Fresh Lentil Pasta Salad

This Fresh Lentil Pasta Salad is do delicious and packed with vitamins, iron, and fiber. All the things a busy mom needs. It also comes together very quickly and incorporates some typical garden produce like tomatoes and cucumbers. Crispy bacon pieces add just the right amount of flavor to round out this salad. And last, but not least, the homemade dressing is divine.

The homemade dressing for this salad is actually the same recipe as for my Chicken Cabbage Salad recipe. I like to have this dressing made up in my fridge and that way I can make this Fresh Lentil Pasta Salad as large or small as I have time to consume. You don’t want to make up more than what you can eat in about two days. Otherwise, your crumbled bacon starts to get soft…and we don’t want that!

Fresh Lentil Pasta Salad

A light and flavorful red lentil pasta salad that will help you get the vitamins, iron and fiber you need. Broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, and crumbled bacon are added to the lentil pasta with a delicious homemade dressing. This is the perfect lunch meal.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Fridge Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Equipment

• 1 electric frying pan, for cooking bacon
• 1 large bowl for mixing
• 1 cutting board
• knives, spoons, measuring cups, measuring spoons

Ingredients

  

• 4-6 strips bacon, cooked, drained, cooled, crumbled
• 1 8.8 oz box red lentil pasta
• 1 C fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1 C cucumbers, peeled, sliced & chopped
• 2-3 Roma tomatoes, or small tomatoes of choice

Dressing

• 2/3  C light olive oil I actually use half-way between ½ & ⅔ C but that is hard to measure
• 1/3 C rice wine vinegar
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp oregano
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• dash red pepper flakes

Instructions

 

• Cook bacon strips in a electric skillet or however you choose. Let drain and cool. Then crumble and set aside.
• While bacon is cooking, cook lentil pasta according to the directions ( I sometimes need to cook it an extra minute or two to my liking-lentil pasta is a firmer pasta, but I still often need an extra minute).

  Rinse pasta under cool water to stop the cooking process and allow the pasta to cool before adding the other ingredients and dressing.
• Chop broccoli, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Set aside.
• Make the homemade dressing in a mason jar by pouring all ingredients in and shaking very well.
• When bacon, pasta, and veggies are all ready, mix them in a large bowl. Pour dressing over as needed (you might not need all the dressing). I would just start with about half and then mix and taste to your preference. The veggies and pasta will continue to absorb some of the dressing as they sit in the fridge.
• Let flavors meld in the fridge for one hour. Serve cold.

Notes

If you don’t think you will consume all of this pasta salad in a day or two, then I would not add the bacon until right before you are eating.  That way it will still be crispy in your salad.

Also, sometimes, I just like to make up a half box of the pasta and make this salad.  It is easy to make how much you want and just add the desired amount of dressing and save the rest for another use.

Keyword fresh, homemade dressing, Lentil, pasta, red lentil, salad, vegetables

If you are trying to incorporate more iron, fiber, and B vitamins into your diet, this is an excellent recipe to make. In just 3.5 oz of this red lentil pasta, there is 35% of your daily value for iron, 23 g of protein, and 13 g of fiber! This is an excellent item to add into your diet.

My kids have no interest in this recipe, but it was something I made for myself to have for lunches, several times this summer. And as we head into Fall, there are still some good produce you can find at the store if you don’t have these veggies in your garden. I have never grown broccoli, but maybe I will try someday!

Emma