Lentil Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Published: Sep 16, 2020 · Modified: Sep 18, 2020 by Debra Klein · This post may contain affiliate links · 48 Comments

Tender oven-roasted vegetables in a delicious marinade with lentils, pistachios and raisins make for one crave-worthy vegan winter salad! Strikingly beautiful and so delicious, lentils with roasted vegetables is surprisingly easy to make and meal prep-friendly.

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Beautiful and brightly colored roasted veggies plus lentils, pistachios and raisins, artfully arranged on a large white plate and a smaller plate of the same.

A hearty and satisfying salad….or is it a meal? So vibrant and delicious, go ahead and include these lentils with roasted veggies wherever you can. A healthy salad is so energizing you’ll want to eat it over and over again.

This strikingly beautiful salad combines tender roasted carrots, fennel, onions and cauliflower with protein-rich lentils in a simple marinade that’s out of this world delsh!

I’m over here eating this for the third day in a row (well hello healthy meal prep)…and I’m not a bit sorry. I love a meal that is loaded with texture, color, taste and nutrition….yup, this one checks off all the boxes. I’m definitely smitten.

Bright, colorful roasted red onions, carrots, fennel and cauliflower mixed with lentils, pistachios and raisins in a large white bowl.

What kind of lentils are best for salad?

I used small black beluga lentils. The small green french lentils are another good choice for salad. I wouldn’t use red lentils for this recipe though. Red and yellow split lentils tend to break up when cooked, making them perfect for lentil soups and stews when they don’t need to hold their shape.

How to Perfectly Cook Lentils for Salad with Roasted Vegetables:

It’s important to pick over your lentils before cooking. It’s not unusual to find small stones in a bag of lentils. Also, you’ll want to rinse them well, in a large mesh strainer.

STOVE TOP METHOD: Place rinsed lentils plus 2 ½ cups water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then turn down to gently simmer for 16 minutes, then drain.

INSTANT-POT PERFECT LENTILS: Place rinsed lentils along with 2 ½ cups water into instant pot and set pressure to high. Cook for 6 minutes, use quick release and then drain.

DO NOT COOK LONGER THAN DIRECTED. Lentils should be tender, but definitely NOT MUSHY for including in salad.

How to cut vegetables (fennel, cauliflower, onions and carrots) for roasting:

Step by Step directions to trim and cut cauliflower, fennel, carrots and red onions for lentil salad with roasted vegetables.

There’s no need to shy away from vegetables that look tricky to trim and prep for roasting. Fennel is a good example. See photos above for the step by step. I like to trim the fronds on the top and save for garnish. If you leave the root end on both the onions and fennel intact before cutting, you’ll have some beautiful fan like slices.

Sheet Pan of roasted, caramelized fennel, onions, carrots, cauliflower plus pistachios. — Leaving the root end of the fennel and onions intact when slicing creates beautiful caramelized wedges when roasted.

Delicious Spice blend for Easy and Tasty Roasted Veggies

This marinade comes together so quickly. Whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup then add the spices including cinnamon, allspice, turmeric and cumin and just a dash of cayenne. Reserve just a bit for the salad, and pour the rest over the veggies to roast.

I love how cinnamon evokes a sweet aroma and taste to even the most savory of veggies. The combination of cinnamon and allspice together with fennel and onions when roasted creates a caramelized, addictive deliciousness that you must taste to fully appreciate.

Fall veggies plus pistachios roast on the same sheet pan for easy clean up.

EASY peasy when you roast the veggies and the pistachios at the same time…while the lentils are cooking. It is important that everything is in a single layer so there’s plenty of room to brown. You may need to use two trays for this.

Lentils with Roasted Vegetables

I’ll be honest, I really had a hard time figuring out what to call this. Seriously. It’s not easy. I eat this warm for dinner, and I don’t really think of it as salad. It’s satisfying and hearty and definitely a meal in itself.

Yet, when I eat the EXACT SAME THING (because it’s so freakin delicious I just want it all the time) for lunch the next day, I call it a lentil salad. Maybe you call it easy meal prep idea? Seems so cliche fall….cool nights call for hot dinner and warm days need a nourishing salad like this one.

I plan on making this as a healthy side dish for Rosh Hashanah and for Thanksgiving….totally worthy of a holiday meal. Don’t you think? Shh…nobody has to know that it’s so easy to make, you can pull it off on a busy weeknight too!

I suppose it doesn’t much matter what it’s called as long as I can continue to enjoy it regularly! Lentils with Roasted Vegetables, Lentil Salad with Veggies, Oven Roasted Veggie Side Dish…..what will YOU call it? All I can tell you for sure is that it’s super tasty and I’m totally smitten…with the taste, the texture, the colors…..and the way I feel after I’ve eaten it: super energized!

Looking for more holiday worthy, easy plant-based dishes?

More Easy Healthy Main Course Recipes

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