This satisfying pomegranate and lentil salad is a celebration of winter's freshest ingredients, pairing hearty greens with apples, earthy lentils, roasted delicata squash, nutty pecans and more. Juicy pomegranate seeds add a fresh note to balance the rich, hearty flavors, but it's the simple dressing that really brings it all together. Serve it with a little crusty bread for a winter main dish you'll want to eat again or again, or bring it to your next party for a colorful side dish everyone will rave about!
Why you’ll love this vegan lentil salad recipe
- Loaded with filling and satisfying ingredients, like fresh greens, roasted squash, and lentils
- Lentils are a great source of protein and make this salad really filling
- Topping with a maple-sweetened prune dressing that offers a jammy, just-sweet-enough flavor to bring everything together
- Great option for all those holiday season gatherings
- Easy, healthy lunch you can make once and nosh on for days
- Packed with fresh, wintry flavors and lots of beautiful color
- Simple way to serve more veg during the colder months of the year
Pomegranate Lentil Salad Ingredients
If you want to eat salads as a full meal, you really need to amp up the fiber and protein. Otherwise, you'll find yourself scrounging around for snacks later in the day! That's why I'm obsessed with hearty salads - packed with plant-based protein, vegetables, nuts, and seeds to keep you full for hours. This salad is the perfect example of that and is loaded with some of my favorite winter flavors. Such a feast!
For salad
- Fresh kale
- Red cabbage- For extra color and crunch. You can certainly use regular green cabbage, if you prefer.
- Pecans - Pecans have a warm, nutty flavor that works well here. Chopped walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds are nice, too.
- Dried cranberries
- Fresh apples - You can choose a sweeter variety, like Fuji, or add more tartness with Granny Smith.
- Mint leaves - For a little freshness.
- Pomegranate arils - I usually buy whole pomegranates and spend some time removing the seeds, but you can also buy them precleaned at the grocery store.
- Delicata squash - This super sweet squash adds a hearty, meaty flavor that makes the salad really filling.
- Dry lentils - You can use any type of lentils, but green or brown lentils are ideal for this. Black lentils are a nice alternative, but red lentils tend to fall apart too quickly.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & black pepper (optional)
For Dressing
- Extra virgin olive oil - Use a great olive oil with a rich flavor and healthy fats.
- Balsamic vinegar
- Prunes - Yes, prunes! These are dried plums, and they have a rich sweetness and unique flavor.
- Pinch of salt
- Pure maple syrup - For just enough sweetness.
- Fresh mint leaves
How to Make Pomegranate and Lentil Salad
Perhaps the best thing about this recipe is how simple the prep is. Cooking dry lentils is pretty straightforward and since you can eat the skin of delicata squash, it requires less prep than other squashes. Plus, you can massage the kale and prepare the other toppings while those elements cook, so it comes together quickly at the end!
- Cook the dry lentils (or use canned lentils) by boiling in water for 25 minutes until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Preheat oven to 400.
- On a baking tray, place the delicata squash and drained cooked lentils. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and cook for 30 minutes until squash is tender and lentils are crispy
- Make the dressing by combining oil, vinegar, prunes, salt and maple in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- To a large salad bowl, add the kale, a drizzle of oil and pinch of salt. Massage the kale until tender with hands.
- Add to the kale: cabbage, pecans, roasted delicata and crispy lentils, apples, cranberries, mint, and pomegranate arils. Pour dressing over the top and toss well.
- Enjoy within 2-3 days for best quality.
Tips for Making the Best Vegan Lentil Pomegranate Salad
- Adjust the veggies. There are many different ways to adjust this recipe to suit your preferences. Feel free to add different greens, like arugula, baby spinach, or salad greens. Just be aware that tender greens won't be able to sit in the dressing as long. You can also add sliced red onion, different roasted squashes (like kabocha or butternut), different fresh herbs (fresh cilantro, parsley, or green onions), and more.
- Use your favorite dressing. I promise - the prunes really balance out the tart, rich flavor from the balsamic vinegar and don't taste weird at all. If you're leery about using them, you can certainly use different salad dressings, like a cider dressing or something with fresh pomegranate juice.
- Let it rest. The kale is sturdy enough to handle sitting in the dressing and toppings for a few days. As it sits, the flavors mingle together, and it often tastes even better the next day. I like to make a batch of this salad, store it in an airtight container, and eat it cold from the fridge within about 2-3 days.
- Add "cheese." Serve this salad with vegan feta cheese for a little creaminess.
FAQs
In salads, you generally want lentils that can hold their shape while tossing or stirring. I find that brown or green lentils are best for this. Red lentils are actually split and tend to break apart very quickly, so they aren't ideal for recipes like this.
Roasting lentils gives them extra texture and makes them a really nice stand-in for meat or nuts in salads. It also helps them withstand being mixed up with the other salad ingredients without breaking apart. Since you already need to roast the squash, it makes sense to roast it with the lentils at the same time. Less clean-up!
Absolutely! This salad is really built around fresh winter produce, and you can either adjust to whichever season you are in or swap out some of the ingredients to suit your preferences.
For example, the apples could be replace with pears and you might like adding some citrus, like mandarin or navel orange pieces. Dried cherries are a great alternative to dried cranberries, and there are lots of hearty winter greens that could stand in for the kale and cabbage. Just see what's fresh and let yourself get creative with it!
Other Delicious Vegan Salad Recipes
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Vegan Pomegranate and Lentil Salad
Ingredients
For salad
- 1 bunch kale stemmed and chopped
- 2 cups red cabbage chopped
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 2 apples chopped
- 5 mint leaves chopped
- 1 cup pomegranite arils
- 1 delicata squash cut in half moons
- 1 cup dry lentils boiled for 25 mins yields 2 ½ cups cooked
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- Black pepper optional
For Dressing
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 prunes
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 5 mint leaves
Instructions
- Cook the dry lentils (or use canned cooked lentils) by boiling in water for 25 minutes until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Preheat oven to 400.
- On a sheet pan place the delicata squash and drained cooked lentils. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and cook for 30 minutes until squash is tender and lentils are crispy.
- Make the dressing by combining oil, vinegar, prunes, salt and maple in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- To a large bowl add the kale, a drizzle of oil and pinch of salt. Massage the kale until tender with hands.
- Add to the kale: cabbage, pecans, roasted delicata and crispy lentils, apples, cranberries, mint, and pomegranite arils. Pour dressing over the top and toss well.
- Enjoy within 2-3 days for best quality.
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