Roasted Potatoes and Lentil Salad with Lemony Pesto
A hearty and healthy meatless potato and lentil salad tossed with a delicious lemon-kissed walnut pesto dressing! This is the perfect recipe for your vegetarian meal prepping! Easy to make and the best office lunch ever!
A very wise Yoda-like man once said that pesto makes any food taste even better. Ok, right. It was a woman, and it was me. But still, hear me out!
The roasted potatoes, mixed with lentils and fresh arugula are already very delicious on their own. Because roasted potatoes + lentils = comfort food and comfort food is pretty much always very delicious.
But add this homemade lemon-scented walnut pesto? Wowza! It takes the whole salad to the next level of yumminess! (Is that even a word?! I’m not a native speaker, you’ll pardon me)
A homemade Lemon & Walnut Pesto takes this Lentil Salad to the next level!
I do have a soft spot for pesto so I’ll always say good things about it anyways but this lentil salad recipe is a bit different (but different good!) as it has a hint of lemon and uses walnuts instead of pine nuts for the pesto dressing.
I could eat this homemade walnut pesto by the spoonful. And maybe I did while I was preparing my lentil salad for lunch. It’s fresh and so tasty!
You could definitely make this potato and lentil salad as part of your weekly meal prep routine. Cook the lentils, roast the potatoes and when you’re ready to eat during the week, make the walnut pesto, mix everything together and voila!
Springtime healthy comfort food for your grateful tummy!
Enjoy 🙂
If you tried this potato and lentil salad with walnut pesto dressing, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!
Roasted Potatoes and Lentil Salad with Lemony Pesto
A hearty and healthy meatless potato and lentil salad tossed with a delicious lemon-kissed walnut pesto dressing! This is the perfect recipe for your vegetarian meal prepping! Easy to make and the best office lunch ever!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 680 g, Yukon gold, red or purple
- 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup black or French lentils rinsed
- 3 oz baby arugula 85 g
- 1/2 lemon juice juice
Walnut Lemony Pesto:
- 1/3 cup toasted walnuts
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 lemon juice + zest
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 cup basil packed
- 1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
For the potatoes and lentils:
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Preheat oven to 425 F / 220 C. Add potatoes to a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss to coat well. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until browned and crispy.
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In the meantime, add lentils to a large saucepan. Cover with water by about 2-3 inches and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender, but not mushy. Strain and set aside.
For the pesto:
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Add walnuts, garlic, lemon (juice & zest), parmesan, salt and pepper to a food processor. Process until desired consistency (I like mine more on the pureed side). Then add basil and pulse until all basil is chopped very finely. While the processor is running, stream in about 1/4-1/3 cup olive oil or until desired texture. Set aside.
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In a large serving bowl, toss together arugula, lentils, roasted potatoes and a few large spoonfuls of pesto. Toss until well-combined and coated with pesto. Squeeze with the juice of 1/2 lemon and season to taste. Serve immediately.
Homemade Lemon and Walnut Pesto Dressing? OH MY GOD! This is definitely one of the best sounding lentil salad recipes out there! Love the addition of roasted potatoes for some extra comfort food feel!