Tomato-Lentil Salad With Spicy Tahini
Published July 20, 2026
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Ready In
- 25 min
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
2 (15-ounce) cans lentils, drained, rinsed and shaken dry (or 3 cups cooked green or black lentils from 1 ½ cups dry lentils)
1 ½ pounds ripe tomatoes (or 2 pints cherry tomatoes), cut into bite-size pieces
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
Salt
¼ cup stirred tahini
1 tablespoon chile crisp, harissa or another chile paste, plus more to taste
1 ½ loosely packed cups basil leaves, torn
Toasted sesame seeds, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 to 4 servings)
55 grams carbs; 515 calories; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 25 grams fat; 21 grams fiber; 1005 milligrams sodium; 24 grams protein; 9 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl, combine the lentils, tomatoes, oil, lemon juice and a big pinch of salt. Stir to combine. In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, stir together the tahini and chili crisp. Add cold water until pourable, then taste and add more chile crisp and salt until the sauce is a little too spicy. (It will be tamed by the lentils.)
- Step 2
Stir the basil gently into the salad. Serve the salad drizzled with the tahini sauce and showered with sesame seeds. Season to taste with salt.
Private Notes
Comments
I don't find it helpful when people list how they made the dish by substituting for basically every ingredient it has. A suggestion for a substitution or minor addition is fine, but not an entirely whole new reciple.
What I love about Ali’s recipes besides their innate deliciousness is how she offers suggested variations - here like adding feta or toasted almonds. I also always scour the readers’ comments to see how they made the recipe with the ingredients that they had on hand. It helps me decide if I want to run out to the store for a missing ingredient or try to substitute what I have on hand. This particular recipe with a few add-one was a fab lunch on a hot day.
@Greg I find it inspiring to learn from others’ creativity! You could just skim past those comments.
I thought this was great! I made the lentils in a pressure cooker for 8 minutes with 10 minutes natural release. Immediately drained and rinsed with cold water like would with pasta for a pasta salad. Not soggy. I used cherry tomatoes to prevent tomato liquid (plan on leftovers for lunch!). The only tahini at my local store was the brand Soom. The chili crisp stirred in nicely to the tahini. I started out drizzling but then just mixed it all together. I did add at least a tsp of salt. Maybe next time I’ll salt the lentils while they cook. Because I will definitely make it again! I followed the recipe and added the basil. Not sure how that will look as a leftover. All in all a great, easy, tasty dish! Thanks! ( and I think cherry tomatoes aren’t toooo awful in the winter so I can make this any time of the year!)
@Betsy. Was even better the next day! Shared with a friend who also gave it a thumbs up!!
This is soooooo good!! Thank you!
Flavors are great, but a couple big troubles to note -- first, if you cut the tomatoes in advance, it basically becomes soup, which is kind of a different and disappointing outcome. Second, something strange happened when I added the water to the tahini/chile crisp -- it got super thick and clumpy, utterly resistant to any efforts to mix it together or thin it out. Honestly it was a totally gross texture and hard to eat, let alone drizzle. No idea what happened, but it was bad!
This happened to me too. Instead of trying to use it as a drizzle I just mixed it all in to the lentil/tomato mixture. The taste was good, presentation not so much.