Kale and Lentil Salad with Roasted Carrots

Add some flavor to your dinner table with a hearty and healthy kale and lentil salad filled with roasted carrots, cranberries and pumpkin seeds; dressed with a cinnamon-kissed maple balsamic vinaigrette.  Perfect for both holiday and weekday meals!

These days a kale salad seems like old news (a little overdone and past its prime), but despite its fall from fame I’m here to argue that a kale salad is still worthy of a place on your dinner table, especially this time of year. 

Kale’s sturdy leaves make for a hearty salad that can stand up to a variety of dressings and support a number of seasonal favorites like roast vegetables, dried fruit and nuts and seeds. Today’s version is an easy kale and lentil salad that works equally well as a main course or a side salad.  It’s filled to the brim with roasted carrots, black lentils, cranberries and pumpkin seeds, and dressed with a cinnamon-kissed maple balsamic vinaigrette.  It’s fancy enough for your holiday table but simple enough to make on a weekday. 

A kale and lentil salad with roasted carrots is a welcome contrast to the heavy and often cloyingly sweet traditional Thanksgiving dishes and a great way to add some freshness and color to your holiday menu.  It fits right in with the classics while offering a little respite to your palate. Full of flavor, with a satisfying mix of tastes and textures it’s a hearty fall salad that won’t leave you feeling weighed down.  Here’s what you’ll need to make it.

Ingredient Notes:

(Here are a few notes about the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe.  As always find the full list of ingredients and directions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)

• Lentils – I’ve chosen black lentils because they hold their shape well once cooked and work well in salads but small French du Puy lentils would work here as well (regular green lentils fall apart too much). 
• Carrots – Use small to medium-sized carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces.
• Olive Oil – Use your favorite extra virgin olive oil.
• Herbs – If you have some dried bay leaves throw one into the pot with the lentils.
• Kale – Use lacinato kale or the kale of your choice.
• Dried Fruit - Use dried cranberries or dried cherries if you prefer.
• Seeds - Use pumpkin seeds or substitute your favorite seeds or nuts.
• Vinegar – Use a good quality balsamic vinegar.
• Maple Syrup – Use a light to medium colored maple syrup.
• Mustard – Use a good quality Dijon mustard for the best flavor.
• Spices – You’ll need ground cinnamon.  Use Celyon cinnamon for the best flavor.

How to Make a Kale Carrot Salad:

The wonderful things about a salad like this one is that is can easily be made ahead of time.  The lentils and carrots can be prepared a day ahead of time so it’s a busy cook’s dream.  All that needs to be done the day of is to dress and massage your greens before tossing everything together.  Even the dressing can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge until needed.

1. Toss the carrots with oil on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast until tender.  Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, place the lentils, bay leaf and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until just tender.
3. Drain the lentils in a colander, rinse with cold water spread them out on a sheet pan to quickly cool to room temperature.  (Once the lentils and carrots are at room temperature they can be placed in air-tight containers and refrigerated overnight if desired or can be tossed immediately with the dressing.)
4. To make the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Place the kale in a large bowl and add a spoonful of dressing over the top. Gently rub the dressing into the kale leaves until the leaves have softened.  Add the lentils and carrots and remaining dressing, toss gently to combine.
6. Top the salad with cranberries and pumpkin seeds and serve!

More Kale Salads:

• Kale and Apple Slaw
• Brussels Sprouts Kale Salad
• Sweet Potato and Kale Salad

Continue to Content

Yield: Serves 4

Kale and Lentil Salad with Roasted Carrots (Vegan)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

This hearty but healthy roasted carrot lentil and kale salad is packed with delicious Fall flavors.

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Ingredients

• For the salad:
• ½ cup/100g black lentils (or French Du Puy)
• ½ Tablespoon/7g apple cider vinegar (if soaking lentils)
• 1 lb/453g carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 Tablespoon/15ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (divded use)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bunch lacinato kale, de-stemmed and thinly sliced
• ¼ cup/40g dried cranberries
• ¼ cup/28g pumpkin seeds
• For the dressing:
• 2 Tablespoons/30ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ Tablespoons/22ml balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons/10ml maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ⅛th teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

1. If you have time start by soaking the lentils, if not skip this step, just rinse the lentils and move to the next step.  Place lentils in a large mason jar or bowl and cover with water.  Add ½ Tablespoon apple cider vinegar and let soak at room temperature for at least 4 hours. After 4 hours, drain and rinse lentils a few times.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Toss carrots with oil, ½ teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread carrots out in an even layer. Roast until tender and caramelized around the edges, (about 25 to 30 minutes).  Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
4. Meanwhile, place the lentils and a bay leaf in a medium saucepan. Add enough water to cover the lentils by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until just tender, (about 15 minutes for pre-soaked or 20
   minutes for non-soaked). Drain the lentils in a colander and discard the bay leaf. Rinse with cold water and drain again then sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt over lentils and spread them out on a sheet pan to quickly cool to room temperature.
5. Once the lentils and carrots are at room temperature they can be placed in air-tight containers and refrigerated overnight if desired or can be tossed immediately with the dressing.
6. To make the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
7. Place the kale in a large bowl and add a spoonful of dressing over the top.  Using clean hands
   gently rub the dressing into the kale leaves until the leaves have softened.  Add the lentils and carrots
   and remaining dressing, toss gently to combine. 
8. Top salad with chopped cranberries and pumpkin seeds and transfer salad to a large serving platter before serving.  Season with additional salt and/or pepper as needed. 

Notes

If you have time soak your lentils ahead of time. Soaking improves digestibility, reduces the cooking time and ensures the lentils are tender throughout.

If you can't find black lentils use French Du Puy lentils instead which also hold their shape well when cooked.

The lentils and carrots can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated until needed.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Go Raw Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt, Sprouted & Organic, 14 oz. Bag | Keto | Vegan | Gluten Free Snacks | Superfood
• 
  Hunza Organic Black Beluga Lentils (2-lbs)

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 311Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 749mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 8gSugar: 17gProtein: 5g

Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.

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Sylvie

Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.