Lentil Quinoa Salad with Nutritional Yeast Dressing
A quick and easy vegan salad that's packed with flavor. This nutritious salad is made with quinoa, lentils, leafy greens, carrots, cucumbers and a delicious nutritional yeast dressing. Feel free to add different vegetables using what you have on hand!
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, dry
- 1 can (540ml/19oz) lentils, drained and rinsed
- 4 handfuls leafy greens of choice, spinach, arugula, mixed greens
- 1/2 medium English cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
- Roasted sunflower seeds, for topping (optional)
- Nutritional yeast, for topping (optional)
Nutritional Yeast Dressing
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 medium garlic cloves
Instructions
- Start by cooking the quinoa: Add 1 cup of dry quinoa and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 15 minutes, covered until the water has been absorbed.
- Meanwhile, prepare the nutritional yeast dressing: In a blender or small food processor, add all the dressing ingredients. Blend until smooth.
- Drain and rinse the canned lentils. Add the lentils to the saucepan with the cooked quinoa. Top with the dressing and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Prepare the vegetables. Divide the leafy greens into 4 bowls.
- Divide the lentil quinoa mixture into the 4 prepared bowls. Top with cucumbers, carrots, sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
You can easily substitute the carrots and/or cucumbers for other vegetables. Diced peppers are also great. You could also use shredded beets.
This recipe is great for meal prep. Simply prepare the quinoa and nutritional yeast dressing. Combine the cooked quinoa, dressing and lentils together. Let it cool and store the salad in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can then serve it with fresh vegetables when you're ready to eat. You can also add the vegetables in advance, but I would recommend waiting until the salad has cooled completely before adding any vegetables when doing meal prep.
If preferred, you can substitute the canned lentils for 1 1/2 cup of cooked lentils. Of course this takes more time. I love to use canned lentils in this recipe for convenience.
This recipe is inspired by my Cozy Winter Salad with Crispy Tofu and Rice.