When I want a lunch that loads up on greens and *actually* keeps me full, this Mediterranean-inspired kale salad with lentils (pre-cooked for ease) always hits. Each forkful delivers crunch, creaminess and briny goodness from Castelvetrano olives, almonds, pickled red onions, fresh parsley, feta and lemon olive oil dressing. With over 16g protein and 12g fiber per serving, it's as delish as it is satisfying. Even better? It stores well in the fridge for several days, AKA a make ahead lunch dream.
Let me smush every single tangy thing I love into a salad and call it lunch. Indulge me!!
After making my irresistible lemony white bean salad with almonds more times than I can count, I was craving something a wee bit greener but JUST as satisfying with all those fun contrasting flavors.
A super nourishing weekday hero lunch that gets you over the afternoon slump because it's out-of-this-world delish. Get in my belly!
The secret? I cut every corner I can.
In the name of convenience, I developed this recipe with Trader Joe's pre-cooked French lentils, a bag of pre-chopped kale (no stems, blessed), and already slivered almonds. It's sophisticated but approachable, ya know?
I draw the line at bottled lemon juice...you can squeeze a lemon, I believe in you.
- Minimal chopping! This was by design. The only thing I'm making you chop is the parsley and ok fine, the olives too. But we're buying them pitted!
- Not all green olives are created equal: Trust me when I say go the extra mile (and spend the extra $2) on buttery, firm Castelvetranos. In my opinion, regular green olives don't even compare. These taste less briny (we've got that covered with the pickled onions) and almost nutty.
- A feta test: Call me a cheese snob but it was was also clear in recipe testing that a block of feta in brine is far superior to the pre-crumbled stuff. To me, it just doesn't do good feta justice. But if you want to cut that corner, you cut it!
Suddenly a bomb salad is doable on a Sunday at 1pm.
Let's make it!
Pretty pretty pretty!
Crazy Good Kale Lentil Salad with Feta and Olives
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings (8 cups) 1x
- Category: Salads
- Method: Oven
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
When I want a lunch that loads up on greens and *actually* keeps me full, this Mediterranean-inspired kale salad with lentils (pre-cooked for ease) always hits. Each forkful delivers crunch, creaminess and briny goodness from castelvetrano olives, almonds, pickled red onions, fresh parsley, feta and lemon olive oil dressing. With over 16g protein and 12g fiber per serving, it's as delish as it is satisfying. Even better? It stores well in the fridge for several days, AKA a make ahead lunch dream.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds, and toasted
- 6 oz or 1 bunch Tuscan kale, stemmed and chopped (7-8 cups)
- 1 ½ cups cooked French lentils (I love Trader Joe's pre-cooked!)
- ¾ cup feta in brine, crumbled
- ¾ cup pitted castelvetrano olives, roughly chopped (or get them from the olive bar!)
- ½ cup pickled red onions*
- 1 cup chopped parsley leaves
For the dressing:
- 1 large lemon, juiced (3 ½-4 tbsp lemon juice)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp pure maple syrup or honey
- 1 ½ tsp sumac (optional but adds great flavor)
- ¾ tsp Aleppo pepper flakes (or ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, omit for no kick)
- ½ tsp fine sea salt + freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Place almonds on a baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for about 7 minutes, or until almonds are golden and smelling nutty. Set aside to cool.
- Place kale in a large mixing bowl. Add a pinch of kosher salt and massage the leaves for about 30 seconds, or just until they turn darker green. We don't want them shrinking too much!
- Add lentils, feta, olives, onions, parsley and toasted almonds.
- Place dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Pour dressing over salad and gently toss everything together. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. It keeps well!
Notes
Adapted from this recipe.
*Homemade pickled red onions: Place ½ thinly sliced red onion in medium heat proof bowl. In a small pot, bring ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ½ cup water, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp salt to boil. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over onions. Let sit for up to 2 hrs room temp, then transfer to a jar and refrigerate.
Sarah says
Wow! Just made this for meal prep lunches and it is perfection! I hit such a huge lunch slump and this sale is the perfect remedy!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Awww this made me so happy, Sarah! Thank you for coming back and taking the time to comment!
Jennifer Kuntz says
Made exactly as written and all 3 of us who ate it liked it a lot. Will be a regular in my salad rotation! Thank you so much for sharing this and your other recipes! Can't wait to try more
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
I'm so happy to hear it, Jennifer! Thanks for giving it a try 🙂