Kale and Lentil Salad

This lentil salad is a nutritious and delicious dish packed with protein, fibre, and vitamins. This salad is perfect for a healthy meal or as a side dish. It combines lentils, chopped kale, olives, chopped cucumber, shallots, green onions, fresh parsley, feta cheese and sliced almonds. The salad is then drizzled with a tangy lemony tahini dressing. You can customize the salad to your taste by adding other ingredients like more diced veggies of your choice, and switching up the nuts or adding seeds or dried fruit. We make this all year round and love it as a side to grilled or roasted chicken or fish and we also love it tossed with grilled chicken or even tuna for more protein making it a complete meal.

Kale & Lentil Salad Recipe Ingredients

• LENTILS: Canned brown or green lentils is what I generally use and have on hand. Rinsed and drained. Using canned lentils makes this salad super easy and quick to prepare but if you like to cook your lentils from dry that is great. See recipe notes below on measurements and how to go about doing so. Really you could use any variety of lentils that hold up and dent turn into a puree when cooked - so that means no red or yellow lentils. Other than that you could use black beluga lentils or French green lentils / puy lentils. Lentils are a great source of plant-based protein and make a great salad addition.
• KALE: Kale adds more substance and also nutrition to this lentil salad. I like to use curly kale or Lacinato (or dinosaur kale) for this salad. The really great benefit of using kale is that that it doesn’t wilt and get mushy easily like using any other greens or lettuce. That being said this salad would be really great with any variety of lettuce, mixed greens or even arugula but can’t be made ahead of time if using other salad greens.
• OLIVES: I used Castelvetrano olives for this recipe - but truly any variety of olives will work here. I love olives and often use a blend of olives including kalamata olives. I prefer to use pitted to make it easier to eat the salad.
• SHALLOTS, GREEN ONIONS & GARLIC: The shallot and green onion flavor the salad - feel free to sub out the shallot with red onion if you wish. The garlic flavors the dressing - if you prefer to use granulated or powdered garlic, instead of fresh garlic clove you can.
• FETA CHEESE: Love the tangy salty briny flavor feta adds. Feel free to swap it out with crumbled goat cheese or even freshly grated parmesan cheese.
• SLICED ALMONDS: I love the bit of crunch they add to the salad. Feel free to use any nuts or seeds you like or a combination of them. (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, pumpkins seeds, sunflower seeds or hemp seeds). If you prefer to use chopped almonds instead you can.
• CUCUMBER: Always a great fresh and crunchy add it to salads. Use English cucumber or Persian mini cucumbers.
• FRESH PARSLEY: Fresh parsley adds a bright, clean, and slightly peppery flavor, adding a refreshing element. If you prefer to use other herbs like fresh basil, fresh mint, cilantro or dill you can or you can easily do a combination. I like to use Italian parsley for this recipe.
• EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: Olive oil is what makes up most of the dressing so use one you like.
• LEMON JUICE & LEMON ZEST: They add tangy flavour to the dressing. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly zested for best flavor.
• TAHINI: Tahini is technically optional but I love the richness it adds to the dressing. It helps to emulsify and thicken the dressing. It also adds a hint of nutty flavor. If you skip it the dressing will still be delicious but it will be more runny.
• RED WINE VINEGAR: Adds a different hint of acidity that compliments the lemon juice in the dressing. Feel free to use apple cider vinegar or any other vinegar you like.
• HONEY: It adds just a hint of sweetness to the dressing. Feel free to substitute with maple syrup or agave.
• DIJON MUSTARD: Always adds a nice tangy, sharp flavor to the dressing
• SPICES: Apart from salt and pepper I like to also add in some cumin and oregano and sometimes a pinch of chili flakes for a little bit of heat.
• ADD INS: This salad is great with extra vegetables like diced tomatoes or sliced cherry tomatoes, carrots, broccoli or cauliflower florets, and red bell peppers. The fresh veggies not only add more nutrition to the salad but add more crunchy texture and allow you to customize this salad. Dried cranberries, raisins, or apricots can add a sweet contrast to the savory flavors. Sliced avocado adds creaminess and healthy fats to the salad.
  
  

How to Make Lentil & Kale Salad

1. Prepare Dressing: Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or shake the ingredients together in a mason jar. I find whisking is a bit easier with this recipe if you are adding the tahini so that it fully gets incorporated.
2. Dress & Massage Kale: This is optional but you can massage the kale with a little bit of the dressing to make is softer. Kale can be tough, so massaging it with your hands or tossing it well with a bit of the dressing for a minute helps break down the fibers, making it more tender and easier to eat.
3. Assemble Salad: Combine the kale with the cucumbers, lentils, herbs, shallots, green onions, feta, almonds and the dressing. Toss well.
4. Enjoy: Enjoy as a side to any meat or add in some tuna or grilled chopped chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken for a complete meal.
   
   

Lentil & Kale Salad Meal Prep

You really don’t need to do anything different to mela prep this salad No need to store the dressing separate at all. Kale holds up when dressed, so this salad will hold up in your fridge for a few days. The only thing I would mention is that the other veggies in the salad might soften a bit - for example the cucumber or if you decide to add tomatoes or avocado. If you do adds these veggies I would leave them out until ready to serve. The rest of the salad can be made and dressed and stored in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.