This hearty Loaded Lentil Salad is packed with protein, fiber, and warm veggies like roasted sweet potatoes, red onion, and Brussels sprouts. Perfect for a light lunch! Vegan and gluten-free.
Don’t you just hate when a personal chef arrives at your doorstep?
THE WORST.
Not! I mean that’s basically what HelloFresh is, right? Like yeah sure, go ahead and pick some healthy and delish recipes and while you’re at it, go grocery shopping for me and oh yeah, bring it all to my apartment afterwards. You shouldn’t have!!
If you haven’t heard, HelloFresh is the largest online “meals at home” food delivery service. Their chefs and in-house dietitian create tasty 30-minute meal options that make up the different Veggie Plan, Classic Plan, and Family Plan box options. All the pre-measured ingredients and recipes are boxed up and shipped right to you. They work with a handful of local suppliers, something that’s super close to my heart ever since opening Alchemy!
You guys. The Veggie Plan is my jam. The three meals per box ring in at under $10 a piece, including free shipping. When you think about the time you spend perusing Pinterest for recipes plus the grocery store trip, the convenience factor here is like WOAH.
Today I want to chat with you about customizing these lovely meals. While they don’t have a strictly vegan or gluten-free option, the meals are super easy to adapt to your tastebuds or intolerances. The box I received had ingredients for the following meals: Loaded Lentil Salad, One-Pot Tortellini Wonder, and Red Rice Bowl.
Now let’s talk customizations!
As they stand, the Veggie Plan is 100% vegetarian. But what if you have allergies? What if you avoid gluten? Not a problem, my friends.
First off, when the recipe calls for sautéing in butter, feel free to swap in extra virgin olive oil. Did you know there’s a big difference between regular olive oil and extra virgin?
The Loaded Lentil Salad is completely vegan, nut-free and gluten-free by simply leaving off the feta.
The Red Rice Bowl is vegan, nut-free, and gluten-free as long as you omit the eggs. The One-Pot Tortellini is a classic vegetarian pasta dish that inherently contains cheese and gluten. The boyf gobbled this one up!
If you’re game for some major substitutions, you could always use the garlic, kale, veggie stock concentrate, and panko and whip up your own version of cheezy pasta using almond milk, nutritional yeast, cashews, pesto, and pasta of your choice. With this one, you’re pretty much adjusting the entire recipe but if that’s in your comfort zone, go for it!
I really, really appreciated how easily adaptable these meals were. Plus, when you spend so much of your time creating recipes, having all the ingredients delivered with pre-set recipes is pretty much the best thing ever. They also have a big online archive of all the recipes so if you got one that you were obsessed with, you can make it again at home any time!
This Lentil Salad is one of those meals that tastes even better the next day.
It’s dreamy warm and dare I say even dreamier cold? As far as nutrition goes, this guy boasts a whopping 24 grams of plant-powered protein and 16 grams of filling fiber per serving plus phytonutrients galore! Hubba hubba.
Now for the fun part! For first-time customers, you can enter the code HUMMUSAPIEN35 at checkout to receive $35 off your first HelloFresh box! If you’re already a fan, you can also gift a box to a loved one for the holidays.
You didn’t think I’d rattle off Loaded Lentil Salad without giving away a FREE box of three meals to one of you lovelies, did you?! This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end Friday, December 16th at 12:00pm EST. The winner will be notified via email.
TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
- Like Hummusapien + this post on Facebook.
- Check out the HelloFresh blog.
- Leave a comment on this post telling me about an article that inspired you + why you’d love to win!
Good luck, lentils!!!
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This hearty Loaded Lentil Salad is packed with protein, fiber, and warm veggies like roasted sweet potatoes, red onion, and Brussels sprouts. Perfect for a light lunch! Vegan and gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
- 16oz brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp Herbs de Provence
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup or honey
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 red onions, diced
- 1 cup French lentils*
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup pepitas
- 1/2 tsp salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line two baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.
- Combine sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, Herbs de Provence, maple or honey, 2 tbsp olive oil, and a big pinch of salt and pepper in a medium boil. Spread onto prepared baking sheets and roast for about 11-13 minutes. Toss and roast until for another 11-13 minutes, or until golden
- Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add lentils and water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Season with another pinch of salt and drain any excess water. Return to pot.
