How often do you look at the clock and realize, crap, it’s dinner time? I do this far too often for someone who cooks constantly. Tonight was one of those nights. I didn’t feel like cooking all night and wanted something easy. While standing at my pantry in a daze, a bag of red lentils jumped out at me. But now what do I do with a bag of dried lentils? This is how the lentil kale salad recipe was born. To be honest, I had no idea it would be recipe/post-worthy.
Ingredients
Next, I went to the fridge and saw a bunch of green beautiful kale. Lentils + kale and whatever else I could find = one-dish dinner in less than 30 minutes. My kind of dinner.
About one large bunch of kale will give you about 4 cups chopped. After you wash your kale, then remove the stems. For a quick and easy way to remove the stems watch my video on making Kale Chips. I promise you’ll never go back to cutting the stems off again.
Red lentils
Red lentils are delicious, nutritious, and beautiful! Talk about some protein. They can be tricky to cook. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Red lentils easily become mushy and soggy when cooked too long. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes and then drain. This way they will still have texture and better flavor for any dish.
An important base for most meals is an onion, in my opinion. I went for the red onion for the bright purplish color. They can overwhelm a dish if you use too many, less is best you can always add more. So, save the rest in a food hugger or stasher. If you don’t like the strong flavor of red onions replace them with green onions or chives. Not the same color but still great flavor.
Let’s not forget about the amazing flavors of organic tomatoes and lemon. Both round out this fresh easy salad.
Tossing it all together
By the time I tossed all the ingredients together, I couldn’t believe it tasted so good. I am a big fan of salt, but because my husband tries to avoid unnecessary salt I didn’t add either salt or pepper initially. To be completely honest, it didn’t even need it! This lentil kale salad recipe is super flavorful with just 5 ingredients.
Additional ingredient options
With only 5 ingredients you wouldn’t think this salad is a whole meal. Guess what? Each serving has 11g of protein, 0 cholesterol, and only 151 calories.
As a major plus, this salad is free of the top 8 food allergens!
In short, have fun in the kitchen, don’t take yourself too seriously. Subscribe, share, and let me know how “YOU” made it your own. Share your positive comments and suggestions. ❤️ from VGFL.
Ingredients
- 4 cups kale (about 1 large bunch of kale) stems removed, roughly chopped
- 2 cups cooked red lentils* 1 cup dry = 2 cups cooked
- 1/4 cup red onion diced
- 1 cup tomatoes chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice about 2-3 medium lemons juiced
- salt/pepper (optional) to taste
Instructions
Cook Red Lentils (1 cup dry = 2 cups cooked)
- Rinse red lentils before cooking to remove dust or debris
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add lentils, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes until just tender. Drain and refrigerate while you prepare the salad ingredients.
Let's Get Tossing
- Add kale, red onion, chopped tomatoes, and chilled lentils to a large mixing bowl. Toss the salad with lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate in a closed container, but flavors are best when it is fresh.
Lentil Sloppy Joes