My kale and sweet potato salad is a wonderful vegan lunch or side dish that you'll want to make time and time again. Full of lentils for extra plant based protein. Topped with a delicious creamy tahini dressing for maximum flavour.
Whether you're looking for a healthy dinner, a lunch at home or a tasty salad to box up to take into work, this lentil, kale and sweet potato salad is for you.
Is roasting the sweet potatoes worth the effort?
Absolutely. Roasting sweet potatoes, like many vegetables, makes them taste amazing. In fact I usually recommend roasting most vegetables as the way to make them taste the best.
If you are short of time you could boil or steam your sweet potatoes. However, I really recommend that when making this kale and sweet potato salad you take the time to roast them.
You could always roast the sweet potatoes in advance and store in the fridge.
How to make the kale really soft
Kale, when properly prepared, is really delicious. It tastes great and as vegans we should be eating lots of it as it's packed full of nutrients.
On the other hand it can be really chewy. And when I say really I mean the kind of chewy that really hangs around in your mouth for far too long.
Remove the stems
Plus if the stems are left on they really don't taste good.
Add an acidic ingredient like lemon juice
In a salad kale is served uncooked and it's important to add a dressing with an acidic component. This will help to break the kale down and make it nice and soft. This could be vinegar or lemon juice.
In this kale and sweet potato salad recipe I've used lemon juice in the tahini dressing.
Massage the leaves
I have also added an extra step which is to massage the kale leaves for a few minutes with some extra lemon juice.
It's really worth taking the time to do this step as your kale will thank you for it by becoming lovely and soft.
NB: in other recipes I massage the kale leaves with the whole dressing but in this case the tahini is just too messy (I tried).
Read more about how to prepare kale.
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make this salad:
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 200 g cavolo nero leaves (or other kale leaves)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 250 g cooked puy lentils
- Handful toasted pumpkin seeds
And here's what you need to make the dressing:
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt, to taste
More vegan salad recipes
- Colourful shredded cabbage salad with sumac dressing
- Celeriac and chestnut buckwheat salad
- Freekeh salad with cauliflower, leeks and butterbeans
- Chickpea kale pasta salad with orzo
- Three bean salad
- Israeli salad
- Warm celeriac salad with chestnuts and blueberries
- Chickpea kale salad with pistachios and blood orange
- Buckwheat salad with sweet potato, blueberry and walnut
- Radicchio salad
- Rainbow salad
If you like this you might like my miso sautéed kale and mushrooms.
Pin lentil, kale and sweet potato salad for later
How to make kale and sweet potato salad
If you have made this recipe and loved it please consider leaving a comment and rating below.
Kale and sweet potato salad with puy lentils and tahini dressing
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 200 g cavolo nero leaves removed from stems and shredded
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 250 g puy lentils cooked
- Handful toasted pumpkin seeds
For the dressing
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan)/220°C/gas mark 7.
- Place the chopped sweet potatoes into a roasting tin and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Roast for 40 minutes or until soft. Stir halfway through the cooking time.
- Meanwhile make the tahini dressing.
- Put 3 tablespoons tahini, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and a pinch of salt to a small mixing bowl and whisk together with a fork. It will go a bit grainy and then come together into a lovely creamy dressing.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Place the cavolo nero into a salad bowl. Pour over 1 tablespoon lemon juice and use your hands to massage it into the leaves for a minute or two. This is an important step as it will help to soften the kale and make it easier to eat.
- Add 250g cooked puy lentils, the roasted sweet potato and a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds to the kale.
- Now add your tahini dressing. If it has thickened add a little bit of water and whisk again before adding it to the salad.
- Mix well and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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