I’ve never met a lentil I didn’t like! I’m obsessed with lentils. I have them most days a week. My parents never fed us lentils when I was growing up (shame on them!) and I never tried a single lentil until about 10 years ago. Now I’m hooked!

Over the past few months I’ve been crafting my go-to warm lentil salad recipe. It’s relatively easy for me to make – or throw together throughout the week because I generally have all ingredients on hand.

I was inspired by a lunch special at a favorite cafe and this great recipe https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1262639/puy-lentil-spiced-roast-carrot-and-feta-salad. Lemon + lentils: genius!

Warm Lentil Salad Ingredients

• Organic lentils. I use black beluga lentils most often.
• 12 oz Organic rainbow baby carrots or equivalent (I use the 12 oz bag by Cal-organics; this is enough for 2 salad servings)
• 1/2 to 1 TBS Organic maple syrup.
• Shawarma spice (a few dashes)
• 1 lemon (for juice)
• 1/4 to 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• Good quality feta cheese (just a few crumbles)
• Organic arugula
• Organic ripe nectarine or other stone fruit
• Organic Mint
• Organic Celery
• Organic cucumber (optional)
• Organic sliced radish (optional)
• Organic extra virgin olive oil
• Organic balsamic vinegar

Organic Lentil Salad Nutritional Benefits

• Organic lentils: packed with protein, iron, fiber, folate, B vitamins and zinc
• Organic arugula: plenty of green goodness!
• Organic carrots: vitamin A, vitamin K, B vitamins, vitamin C, potassium, beta-carotene and antioxidants.

Picture of warm organic lentil salad recipe with nectarine, red onion, feta, organic carrots, mint and baby arugula.

Warm Organic Lentil Salad Recipe Steps

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Start cooking your lentils on a stove top according to their cooking instructions on the package. Or, if you have precooked lentils, take them out of the fridge.
• Slice the baby carrots in half and arrange on a baking pan. (I put foil on my baking pan before I use it so I don’t have to scrub the pan later).  Drizzle with organic extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with freshly cracked pepper and sea salt and a few dashes of shawarma spice. Mix with your hands. Place carrots in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the baked carrots from the oven and taste. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Drizzle with a little organic maple syrup and put the carrots back in the oven for 5 minutes. If you like radish, you could add your sliced radish to the pan at this time now too.
• Saute the sliced red onions in a pan for about 5 minutes with either a little bit of organic extra virgin olive oil or organic coconut oil.
• Add about 3/4 to 1 cup of lentils to the pan with onions. Add a few hefty squeezes of lemon juice. Heat for about 5 minutes.
• Chop the organic celery, organic mint and cucumber if desired.
• Assemble the salad: in a large bowl add 1.5 to 2 cups of organic arugula, celery, mint, salt and pepper. Add a few squeezes of lemon juice and a dash of organic extra virgin olive oil and mix. Add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup or more of the lentil/onion mixture. Add half the carrots.
• Finally, top with thin slices of nectarine or other stone fruit, a few crumbles of natural feta cheese and drizzles of balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinegar reduction if you wish.
• Enjoy!