This Roasted Carrot and Lentil Salad will be your new favourite for when you want something hearty and flavorful, but also healthy and bright. It's the perfect combination of bold flavors, which can be served warm or cold, as a light lunch or as a side dish.
This Lentil Carrot Salad is particularly welcome at the end of winter or in early Spring when you're craving bright flavors to replace comfort food, but it's still cold out. It's also wonderful for meal prep, as it can be eaten cold from the fridge, at room temperature or even warmed up. The sweet Spiced Roasted Carrots pair beautifully with savory lentils, and the tangy dressing is perfection.
I love puy lentils (also known as French in particular, so if you love them too, check out my Lentil Tomato Soup recipe. Or if you're looking for something even heartier, then my Lentil Bolognese is always a good idea for eating over spaghetti or in a Shepherds Pie. Alternatively why not try my Roasted Tomato Mediterranean Lentil Salad for when summer tomatoes are ripe and abundant?!
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🥕Ingredients
See below for the ingredients for the Carrot Lentil Salad Recipe. The full quantities are noted in the recipe card, along with both Metric and Imperial measurements needed.
- Puy Lentils (black lentils) or French Green Lentils are best for this recipe, however regular green lentils or brown lentils will also work. Avoid red lentils as they end up too soft for this salad.
- Fresh Carrots: Make sure they're fresh and crunchy!
- Spring Onions: To toss through the salad.
- Fresh Parsley: Plenty of fresh flat-leaf parsley. It acts as a green vegetable in this salad.
- Pine Nuts or Pistachio Nuts (optional but tasty)
- Spices: Cumin (either a teaspoon ground cumin, or cumin seeds) , Garlic Powder and Red Chilli Powder, Cayenne Pepper or a Moroccan Spices Blend.
- White Wine Vinegar: For the vinaigrette. You can also add a little fresh lemon juice if you wish.
- Olive Oil: Extra Virgin Olive oil for the dressing, and just regular to toss the carrots in to roast.
- Dijon Mustard: For the vinaigrette.
- A little sweetener such as maple syrup or agave syrup to balance the flavor of vinaigrette dressing.
- Garlic: One small clove for the vinaigrette salad dressing. .
- Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper.
See recipe card for quantities.
👩🍳Instructions
Follow along with these step by step photos to help you achieve the perfect Lentil Carrot Salad! The quantities and full instructions are written out on the recipe card.
1. First cook the lentils until tender in plenty of water on medium heat with half an onion and a little optional boullion powder. Make sure they don't dry out and catch. Pan roast the pine nuts or pistachio nuts.
2. Cut the carrots into chunks and lay out on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle over the seasonings and olive oil and mix around a bit. Bake at 180c/360f for about 25 minutes or until caramelised. Meanwhile, mix up the ingredients for the salad dressing in a small jar.
3. Drain the lentils and allow to cool a little. Dress with half the salad dressing and mix through the fresh herbs and spring onions.
4. Top the lentils with the roasted carrots, more dressing and the pine nuts and toss well.
Serve this delicious hearty salad warm or at room temperature.
Hint: Lentils can vary with their cook time depending on the size, type and even their age (older lentils will take longer). Make sure to keep an eye on the lentils as they are cooking so they don't boil dry or turn to mush.
🌶️Substitutions & Variations
Like all salad recipes, this salad is perfect for changing according to your tastes, dietary needs, the season or what you have to hand. Here are some easy swaps and variations:
- Pre-Cooked Lentils- choose canned lentils or those handy lentils you can buy in pouches rather than cooking your own.
- Other Root Vegetables: - chunks of sweet potato, parsnips or beets are all delicious to replace or in addition to the carrots.
- Other seeds or nuts: replace the pine nuts with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or chopped toasted cashews.
- Alternative Onions: I like to use spring onions, however chopped red onion, chives or sweet white onion would also be delicious.
- Arugula or Rocket: instead or as well as the fresh parsley.
🔪Equipment
You'll need a sauce pan, baking sheet and a good knife to make this recipe. I like to serve this salad either in a shallow serving bowl or piled onto a serving platter or plate.
🫙Storage
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This salad can be eaten cold, or room temperature, so it's great for food prep!
Top tip
Make sure the carrots are lovely and roasted with a little caramelization on the edges for the ultimate flavor.
Salads
Looking for other healthy salad recipes?
Lunch
Here are some other great lunch ideas to try:
📖 Recipe
Spiced Roasted Carrot and Lentil Salad
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
For the Lentils
- 250 g (1 cups) puy lentils ( or brown or green lentils )
- ½ onion (small)
- 500 ml water (or more as needed)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
For the Carrots
- 650 g (1 3/7 lb) carrots (about 6 medium carrots )
- 1 teaspoon cumin (ground)
- 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder (or cayenne pepper)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- sea salt to taste.
For the Vinaigrette Dressing
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or ACV)
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup (or agave or sugar)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
To assemble the salad
- 3 tablespoon pine nuts (toastes)
- 4 spring onions
- 100 g flat leaf parsley
Instructions
Cook the lentils:
- Halve the onion and remove the skin.½ onion
- Add the lentils to a saucepan and cook the lentils in water with the ½ onion and salt until tender over a medium heat. . About 20 mins. Drain.250 g puy lentils, 500 ml water, 1 teaspoon sea salt
How to cook the carrots:
- Roughly chop the carrots and sprinkle over all the seasonings and olive oil. Mix and roast at 180c/360F for about 20-25 mins or until tender and caramelized.650 g carrots, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon olive oil, sea salt to taste.
Make the Vinaigrette Dressing
- Mince the garlic, then combine all the ingredients for the Dressing in a jar and mix thoroughly. Taste and add salt/ more mustard/more vinegar as desired.1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar , 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 clove garlic, ½ teaspoon maple syrup, ½ teaspoon sea salt
Assemble the Salad
- Toast seeds , pine nuts or pistachios in a hot pan with no oil until they are fragrant. Careful not to burn!3 tablespoon pine nuts
- Finely chop the spring onion and parsley.
- Drain the lentils and mix half the dressing through them.
- On a plate or serving bowl assemble the lentils, parsley and spring onions and toss.4 spring onions, 100 g flat leaf parsley
- Top the salad with the roasted carrots and pine nuts and serve.
Notes
- Like all salad recipes, this salad is perfect for changing according to your tastes, dietary needs, the season or what you have to hand. Here are some easy swaps and variations:
- Pre-Cooked Lentils- choose canned lentils or those handy lentils you can buy in pouches rather than cooking your own.
- Other Root Vegetables: - chunks of sweet potato, parsnips or beets are all delicious to replace or in addition to the carrots.
- Other seeds or nuts: replace the pine nuts with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or chopped toasted cashews.
- Alternative Onions: I like to use spring onions, however chopped red onion, chives or sweet white onion would also be delicious.
- Arugula or Rocket: instead or as well as the fresh parsley.
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