Spring Black Lentil Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing

This vegan and gluten free black lentil salad with creamy dill dressing is packed with spring produce and is perfect for lunches and picnics. Cooked black lentils are tossed with caramelized leeks, crunchy radishes, kohlrabi, and sweet peas. The creamy dill dressing lends an herbal note, tying everything together.

If you’re craving the flavors of spring, this black lentil salad is for you! Rich and nutty cooked black lentils are tossed with a melange of spring produce: leeks, radishes, peas, kohlrabi, and fresh dill. You get sweetness from the leeks and peas, crunchiness from the kohlrabi, and a peppery bite from the radishes. A homemade ranch-style creamy dill dressing ties everything together and takes this salad from great to fan-freaking-tastic. I love having this lentil salad around to enjoy for lunch, but it’s also great for an impromptu picnic. Either way, I think you’ll really love this one!

Notes on Ingredients and Subs

This salad is a snapshot of a particuar moment in spring when all of these veggies were available locally and in my garden. Since seasonality differs from place to place, you can easily adapt this to what you have available to you! Shelled green peas can be a rarity in some places so you can use an equal amount of thawed green peas or chopped sugar snap peas. The leeks I used were fairly small so I ended up using 4 of them but if yours are more on the medium/large side, just use 2. Kohlrabi is common at farmers markets, but not so much in grocery stores. Use an equal amount of carrots instead if you’re having problems finding it! Lastly, if you’re not vegan, feel free to use regular mayo and milk in the dressing.

Have leftover kohlrabi? Try this kohlrabi and tatsoi stir-fry or these peanut noodles. Leftover peas and leeks work perfectly together in this cozy polenta.

Courtney’s Best Tips

• Only add half of the dressing to start, then taste the salad before adding more.
• Cook the lentils until they are tender but still retain a slight bite (almost like you would with al dente pasta). Just make sure you don’t cook them so long that they are mushy since you want them to retain their shape in the salad.
• Don’t skip out on rinsing the leeks! Their layers tend to trap dirt and if you don’t rince it off, your salad will have an unpleasant gritty texture.

Make it a Picnic!

This black lentil salad travels well and is great for a picnic! I love to pair it with this iced passion fruit black tea, some crackers or flatbread to dip into this spring pea dip, and some of these vegan lemon coconut macaroons for dessert.

Spring Black Lentil Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing

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5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Courtney
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
• Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegan

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Description

This vegan and gluten free spring lentil salad with creamy dill dressing is packed with spring produce and is perfect for lunches and picnics. Cooked black lentils are tossed with caramelized leeks, crunchy radishes, kohlrabi, and sweet peas. The creamy dill dressing lends an herbal note, tying everything together.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup black lentils
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 4 small or 2 large leeks
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• sea salt, to taste
• 1 cup shelled green peas, or 1 cup thawed frozen peas
• 1 1/2 cups diced kohlrabi
• 1 bunch radishes, quartered
• 1/2 cup vegan mayo
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

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Instructions

Combine the lentils and water in a pot. Bring the lentils to a simmer over medium heat, then turn the heat to low. Cover the pot with a lid, but tilt it slightly so that a small amount of steam can still escape. Continue to cook the lentils over low with the lid tilted for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Remove the lentils from the heat. Drain any remaining water from the lentils and rinse them under cold water to help cool them down. 

While the lentils cooks, remove the dark green portion and root end from your leeks and discard or compost them. Cut each of your leeks in half lengthwise, then slice each half into half-moons. Put the leek slices in a colander and rise them well to remove any dirt or sand (it’s common for it to hide in between the layers). Drain the leeks well.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the vegan butter. Once the butter has melted, add your  leeks along with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly, until the leeks have softened and are just beginning to caramelize. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Add the shelled green peas to the leeks. Cook the leek and pea mixture for 1-2 minutes more, just until the peas turn a brighter shade of green. Remove from the heat.

Add the cooked and cooled lentils, the cooked leek and pea mixture, the kohlrabi, and the radishes to a large bowl. Toss to combine. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the vegan mayo, lemon juice, garlic powder, non-dairy milk, dill, and dijon mustard until smooth. Taste the dressing and season with salt as needed. Start by drizzling half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste the salad and add more dressing as needed.

Serve at room temperature or chilled. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Notes

• If you don’t have access to leeks, you can use a sweet onion instead.
• You can use chopped snap peas in place of the shelled peas, or 1 cup of frozen peas that have been thawed.
• If you don’t have kohlrabi, you can use carrots in their place.
• 1 teaspoon of dried dill can be used in place of the fresh dill in the dressing as needed. 

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Lunch, salad