This warm roasted carrot and lentil salad comes together easily in less than 40 minutes with minimal cleanup! Satisfying and light, this vegetarian spring salad is made with peppery baby arugula and dressed with a tangy lemon shallot dressing. Enjoy this sheet pan meal for an easy spring lunch or dinner.
Warm Roasted Carrot & Lentil Salad: an Easy and Delicious Sheet Pan Meal
Even though it’s spring I’m not quite ready for fully raw cold salads yet. Enter: the warm salad! I loved this warm kale and lentil salad so much that I figured I needed to create a spring version. This warm spring salad is made with a base of colorful roasted carrots and canned lentils to keep things quick and easy. As the sheet pan comes out of the oven, baby arugula is tossed in so it wilts and softens slightly.
Everything for this roasted carrot salad is made on the sheet pan (just like these sheet pan tofu bowls!) which means way less to clean up. Since the salad itself it rather simple, a homemade lemon shallot vinaigrette perks everything up. This is the kind of salad that makes the perfect spring dinner: satisfying yet light and packed with flavor.
Key Ingredients
This warm salad is fairly simple when it comes to ingredients. I used rainbow carrots because they had them at the market but any carrot will do. You can also do a mix of tender spring beets and carrots instead! Canned lentils will keep prep super quick but if you prefer to cook your own, you’ll need about 1 3/4 cups. I prefer peppery baby arugula as the salad greens here but baby spinach would also be deilcious for a milder flavor. Raw pistachios have a mild buttery flavor that I think is especially delicious but roasted ones will also work for a deeper, nuttier flavor.
Seasonal Produce Note: freshly harvested spring carrots are typically sold with the leafy greens attached. I recommend cutting them off as soon as you get home because they will typically keep pulling water from the carrots which can make them rubbery instead of crisp.
Why this Homemade Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette Works with this Warm Salad
Since the flavors in this warm salad are fairly simple, this homemade lemon shallot vinaigrette helps to perk everything up. While you can use any tangy or citrusy store-bought vinaigrette here, I think it’s well worth the few minutes it takes to whip this one up. You’ll have plenty of time to make it while everything is in the oven!
I like to add the minced shallot to the bowl first along with the lemon juice and zest. This allows the lemon juice to pickle the shallot which helps mellow its pungent bite. After a few minutes, whisk in the apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and extra virgin olive oil until emulsified. Don’t forget to taste the vinaigrette and add more salt as needed to season!
How to Make and Serve this Warm Salad
In order to make sure they get nice and tender in a timely manner, I like to keep the carrot slices around 1/4-inch thick. Try to arrange them in an even layer so they all roast evenly. Once they’re tender, simply scatter the cooked and drained lentils over the top and pop the sheet pan back in the oven. The goal here is to make sure the lentils are warmed through rather than crispy (which would take much longer).
After the roasted carrots and lentils come out of the oven, the rest of the salad assembly happens directly on the sheet pan. Toss in the baby arugula, pistachios, feta, and a drizzle of the lemon shallot vinaigrette. Give it a toss then it’s ready to eat! If you want to make this for a gathering or as part of a larger meal, feel free to transfer the salad to a serving bowl or platter with a small pitcher of extra dressing on the side.
More Spring Salads You’ll Love
My absolute favorite spring salad on the blog is this vibrant spring panzanella! Shelled edamame adds a touch of protein but if you’re wanting more, pair it with these tofu nuggets or a crispy tofu cutlet. For a spring salad this is equally vibrant but doesn’t require the use of the oven, try this one with pickled beets, fennel, and vegan ricotta. If you want a more substantial salad that can stand in for lunch or dinner, try this make-ahead friendly artichoke pasta salad.
Warm Roasted Carrot & Lentil Salad
- Total Time: 35-38 minutes
- Yield: 2–3 large servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Description
This warm roasted carrot and lentil salad comes together easily in less than 40 minutes with minimal cleanup! Satisfying and light, this vegetarian spring salad is made with peppery baby arugula and dressed with a tangy lemon shallot dressing. Enjoy this sheet pan meal for an easy spring lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 bunches carrots, about 1.5 lbs
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- 1 can cooked lentils, drained and rinsed
- 2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 3.5 ounces baby arugula
- 1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
- 1 small shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 small lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons honey
- 1.5 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment for easy cleanup.
Peel or scrub the carrots well then cut into ¼-inch thick slices. Add to the lined baking sheet then drizzle with the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss to coat then roast in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and scatter the lentils over the top of the carrots. Roast for an additional 5-8 minutes until the lentils are warmed through.
While the carrots are roasting, make the dressing. Add the minced shallot to small bowl and add the zest of the lemon and 1 tablespoon of the juice. Mix then allow to sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the remaining ingredients and whisk until emulsified.
Once you remove the pan of roasted carrots and lentils from the oven, add the arugula, pistachios, and feta to the sheet pan along with a drizzle of some of the dressing and toss. Taste, then add more dressing as needed before serving.
Notes
- Store leftovers in a container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-4 days. Leftovers can be enjoyed chilled.
- If you know you will have leftovers, add the arugula, feta, pistachios, and dressing only to the portions you will eat. Store components separately. Then, reheat the carrot and lentil mixture before tossing with the arugula, pistachios, feta, and dressing before eating. This makes it much easier to enjoy the leftovers as a warm salad in my opinion.
- Baby spinach or baby kale can be used in place of baby arugula if you prefer.
- If you want to make this salad vegan, use maple syrup in place of the honey in the dressing and vegan feta in the salad.
- If you don’t like lentils, a can of drained and rinsed white beans is equally delicious!
- If you are enjoying this salad as a main dish or for a meal, it yields 2-3 portions. If you are enjoying the salad as a side dish, it yields 4-6 servings.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-33 minutes
- Category: Dinner, salad
This salad was so good, but I think that dressing took it next level. I printed it out so that I can just make it to have in the fridge. It was so fresh. We all loved it.
I’m so happy to hear that you loved the dressing! Sometimes I double it so I can enjoy it throughout the week 🙂
Love that it’s an easy sheet pan meal with big flavor , so I tried it today for meal prep and loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
So happy you liked it! Thanks so much for coming back and leaving a review, too 🙂
I love the lentils mixed with the carrots. It’s such a fun texture combination. I’ll definitely be making this one again!
So glad you liked this one! And thanks so much for coming back to leave a review!
This sounds so fresh and wholesome! Love the roasted carrots with lentils and that lemony dressing.
The dressing really brightens it up!