Lentil salad with some sort of roasted root vegetables, or pumpkin, is an autumn and winter staple. It’s easy and takes no time at all, it’s a balanced meal, and most importantly tastes great.
Since pumpkin is right at the tail end of its season now, I’m sticking to carrots for now. Carrots are a little speedier in any case. If you want to use pumpkin, try my roasted pumpkin salad.
If I’m being really lazy I’ll just toss everything together with a little balsamic vinegar on top, but the tahini sauce really pulls everything together here and adds some satisfying creaminess. I’m not sure when I first started to really love lentils but these days it’s a full-blown affair.
I never understand when people, especially vegetarians, tell me they don’t like lentils. They’re the ideal food! Especially if you live in the north, as they’re grown in northern Europe and North America so you can usually find them from a local-ish source. Even in Canada!
I make this roasted carrot salad for a quick lunch on the weekends, as a main during the week, and it’s almost as good cold, so Graham packs it and brings it to work with him too. If you’re looking for a super-quick weeknight dinner, you’ve found it!
You need less than half an hour from start to finish, including and cutting time (minimal) and making the sauce. Note that if you have huge carrots, they should be quartered instead of halved to keep within a reasonable cooking timeframe.
Plus, the ingredients are easy to find and affordable – if you don’t want to spend money on tahini or you don’t like/can’t get it, you can substitute some kind of nut butter or another seed butter in its place. Tahini is easy to find now anyway, probably thanks largely to the popularity of the Ottolenghi books, hah.
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Spicy Roasted Carrots with Tahini Lentil Salad
Ingredients
- 150 grams / 3/4 cup dry brown or green lentils*
- 7-8 medium carrots halved lengthwise (~300 grams)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon sumac**
- 60 grams / 2 cups rucola or other mild greens
Tahini Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar***
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt to taste
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Plus pomegranate seeds for topping
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils and place into a medium pot. Cover generously with water, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes. Strain any remaining water and stir in a sprinkle of salt. While the lentils are cooking, prepare the carrots.
- Preheat the oven to 190C / 375F. Place the carrots onto a baking sheet with the oil and spices, then use your hands to mix until the carrots are coated. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until they are softened and browned.
- To serve, separate the rucola between two dishes and add half the lentils and carrots. Top with the tahini sauce and some pomegranate, and serve immediately. If you want to pack this for lunch, let the individual elements cool before packing them together in a sealed container.
Tahini Vinaigrette
- Place all of the ingredients into a small dish or jar and mix until fully combined. Keep and leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Notes
• Try baby spinach, kale, or swiss chard in place of the rucola (all babies). Don't go for lettuce as it'll be wilt unpleasantly when it comes into contact with the warm carrots and lentils.
• I know this recipe says it serves two but I've downed the whole thing by myself before, so double it if you're extra hungry!
• Try to soak the lentils ahead of time if you can - just cover them in cold water with a splash of apple cider vinegar and let them sit overnight. This makes them easier to digest and they'll cook faster.
*This will be around 300 grams / 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils if you already have them on hand.
**If you don't have sumac, cumin is a good substitution.
*** If you hate vinegar, you can switch out the balsamic for lemon juice. But even Graham, who says he can't stand vinegar, happily eats this sauce.
Diane says
I made this using some beautiful baby rainbow carrots. I added some baby asparagus and patty pan squash and roasted it all in the oven. I loved the dressing! Absolutely delicious and I love how quickly this meal came together. Thank you for a great recipe!
Annemie says
I made this yesterday and it was lovely! Even my boyfriend who was very skeptical upfront about the “weird brown sauce” really liked it. Really easy too!
Jess says
I’ve made this twice and I’m obsessed. Even my meat loving husband loves it as a main course with some crumbled feta. I liked the balsamic in the dressing, but the second time I used lemon juice and liked it even better. I like lemon on everything though, so it may just be me. 🙂
Thank you! I’ll definitely be trying more recipes.
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Does the vinegarette keep long?
Alexandra Daum says
About three days in the refrigerator, in my experience. You might have to thin it a bit before using if it’s cold.
Suzanne says
This looks so good! Do you use this vinegarette for any other recipes?
Alexandra Daum says
There are similar ones here and here.
Alessandra Rodriguez says
SOOO GOOOD and SOOO EASY!!! I am so impressed by how filling this dish was! I was nervous that it wouldn’t be enough for dinner, but it was so much that we didn’t even finish it! Can’t wait to try again.
Jennifer says
I had not tried a salad with lentils like this before, or with roasted carrots for that matter! I enjoyed trying something new and hope to make it again. I used spinach for the greens, subbed dried cranberries for the pomegranate and added avocado to my salad. It’s a unique but tasty combination of flavors and textures!
Alexandra Daum says
So glad you liked it, thanks Jennifer!
Ash says
Can you use canned lentils?
Alexandra Daum says
I don’t see why not!
Kat says
Really wish the recipe would have included pomegranate in the ingredients list. Making an extra trip to the store now that I realize it was not included for my last trip.
Alexandra says
Hi Kat – it’s listed under the tahini sauce, maybe you missed it when looking at the main salat ingredients?
Kristina says
Made this last night and it was very good. We added sun dried tomatoes and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds for crunch, and used white wine vinegar instead of balsamic. Easy dinner salad, great for leftovers.
Ruby says
What kind of lentils work best here?
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hi Ruby, brown or green lentils are best. Thanks for noticing that, it’s been updated now in the recipe.
Kayla says
Love this easy healthy meal!! Have cooked it consistently for guests for past year. Always a hit!! Carrots must be bigger than usual as they’re taking forever to cook. LOL : ) Thanks for great recipe!!
Kim says
Made this last night as a quick Sunday meal…so good. It will now be part of my regular meal rotation. Thank you!
mwaters says
Odd that your photographs show pomegranate, but you don’t include it in the recipe.
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
It is mentioned in the recipe to top it with pomegranate, but of course you can leave it out if you prefer.