This entrée-worthy recipe for roasted potato salad combines roasted potatoes with lentils, red onion, and chives. It's all tossed in a yogurt-soft cheese-dill dressing (no mayonnaise!). Perfect for any pot-luck BBQ this summer!
Make this salad ahead and top with half of the dressing, reserving the remaining dressing for just before serving.
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Summer means BBQs, backyard parties, and potato salad. And this Roasted Potato Salad with Lentils might be the best one I've ever made.
Lentils and potatoes are so perfect together. Another recipe that combines them that's a reader favorite is this Potato Asparagus Salad Lentils in a Lemon Vinaigrette.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy. It's easy with very little meal prep work required.
- Make-ahead friendly. Make this salad ahead with half of the dressing, and add the remaining dressing just before serving.
- Pot-luck dish. Perfect for summer BBQs and potluck dinners on the calendar.
- Flexible. Great main dish for vegetarians and popular side dish for omnivores. The salmon addition for the omnivores is perfect!
- Gluten-free. Perfect dish for those who follow a gluten free diet.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minute meal or less.
For all of the ingredients, measurements, and directions for this roast potato salad, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
Potato Lentil Salad
- Baby potatoes - Baby Yukon golds are the best, as they hold together better than russet potatoes. Red potatoes and fingerling potatoes also work great in this recipe.
- French green lentils - I prefer French green lentils because they hold together better than brown lentils when cooked. Here's a great article explaining the differences between lentils, how best to cook them, and use them.
- Red onion - Do not substitute yellow or white onion for the red onion.
- Fresh chives
Boursin-Yogurt Dressing
- Boursin soft cheese - I like the garlic and herbed cheese flavor. Soft goat cheese with herbs and garlic works well too.
- Yogurt - full-fat yogurt is best for this dressing.
- Rice vinegar - I use seasoned rice vinegar although plain rice vinegar works fine. If you don't have any on hand, any white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar will work.
- Fresh dill - don't be tempted to use dried dill. This salad needs fresh dill.
🔪 Recommended Equipment
Having the right equipment for recipes makes prepping soooo much easier. If you want more fuss-free prepping and cooking, check out my updated list of favorite kitchen tools and equipment.
📝 Instructions Overview
Detailed instructions for making this roasted potato salad recipe are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview!
Step 1
Roast the potatoes. Toss the potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the potatoes in an air fryer if you have one. Otherwise, use a conventional or toaster oven.
Step 2
Cook the lentils. Use these directions for cooking your best lentils.
Step 3
Mix together. Combine the cooked lentils with the roasted potatoes, red onion, and chives.
Step 4
Make the dressing. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing, and drizzle half of it over the potatoes. Lightly toss, and add more dressing as desired.
Step 5
Serve. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
👩🍳 Make-Ahead Tip
If you make this roasted potato salad ahead of time, dress the salad with only half of the dressing. The dressing will soak into the potatoes and lentils, enhancing the flavors. Cover and refrigerate, and just before serving, toss the salad with the remaining dressing.
💡Ideas for Possible Variations
- Replace the lentils with green beans.
- Add thinly sliced green onion (scallions) along with the fresh dill.
- Add hard-boiled eggs for extra protein.
- Fresh herbs are a must in this recipe. Feel free to use other herbs you prefer. Both fresh thyme and fresh oregano work well.
Roasted Potato Lentil Salad Without Mayo
Ingredients
Roasted Potato Salad with Lentils
- 6 cups halved baby Yukon gold potatoes (new potatoes)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt according to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup cooked French green lentils or brown or black lentils
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced chives
- 1 cup chopped red onion
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons soft cheese with herbs I used Boursin garlic and herbed cheese
- 2 tablespoons plain full-fat yogurt
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped dill
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Roasted Potato Salad with Lentils
- Roast the potatoes. Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F. Toss the potatoes in oil, salt and pepper. Arrange in the basket of the air fryer, and roast for 10 minutes. Go to this post on air fryer potatoes if you want more information.If using a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 425˚F. Toss the potatoes in oil, salt and pepper. Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until tender. The blade of a knife should be able to easily puncture the potatoes.
- Cook the lentils. If using brown lentils, bring 1 ½ cups of water to simmer. Add ½ cup of dried lentils to the water with a healthy pinch of kosher salt. Cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Go to this post for detailed instructions on cooking lentil beans if you would like more information, or are using green or black lentils. Each lentil bean is explained, has detailed cooking instructions, and ways to use each.
- Combine the roast potatoes, ¾ cup of cooked lentils (or more, if you prefer), the minced chives, and chopped red onion together in a large bowl.Toss with the dressing (below).
Dressing
- Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. This makes more dressing than you will need, so reserve the rest to re-dress leftovers the next day.
lizthechef
Love the flexibility of your salad, Susan -
Wendy
This turned out great...love it! That dressing is fabulous...I'd eat the salmon version as we're going to try to eat fish 2-3 times each week going forward in lieu of fish oil supps.
apuginthekitchen
Really nice salad Susan, love the options to change it up a bit i.e. salmon. I love it the way you wrote with the lentils. That dressing sounds amazing, this is a great salad.
Dorothy at ShockinglyDelicious
I really like the flexible way you wrote this recipe!
veronica gantley
Your lentil potato salad is so lovely. I could go for a big bowl of that right now!!
Marlene @Nosh My Way
I love how you gave options for this. I love salmon, but I think this salad is great stand alone.
Michelle
The dressing sounds wonderful!
angela@spinachtiger
I like this as a vegetarian dish. Seems filling and satisfying and I think would disappear at a party.
Cindys Recipes and Writings
Salmon is never an option at my house if I have it its on this salad!
CCU
My mum always complains I eat potatoes not lentils 😛
Now I can eat both - perfect!
Cheers
CCU
Erika
Ooh fabulous--I know what you mean about getting kind of stuck in a rut. So great to start exploring and finding new and different flavor/ingredient combinations! Wait--I just realized I have five little potatoes from my coworker's leftover CSA. I'm so excited!!! I might make this salad this weekend--I love lentils sooo much. They're perfect for taking a salad from, well, a salad to an entree with lots of protein/fiber/etc. So basically, this is a brilliant salad. Beautiful, as always!
Mary Frances
There are few things that shout "summer!" to me more than a potato salad. I love your twist on the common potato salad--the addition of salmon is wonderful! Thanks for the inspiration, I will be sure to step it up with my next salad! 🙂
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies
I love the idea of adding lentils to potato salad--two of my favorite ingredients together!