This Lentil Dip recipe is a hearty, nutritious, and delicious dip recipe that's easy to make and perfect for your New Year's Eve party!
Do you have any New Year's Day food traditions?
My family usually hosts a New Year's Day pajama party open house. It's a great way to kick off the new year with a warm house full of fun friends, laughter, smiles, and yummy food and drinks.
I make firecrackers with fun positive printables inside to start the year off on a healthy, happy note.
New Year's Day food traditions around the world
All around the globe, different cultures have many longstanding New Year's Day food traditions.
- In the Philippines, the favorite lechon (roast pig) is served along with Pancit noodles. The noodles represent long life and good health.
- Southerners in the US traditionally serve black eyed peas along with collard greens to symbolize money.
- In Japan, a New Year's Eve menu usually includes soba noodles to represent long life.
And in Italy, lentils are served after midnight on New Year's Eve or later during New Year's Day. Lentils traditionally represent luck and prosperity.
Good Luck Lentil Dip
For our New Year's Day festivities in the past, I've enjoyed serving this Good Luck Lentil Dip.
It's so simple, yet full of textures and flavors that blend beautifully together. This hearty dip is absolutely delicious to serve along with tortilla chips, crackers, or slices of baguette.
Kitchen Tools and Equipment
You just need a few basic kitchen tools to make this yummy New Year's Day recipe!
Stockpot - Use a large stockpot to cook the lentils.
Colander - You'll need a colander/strainer to drain the lentils after cooking.
Mixing bowls - Then you'll need two mixing bowls: one to hold the lentils while they chill in the fridge, and another to mix together the remaining ingredients.
Ingredients for Lentil Dip
You'll need:
- Lentils - You can use almost any lentil that you like. I prefer to use dried green lentils.
- Tomatoes - I find that Roma tomatoes work best for this dip, but you can also use San Marzano tomatoes, plum tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes.
- Basil - Use fresh basil if you can. Otherwise, you can use 1 tablespoon of dried basil instead.
- Garlic - The recipe calls for one clove of garlic, minced, but you can use two if you love garlic as I do!
- Salt & Pepper - Start with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper, then feel free to add more and season to taste.
- Balsamic Vinegar - The balsamic vinegar adds a slight tangy and tart flavor to the dip.
- Olive oil - Use the highest quality, best tasting extra-virgin olive oil that you have on hand.
- Lemon juice and zest - Adding both lemon juice and some lemon zest helps balance the dish out with fresh acidity.
- Oregano - I love the herbal depth of flavor that dried oregano adds to this lentip dip recipe. You can also use thyme instead, or add a little thyme to add even more complexity of flavor.
- Feta - Crumbled feta cheese adds a creamy, tangy component to the dish. If you're dairy-free, you can easily leave this out. Or, try using a favorite dairy-free feta cheese.
More New Year's Day recipes
To round out your New Year's Day festivities, try these easy recipes:
- Champagne Float Cocktails
- Gougere Bites (dairy-free cheese puffs)
- Air Fryer Crab Rangoon
- Filipino Pancit Bihon - noodles for long life!
- Champagne Jello Shots
Good Luck Lentil Dip recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked lentils
- 5-6 Roma tomatoes OR 1-½ cups cherry tomatoes, diced
- 8 large fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed to taste
- ¼ ground black pepper, plus more if needed to taste
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup crumbled feta
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, bring about 8 cups of water to a boil.
- Rinse and drain your dry lentils in a colander, then add to the boiling water.
- Cover the pot and lower heat to medium, allowing the lentils to cook until they are softened (but not mushy!), which takes about 20-25 minutes. Drain the cooked lentils into a large bowl and allow to cool slightly at room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
- Meanwhile, in a separate large bowl, add diced tomatoes, basil leaves, and minced garlic.
- Add the salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and oregano. Stir gently with a wooden spoon so the flavors and ingredients blend well.
- Remove the chilled lentils from the refrigerator and add to the bowl. Add the crumbled feta and gently stir again, until ingredients are evenly distributed throughout.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour; you can make this the night before and refrigerate overnight.
- Serve with crackers, tortilla chips, or baguette slices.
Notes
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
What about you? What are your New Year's Eve and/or New Year's Day traditions? Any way you choose to celebrate, I wish you all a very safe, warm, delicious, BLISSful New Year!
Erin says
I've added this to our NYE menu for tonight! Happy new year, Marlynn!
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Awesome! Happy New Year, Erin!
Betsy says
Yum! Maybe we'll try this instead of black eyed peas this year. I might actually eat it then haha.
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Ahh I feel the same about black eyed peas, Betsy! :) Happy New Year!
Jen says
This looks amazing!! Definitely best enjoyed in PJs with Sherlock. :) Happy New Year!
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Thanks so much, Jen! Happy New Year!
Cathy M says
HOLY YUM, BATMAN! I cannot wait to try this for tomorrow night's NYE party!
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Happy New Year, Cathy!
Lauren says
This has all my favorite ingredients! I have never seen a dip like this before, so I need to give it a try! Pinned :)
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Thanks for pinning the recipe, Lauren! Hope you get to try it someday and if you do, please let me know how it goes!
Clarissa says
My dad always makes black-eyed-peas to bring 'good luck' in the new year...maybe I could incorporate them into this recipe!
-Clarissa @ The View From Here
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
Black eyed peas are definitely a popular tradition for New Year's in the US! If you try them with this recipe, I'd love to know how it turns out! Happy New Year, Clarissa!