- Add balsamic vinegar and remaining 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil to pot with lentils. Add veggies and season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with pepitas and serve!
Notes
*do not salt lentils before cooking
[Tweet “Loaded Lentil Salad + enter to win 3 FREE meals via @hellofresh @TheHummusapien #giveaway #ad”]
DID YOU MAKE IT?!
I love seeing your creations! Let me know how you liked this recipe in the comments below or snap a pic on Instagram with the hashtag #hummusapien! You can also upload a pic to the Hummusapien Facebook page. I love to re-post my favorites!
This post is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Hummsuapien!
P.S. Can’t get enough of lentils? You’ll love this Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad with Zucchini Lentil Pasta!
I didn’t think about the mistake of mixing up salt and sugar when cooking for a big event like Thanksgiving. I would like to win because – honestly? – I’d like to try a few new recipes with new ingredients for free.
Wow this is such a great idea!!! I can’t wait to try out HelloFresh. Also, definitely going to make this Loaded Lentil Salad over the weekend for me and my boyfriend! We are lentil lovers. The cookie post on the HelloFresh blog caught my eye because I am having a baking day with my family this Sunday and will have to add one of these new cookie recipes to our baking list! Yummy!
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I loved the eggplant post. I never know how to cook it and actually make it taste good. I’m definitely going to try out some of their methods. I’d love to win just to try something brand new and get out of my routine of making the same things every week.
Oh my gosh I really hope that I win this! I have been reading your blog for awhile now… I’m secretly obsessed with you (promise not in a creepy way at all) I just love all of your recipes, snaps, videos on Instagram, etc…. I’ve heard all about Hello Fresh but I’ve never ordered. Now that I can save $35 I will be ordering today! YAY!
The one thing that I like most about Hello Fresh is that they tell you the stories behind how they get their vegetables. It’s cool to see who the veggies come from and learn about the farms and farmers themselves. Not a lot of places tell you where there products come from so this is very helpful!
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I love a good lentil salad! And I love the mini-portions of the ingredients (like the olive oil), that tiny bottle is so cute! 😀
Yum! I love making lentils salads for hearty, healthy lunches. This is right up my alley. I thought the “5 Mother Sauces” article on HF was super interesting. Once you know how to make basic sauces it seems like you can mix and match with foods and create a lot of different recipes from them! I loved the serving suggestions for each one too, so helpful to get me brainstorming on recipes.
Omg this salad ?? LOOKS AMAZE? I’m loving the 5 mother sauces article. I’m a huge sauce person and this is inspiring so many variations of basic sauces! I’d LOVE to win the hellofresh box to make with my sister while she’s back home visiting from LA! We love cooking healthy, vegan dishes and have been looking into Hellofresh since the summertime!??
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The article about the difference between virgin and extra virgin olive oil! Who knew there was such a difference?! I would love to win strictly for convenience sake – especially during the holidays, there is just no time to meal plan, grocery shop, and prep.
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I liked the article describing the difference between extra virgin and regular olive oil. I’d love to try this out as I’ve been curious about these types of boxes to make meal planning easier.
I’ve had an eggplant sitting in my fridge for more than a week so “5 Easy ways to cook eggplant” was very timely!
Awesome! I love the “5 MOTHER SAUCES TO ELEVATE YOUR COOKING GAME.” I was just talking about the mother sauces with my roomies!
I’m a dental student and would love the convenience of this, ahhhh whata dream! xo
I seem to be terrible at cooking eggplant (re: I have trouble managing the texture) so I liked the “5 way to cook eggplant.”
I would love a HF box to give me some fresh cooking ideas!
I am so inspired by THIS article!! It’s legit the answer to my food prayers! I’ve had a half used bag of lentils in my cupboard for months and haven’t had any idea what to do with them. And it seems like this time of year I’m up to my elbows in Brussels sprouts, so anytime I am presented with a new way to use them, I’m sold!
I’d love to win a box because I’m pregnant and hangry and want all the yummy, healthy food I can get!
I liked reading about the “mother sauces”- so helpful to learn! I’d love to win this because I’m in school and sometimes dinner falls to the wayside (especially during exams). xx have a great day!
The article about easy ways to cook eggplant. I love it but never think about making it, now I won’t be satisfied until I have some! I would love to win because it would be such a welcome break to have everything provided for a new to me recipe. Even better if I can convince hubby to cook it and do the clean-up 🙂