This Lentil Salad with spiced pumpkin is packed with proteins. Pumpkin is lightly spiced & is perfect for the cold weather. Balsamic & Honey Vinaigrette
Pumpkin is the vegetable of the season and it makes sense to make it a star ingredient in a salad
The lentil salad works so well in the fall, but, it works year round.
French lentils make such great salad recipes that I can’t resist adding them.
Since they cook quickly, I make a whole batch of them simultaneously and freeze them in individual Ziploc bags. Then, I thaw each bag as needed.
Roasted pumpkins added to any salad makes it delicious. If you spice them up, however, they make for a very unique dish.
Frankly, I cannot wait for the cold weather to start. Spiced pumpkins are good for warming your soul. Imagine coming in from the bristling cold with a plate of this Lentil salad with spiced pumpkins
To top this salad, I went with a light balsamic dressing with honey. I found that the slight tang of balsamic is the perfect offset to the spiced pumpkins. Balsamic vinaigrette also goes great with Lentils.
I could have tried it with my Orange Dressing with Star Anise would also go great with salad.
Baby spinach, on the other hand, is perfect for this salad. It is packed with vitamins, so, you will get nourishment.
The controversial part of this salad would be the cheese. I went with Romano cheese, but, the lentil salad would be great without any cheese.
If you are a vegan, just ignore cheese in this salad. This salad tasted delicious even without the cheese.
You could add pine nuts to top this salad. Even walnuts would be great crunch to the recipe. Personally, I prefer to keep this lentil salad completely nut-free.
What is your favorite cider recipe?
Lentil Salad with Spiced Pumpkins
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1/2 cup lentils cooked
- 1 cup pumpkins cubed
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 2 leaves mint
- 1 tsp capers for topping
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
For the Dressing
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 Tbsp agave
- 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Prepare the spiced pumpkins
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- In a mixing bowl, add the pumpkins, oil, salt, dried oregano, pepper and turmeric
- Mix well
- In a baking pan, spread the coated pumpkins and place in the oven
- Bake until the outer skin of the pumpkin turns brown
- Remove from the oven and set aside
Prepare the salad
- In a mini processor, add the dressing ingredients
- Pulse until all the ingredients have blended well
- Set aside or prepare the night before and allow to marinate overnight
Bringing the lentil salad together
- In a plate, make a bed of the baby spinach
- Top with the roasted pumpkin
- Add the cooked lentils
- Toss with the Balsamic vinaigrette and lemon
- Top with the capers
- Garnish the lentil salad with finely chopped mint leaves
- Toss once more, if needed
I just started using lentils, but only in soups. This is a nice way for me to try to incorporate them into a salad. Thanks for the idea.
Thank you, Christine
Love the addition of pumpkin. This may become my favorite salad!!
Thank you, Sandi
What a great salad and I love the sound of the roasted pumpkin.
Thank you, Janette.
This recipe is amazing! I love lentils, I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you, Elena
Yum, yum, yum!! I can’t wait to try this salad! I love all the fall flavors in a healthy salad 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you, Becky
French lentils are wonderful in salads. They hold their shape and add a great bite to dishes. This is a great combination of fall flavors.
Thank you, Nicky
that’s a beautiful salad! all the fall flavors
Thank you, Theresa
This salad looks great! Those colors and textures, so flavorful, and so healthy! Yum! BTW, I think it must be an issue with Firefox that doesn’t mesh with “any clip” because I was able to get on your site with Safari, but it crashed Firefox on my computer again. Sorry!
Thank you, Deborah. Thanks for point out the FF issue. I am looking into it now.
What a fantastic looking fall salad, love this!!
Thank you, Tara
This looks fantastic! I adore lentils, and the pumpkin is a great unexpected addition to a salad. I will definitely be giving this one a try!
Thank you, Ellen. Pumpkin definitely makes this salad.
G’day Looks very healthy indeed Rini!
Cheers! Joanne
G’Day to you too, Joanne! I love having Australian Fans. They are very sweet. Thank you.
Lentils and pumpkin! I love it. Rini you have done another amazing job! Mint, capers, balsamic…Oh my.
Thank you, Michelle
What a lovely salad for the season -just perfect for the holidays!
Thank you, Patricia!