Lentil Sweet Potato Salad

5 from 1 vote

Looking for a satisfying main dish or tasty side? Our Lentil Sweet Potato Salad is ideal for meal prep and it's packed with nutrition and flavour.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Cajun

Keyword: healthy salad, lentil salad, make ahead salad, pulses, sweet potato salad

Difficulty: Medium

Diet: dairy free, nut free, Vegan, Vegetarian,

Servings: as a main

Calories: 633kcal

Author: Anastasia Papapetros

Ingredients

For Roasting

800 grams sweet potatoes (approximately 28oz)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons Cajun spice

For the salad

250 grams cooked lentils (one 400g/14oz tin or 1⅓ cups)
350 grams avocado (1 large avocado approximately 12oz)
180 grams red capsicum/pepper (½ large approximately 6oz)
60 grams red onion (½ medium red onion approximately 2oz)
1 cup coriander/cilantro chopped

For the vinaigrette

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic glaze
2 teaspoons Cajun spice
1 clove Garlic (minced)

Metric - Imperial

Instructions

Roast Sweet Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 180C/356F.
Wash, scrub then peel the sweet potatoes.
Chop into a medium dice.
Place on a lined baking tray add 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 ½ teaspoons Cajun spice, season with sea salt and cracked black pepper then mix well until the sweet potatoes are well coated.
Place in the middle of you hot oven and roast until just soft (approximately 30 minutes).

Prepare Salad Ingredients

While your sweet potatoes are roasting prepare the remaining ingredients.
Drain the lentils and rinse them well.
Wash your capsicum and red onion halves trim, remove the core from the capsicum and the papery skin from the onion. Chop them into a small dice.
Check on your sweet potatoes, shake the pan and give them a toss to brown on the other side.
Wash your coriander thoroughly, shake well to remove excess water then roughly chop both the stems and the leaves.
Rinse your avocado remove the pit, peel and cut into a medium cubes.
Add all the dressing ingredients to a glass jar, season and shake well until emulsified.

Assemble Salad

Place everything in a large mixing bowl.
Check on the sweet potatoes, they should be just done, slightly soft but not mushy. Add them to the mixing bowl without the excess oil.
Mix the salad well to combine, taste and adjust seasonings according to your liking.
Arrange in a salad bowl and serve when ready.
This salad benefits by standing for at least ten minutes to allow the flavoured to meld together.

Video

Notes

To Cook Dry Lentils

If you've chosen to start from scratch, rinse the lentils, add them to a medium pot and cover them with water, season with salt and bring them to a boil. Simmer them gently for about 20-25 minutes until they are tender yet firm. Drain them.

Nutrition