of spending $$ on fresh ones from the grocery store and would love to just keep some going indoors.
Love the dressing and the oil method! I used Trader Joe’s pre-cooked lentils so this came together incredibly quickly for a great weeknight salad. I also added roasted sweet potatoes, chopped dill, and a tahini drizzle which put this over the top for me :) Thank you, Laura!
I’ve made this 3 times! It is wonderful for lunches or as a “dip” with some chips or crackers. I add vegan feta to mine. I used olive oil because it is what I keep on hand. Warming the oil for the dressing is a PRO tip – it makes the dressing SO flavorful.
Thank you for this delicious & nutritious lentil edamame salad. I doubled on the spices a bit and omitted the maple syrup. You were right, so quick to make, just about 20 minutes. The next day after sitting overnight in the fridge…is so flavorful! I ate served atop a mix of arugula and cabbage mix and added a few pumpkin seeds. Perfect lunch for a summer’s day!
YUMMMMM!! Made this last night for my husband and me and it’s gone!! I’m making it again tonight but doubling it! It’s one of those recipes that you can’t stop eating (obviously). It’s quick and easy and I always have the ingredients on hand. My husband said “keep this one in the rotation” :-)
It was quick and very tasty! Thanks Laura x
Pro-tip (that I learned after sheer confusion as to why only in-shell edamame was available at my market): Look for mukimame. (“Mukimame and edamame are both immature soybeans from the legume family, with the main difference being preparation. Edamame refers to soybeans cooked in their pods, while mukimame refers to soybeans shelled before cooking.”
Hi Laura – This looks very enticing! I am wondering if you have a suggestion as to where to find organic shelled edamame that are grown in Canada? MacKellar used to sell them, but I can only find them in the shell now – I guess I could shell them myself! :)
Hi Suzanne,
I can’t help you with that one unfortunately! I usually buy the organic shelled edamame from Farm Boy (their own house brand) or Metro’s Life Smart brand. Neither are product of Canada unfortunately. They’re hard to find!
-L
Pro-tip (that I learned after sheer confusion as to why only in-shell edamame was available at my market): Look for mukimame. (“Mukimame and edamame are both immature soybeans from the legume family, with the main difference being preparation. Edamame refers to soybeans cooked in their pods, while mukimame refers to soybeans shelled before cooking.”
This makes up quickly and is delicious, even without the toasted almonds which I was too lazy to prep, haha. Used EVOO because I don’t stock avocado oil in my pantry. Winner!
So glad you enjoyed the lentil edamame salad, Joyce! I buy pre-toasted sliced almonds now in anticipation of laziness haha.
-L
This is exactly the kind of meal I’ve been searching for all week! I cannot wait to make this!