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Lentil and Spinach Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Top down view of a plate of lentil salad and bowls of toppings
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5 from 1 review

Nutritionally, this salad is a powerhouse. Luckily, it tastes great too.

  • Author: Veg Girl RD
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 35 mins
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Salad

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 ounces Le Puy green lentils (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
  • 2 cups vegetable broth (I use 1 cube Rapunzel Vegetable Bouillon with Sea Salt, prepared according to package directions, dissolved in 2 cups water)
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 1/2 lemons)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cups spinach, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 2 ounces candied or caramelized walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Rinse lentils and drain. Add to medium saucepan with broth. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered 25-30 minutes or until tender but still whole and able to hold their shape (i.e. not mushy). Add small amounts of hot water as needed to keep the lentils barely covered while they cook. Mine got very close to done after 25 minutes, so I turned off the heat, left them covered, and they were perfect after sitting for 3 minutes.
  2. Drain lentils if necessary, and set them aside to partially cool. (I spread mine out on a large plate to speed this up a bit.)
  3. In small jar, mix together lemon juice and olive oil for the dressing.
  4. Divide spinach and basil equally among four plates. Top each with 3/4 cup cooked lentils. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the lemon vinaigrette.
  5. To each salad add 1 tablespoon raisins, 1/2 ounce candied walnuts, and 1 ounce cheddar cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

You can certainly make your own candied walnuts if you have a favorite technique. I found them ready-made at Trader Joe’s (walnuts, sugar, canola oil, salt) and Whole Foods (walnuts, sugar, sunflower oil).

Not yet convinced to try lentils in a salad? Take a peek at these additional nutrition facts: 70%DV vitamin A, 30% DV vitamin C, 25%DV calcium, 30%DV iron.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.veggirlrd.com/spinach-and-lentil-salad-with-lemon-vinaigrette/