Easy Lentil Carrot Salad Recipe
This quick and easy lentil salad features barley, roasted cauliflower, and soft herbed goat cheese. It’s the perfect side salad for a party, a make-ahead recipe, or a weekday lunch.
This lentil carrot salad is super easy to make and versatile. It can be eaten warm during the fall and winter or cold during the summer!
This easy lentil salad has a really nice texture. The al dente lentils and barley give it a nice chewy texture, cauliflower and carrots give it a soft, savoury crunch, and goat cheese tops it off in a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth way.
All you need for this recipe are five whole ingredients and a simple homemade dressing.
I hope you love this salad recipe as much as I do!
How To Make this easy lentil salad recipe
Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
Fill two pots with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Add a pinch of salt to each.
Once boiling, add the barley to one and brown lentils to the other. Reduce to medium-high heat and allow to cook and simmer until cooked but tender.
You want your lentils and barley to be soft but not mushy and falling apart.
Next, prepare your vegetables.
Break the cauliflower into little florets and spread them on a baking sheet. Peel and cut the carrots into circles and add them to the sheet.
Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the vegetables and season with turmeric (for the cauliflower), salt, and pepper. Use your hands to make sure everything is coated evenly, and pop into the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Once the barley and lentils are cooked ‘al-dente,’ strain them using a fine mesh sieve and put them in a large bowl. Place the bowl in the fridge to cool.
Next, once the roasted vegetables are golden-brown, remove them from the oven and add them to the bowl if eating as a warm salad. Otherwise, allow them to cool on a cooling rack.
After the vegetables have cooled, add them to the lentils and barley and combine.
Make the homemade lentil salad dressing and pour over the salad. Mix using a large spoon until everything is evenly mixed.
Crumble herbed goat cheese over top and serve!
Easy Lentil Carrot Salad
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
Description
This quick and easy lentil salad features barley, roasted cauliflower, and soft herbed goat cheese. It’s the perfect side salad for a party, a make-ahead recipe, or a weekday lunch.
Ingredients
Salad
1/2 Cup pearled or grit barley
1/2 Cup dried brown lentils
1 Cauliflower head, in florets
3–4 Whole carrots, chopped
Handful of herbed goat cheese, crumbled
Homemade Dressing
1 Tablespoon flax seed oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon organic maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Fill two pots with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Add a pinch of salt to each. Once boiling, add the barley to one and the brown lentils to the other. Reduce to medium-high heat and allow to cook and simmer until cooked but tender. You want your lentils and barley to be soft but not mushy and falling apart.
- Break the cauliflower into little florets and spread them on a baking sheet. Peel and cut the carrots into circles and add them to the sheet. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the vegetables and season with turmeric (for the cauliflower), salt, and pepper. Use your hands to make sure everything is coated evenly, and pop into the oven for 25-30 minutes.
- Once the barley and lentils are cooked ‘al-dente,’ strain them using a fine mesh sieve and put them in a large bowl. Place the bowl in the fridge to cool.
- Next, once the roasted vegetables are golden-brown, remove them from the oven and add them to the bowl if eaten as a warm salad. Otherwise, allow them to cool on a cooling rack.
- After the vegetables have cooled, add them to the lentils and barley and combine. Make the homemade lentil salad dressing and pour over the salad. Mix using a large spoon until everything is evenly mixed.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Roasted
What Can I Pair This Salad With?
This lentil salad recipe is super versatile and can be eaten on its own or as a side with a main course.
My favourite things to pair this lentil salad with include
- Eggs
- BBQ Chicken
- Baked Salmon
- Roasted Brisket
It pairs really well with meat courses as a light, savoury side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Green Lentils Instead?
Absolutely! I use brown and green lentils interchangeably for this lentil salad recipe. Both lentil varieties are almost identical, although green lentils can have a slightly more ‘pepper’ taste.
I don’t have barley. What can I use instead?
No problem! If you don’t have pearl or grit barley, you can use quinoa or farro instead. It will give the salad a slightly different texture but will add that nice, chewy grain.
What kind of salad dressing goes with this lentil salad?
For this lentil salad recipe, I made my own healthy salad dressing using flax oil, balsamic vinegar, homemade apple cider vinegar and maple syrup. However, this salad also pairs well with a simple oil, salt and pepper mix or a homemade mango garlic dressing.
I don’t like goat cheese; can I substitute it?
The herbed goat cheese adds that ‘cherry on top’ for this recipe, but you can absolutely substitute it with crumbled feta cheese. It won’t give that soft, smooth texture but will still add a nice salty kick!