Cold Lentil Salad with Smoked Sausage is perfect for summer picnics or side dish to bring for a cookout or summer BBQ. It’s served cold and full of incredible fresh flavors.
And speaking of picnics, we’ve also got some great tips for you to enjoy an elegant yet stress free picnic this summer!
Lentils are a staple in our house. They’re great in this soup, but are also fantastic served cold, like this Smoked Sausage Lentil Salad (that can be served cold or hot).
What we’ve got here is a jar full of delicious and flavorful lentils, savory sausage, crunchy vegetables, and a sweet and citrusy sauce drizzled throughout. And I say jar because I like to serve it in jars when we take it to a picnic, like below. But you can serve it in a bowl if that’s your thing.
What I love about this dish is that you can prepare it in advance, either the night before, or morning of your picnic or event, and the flavors will just get better and better as they sit and merry together. It’s great on the go as there’s nothing that will spoil (y’all already know about my aversion to mayo, so this one is 100% mayo free).
How to Make Lentil Salad
- Step 1: Cook lentils. In a large stock pot bring the lentils, chicken stock, bay leaves, and thyme, to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Drain the liquid and place the lentils in a large bowl.
- Step 1: Assemble the salad. Add the vegetables and seasonings, then toss together. Mix in the dressing. Taste and adjust salt to your preferences. Serve now (warm), or let cool and serve later.
- Step 3: Serve. We like to serve in mason jars and take to a picnic. But you can also serve it in a bowl.
Can you make this without a Smoker?
Yes! It certainly won’t have that delicious smoky flavor, but you can cook your sausage on a frying pan or in the oven if you don’t have a smoker. The salad will still be delicious!
Pork or Chicken Sausage?
You can use either! When we make it for events we use pork. But one of our kids has a pork allergy (whyyyyyyy!?) so we use chicken sausage when making it for the family at home.
Can you make this a Warm Lentil Salad?
Heck yeah you can, my friends! You gotta cook those lentils in the first place, so just cook the sausage and lentils at the same time, then mix in the other ingredients and serve warm.
But if you want to add something different as a 4th of July side dish, or to bring to a picnic, this works awesome cold. And on a hot summer day, do you really want to eat a warm salad? Not so much! Make it cold in the summah-time and warm in the winter. So versatile.
Cold Sausage Lentil Salad
Cold Sausage Lentil Salad
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Ingredients
For the Smoked Sausage
- 1 lb Italian style bulk sausage not in casings, broken up into quarter sized pieces (pork or chicken sausage)
For the Lentil Salad
- 2 cups lentils
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 thyme stems
- ⅔ cups carrots, diced
- ⅔ cups diced celery or onions (one or the other, see notes)
- ⅔ cups cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 red bell pepper, diced (optional)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
- salt to taste
Instructions
To Smoke the Sausage
-
Preheat smoker to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Place sausage spread out on a large foil-lined cookie sheet in small clumps.
-
Smoke for 60-90 minutes. Look for a darker color on the exterior while still moist. Check the larger chunks for temperature, and pull when they reach 165 degrees F. Remove, and break up into smaller pieces if necessary. Set aside.
For the Salad
-
In a large stock pot bring the lentils, chicken stock, bay leaves, and thyme, to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook approximately 30 minutes, or until the lentils are slightly al dente. (Some styles of lentils may cook to different times, so check the recommended length from your package)
Drain the liquid and place the lentils in a large bowl.
-
Add the carrots, celery or onions, bell pepper, the smoked sausage, and salt. Toss together.
Mix in the dressing. Taste and adjust salt to your preferences. Serve now (warm), or let cool and serve later.
Dressing
-
Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
Notes
Nutrition
Ok, now let’s talk picnic!
Tips for an Easy and Elegant Picnic
- KEEP IT SIMPLE! Don’t over think serving dishes or platters. Look for what you have in the house. Use a coffee tray or cutting board to serve your food on. We have one similar to this.
- Use a basket to load up your supplies for easy transfer. This dubs as a small table once you arrive to your location (just turn it upside down and use the bottom to place food on). This is similar to the one we have.
- Don’t have a sleek picnic blanket? Use a tablecloth.
- Wrap sandwiches at home using kitchen twine, and you won’t need a plate for serving.
- Serve sides (like the lentil salad) and drinks in mason jars. You won’t need to transfer dishes like salads into another serving container when you show up to your picnic. Just twist off the top, eat your food, and then put the top back on when transferring food back home. This saves on dishes when you return, and also minimizes spillage or disaster. For the salad in the pictures I used an 8 oz mason jar, which holds about 1 cup of salad and is the perfect portion as a side dish.
- Bring sturdy cutting boards in lieu of plates, these are also useful to put your drinks down on.
- Serve wine in tumbler glasses or stemless wine glasses (or mason jars!!!). No need to be all fancy and bring your expensive breakable wine stems. This is a picnic and you’re likely to be eating on uneven ground. Stemless glasses are just fine for this purpose. Use that cutting board or coffee tray to place your glass on vs the grass to help stabilize it.
- For the kids. Prepare lemonade (or drink of choice) at home in a carafe with a cork lid, and serve on site (in, you guessed it, a mason jar). I believe I got my carafe at Target, but they’re similar to these. The cork lid is key for preventing spilling, and also to keep any flying friends from entering the lemonade when you’re at the picnic site.
- Don’t forget the corkscrew. Or better yet, choose wines with a screwcap! That way if you don’t drink it all you can screw it back on tight and prevent any spilling if a cork were to accidentally pop out.
- Want a cheese and charcuterie plate? Prep and cut everything at home so you don’t have to be doing any slicing while on site (or use that cutting board). Keep it simple and do 1 or 2 meats and 2-3 different cheeses, and add some fruit (dried or fresh) or honey for drizzle. You don’t need a lot going on for a satisfying and beautiful cheese and charcuterie plate. You can serve on a cutting board, or use this sleek slate board (ps, this is one of our favorite serving boards! You may recognize it, as we use it in TONS of photos here on the blog).
That’s it.
You guys, I’m not a good planner or prepper, and even I can throw an easy and elegant picnic for the whole family! You can too!
And everyone wins. The parents are happy, and so are the kids.
Related Recipes:
- Smoked Tenderloin Sandwiches — Perfect for a Picnic (the sandwiches you see in these pictures)
- Easy Mayo Free Coleslaw
- Mary’s BBQ Baked Beans
- Smoked Sausage and Lentil Soup
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