The best marinated lentils recipe

I’m so excited to share a review for Angela Liddon’s new cookbook, Oh She Glows Every Day. Below you’ll find the best marinated lentils recipe from the book. It’s a pantry-friendly, vegan, and gluten-free side dish.

Whenever I travel, inevitably there’s a cookbook in my carry-on. Along with headphones and music, it’s the perfect way to enjoy a few creature comforts while sandwiched in a middle seat.

Sure, a magazine is light in weight and low in commitment. But it seems there’s always a new cookbook on the market that I want to peruse from cover to cover.

Because of my cookbook proclivities and large collection, I often get asked for recommendations.  I prefer to base my recommendations on the questioner’s own food preferences and cooking style.

Some people like a project or have a desire to explore a new cuisine. Others want food that is user-friendly and unfussy.

One cookbook that I recommend often and to anyone is the Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. Angela is the blogger extraordinaire behind the wildly popular, Oh She Glows blog.

Her first cookbook is a great fit for those who are interested in vegan dining but uneasy about unusual specialty products or expensive ingredients.

The dishes are approachable while still delivering in flavor and wow factor. There’s a reason that it made the New York Times best sellers list.

So I was delighted when I saw that Angela was coming out with a second book, Oh She Glows Every Day. Angela asked me to take part in her blog tour, and of course, I said yes without delay.

After cooking from the book for a while, I dare say that Angela bested herself on her sophomore outing.

Oh She Glows Every Day is gorgeous with large, inviting color photos. And the recipes had me marking page, after page, after page.

The recipes have clearly been through rigorous testing. (Of the six I made, there wasn’t a dud in the bunch.)

The cookbook includes over 100 recipes. The ingredients are ones that can easily be found in any grocery store or farmers market.

This is the cookbook I would buy for my best friend, who isn’t vegan but loves eating whole plant foods.

Oh She Glows Every Day is filled with the kind of food that lets plants take the center stage and shine without intimidating people who prefer to get in and out of the kitchen in 30 minutes.

Here’s what I made:

Reset Button Green Smoothie

From the smoothie chapter, I made the Reset Button Green Smoothie.

(Note: There are 2 recipes with that name. One is for a family-sized beverage and the other serves 2. I went with the latter option.)

David and I shared this for breakfast one morning.

I usually go with more rib-sticking breakfast options, but this smoothie is packed with fruits and vegetables aplenty. It includes cucumber, kale, spinach, pear, banana, and pineapple.

Roasted Garlic & Sun-dried Tomato Hummus

If you are a sun-dried tomato fan, this is the hummus for you. In addition to having a quarter cup of sun-dried tomatoes in it, it also includes oil from the jar.

There are two roasted heads of garlic in the hummus. Although, roasting the stinking rose makes it quite mild. I actually didn’t even notice it over the prominent tones of tomato.

I served this hummus with crackers, sliced vegetables, dolmas, olives, and jalapeño pepper slices.

When your standard hummus feels humdrum, this one has a cosmopolitan spin that’s good for a change.

Crowd-Pleasing Caesar Salad

Don’t know where to start with Oh She Glows Every Day? This is it – the Crowd-Pleasing Caesar Salad.

(And lucky for you, the recipe for vegan Caesar salad is available on Angela’s blog. So you can get started before your copy of the book arrives.)

Most Caesar dressings include raw eggs and anchovies. But this one gets its briny quality from vegan Worcestershire sauce and capers.

In lieu of eggs, raw cashews give the dressing all of the creaminess you could desire.

Instead of croutons, the salad is topped with roasted garlicky chickpeas. It’s then finished with Parmesan cheese that’s made with cashews, nutritional yeast, and garlic.

(You’re going to want to keep the dressing and Parmesan around for salad & spaghetti emergencies.)

This salad is entirely craveable. I see a lot of it in my future.

Stuffed Avocado Salad

Why don’t I eat spelt berries more often? Chewy and dense, they’re the kind of grain you can really sink your teeth into.

The berries are part of the stuffing in this stuffed avocado salad along with black beans, corn, and bell pepper.

The salad is tossed in a cumin-lime dressing and spooned into an avocado half. On top, a tangy and tart lemon tahini dressing.

Even without the avocado, the salad makes for a great packed lunch or picnic idea. It’s also hearty enough to be a vegan main course at a potluck.

I put it in David’s lunch one day, and he said it was his favorite recipe from Oh She Glows Every Day. (And that’s saying something, because he raved about all of it.)

Every Day Glow

This salad is very much in the wheelhouse of my preferred everyday salads.

I like a main course kind of salad that has a variety of flavors and will keep me full for hours. No one wants to have a salad for lunch only to be hungry an hour later.

This one is packed with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, carrots, hemp hearts, hummus, and pumpkin seeds.

There’s also the option of adding a variety of proteins, and I went with the cast-iron tofu. The tofu preparation is simple, but that doesn’t mean that it lacks in flavor.

The salad is finished with a drizzling of lemon tahini dressing.

The Best Marinated Lentils

I like to keep quick and grab-able protein options in the refrigerator, so that I can have a snack at a moment’s notice that will keep my hunger at bay. This marinated lentils recipe is going to be a regular addition to my repertoire.

A combination of French & brown lentils are tossed in a tangy mustard vinaigrette along with green onions, parsley, and sun-dried tomatoes.

I served this marinated lentils recipe with a salad and grapes. It would also be delightful in a pita or alongside roasted vegetables. One thing is for sure, this is a recipe that will keep you coming back.

The Best Marinated Lentils

Every plant-based eater needs a quick, satisfying, versatile, and protein heavy side dish to rely on at a moment’s notice. I created this lentil dish because I was looking for something that could be thrown together in less than a half hour and that I could store in the fridge for the whole workweek. Sun-dried tomatoes add umami and depth of flavor, while the tart, mustardy vinaigrette adds brightness and acidity to the earthy lentils. It’s delicious on top of salads, stuffed into Bibb lettuce cups, thrown into wraps or pitas, or simply served as the main protein source for any meal. I like to serve it alongside a quick-and-easy stir-fry of seasonal vegetables. For the best texture, I recommend cooking the lentils from scratch (as opposed to using canned lentils). If you already have cooked lentils on hand, you’ll need about 3 1/2 cups (875 mL) for this recipe. Recipe makes 4 cups (1 L) of marinated lentils.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: freezer friendly, gluten free, grain free, nut free, soy free

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 174kcal

Author: Angela Liddon

Ingredients

• 1 cup French green lentils uncooked
• 1/2 cup green or brown lentils uncooked
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar or to taste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green onions about 1 medium bunch, dark and light green parts only
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves minced
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes drained and finely chopped

Instructions

• Pick over the lentils, discarding any debris. Rinse and drain the lentils and put them in a medium saucepan along with 4 cups (1 L) of water. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat, then reduce the heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Stir in the green onions, parsley, and tomatoes.
• Drain the lentils very well. Spoon them into the bowl with the other ingredients (it’s okay if they are still warm) and stir well. Season with additional salt and pepper.
• Serve immediately, or let cool slightly and then cover and marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. Stir well before serving. This dish will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or you can freeze it in a freezer-safe zip-top bag with the air pressed out for up to 1 month. After thawing, I recommend adding extra dressing and salt to liven it up again.

Notes

Reprinted from Oh She Glows Every Day by arrangement with Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright 2016, Glo Bakery Corporation.

Nutrition

Calories: 174kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 270mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 425IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 3.3mg

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Oh She Glows Every Day for review. The thoughts & opinions are totally my own.