Beautiful, healthy, crunchy and creamy, this carrot salad is one of those incredibly tasty side dishes that you’ll be coming back to time and time again. Not only is it’s super healthy and whole-foods based, plentiful in lentils, carrots, tahini and pistachio, but it’s very easy to make ahead of time and store in the fridge – a win for the meal prep’ers out there.
Tahini’d Carrot Salad Ingredients
- Green lentils (sprouted if possible)
- Organic carrots (with the carrot tops)
- Fresh parsley
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Ground cayenne pepper
- Raw tahini
- Lime juice
- Unsalted shelled pistachios
How do you make this carrot salad?
- Briefly spread the lentils out on a lightly-colored dish cloth, and pick through them to ensure there is no debris. Then, cook the lentils at a steady boil for about 10 – 15 minutes, or until tender but not mushy. Once boiled, drain and rinse the lentils in a colander, and then add them to a large mixing bowl.
- Along with the cooked lentils, add the grated carrot, chopped carrot tops and fresh parsley, as well as the chili powder, ground cumin, ground cayenne, and sea salt and black pepper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, lime juice, water, salt and black pepper, until creamy and thick without being cement-like. Add this dressing to the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients, and fold everything together until it’s all coated well.
- Serve the tahini’d carrot salad on a large platter. Garnish with additional parsley and roughly chopped pistachios. You can also store this salad in the fridge for later in the week.
Can You Eat Carrot Tops?
Short answer: yes.
Slightly longer answer: It depends. Basically, if you can’t find fresh and organic carrots, then I wouldn’t recommend it. Really, instead of carrot tops, you can just substitute for more parsley.
However, if you’re able to find organic carrot greens suitable for eating, then by all means do eat them (after washing them well, of course); it’d be a waste to throw them out. They have an amazing sweetness that really adds to this carrot salad. Plus, they’re fairly healthy for you – packed full of minerals and nutrients as they are.
Sprouted vs. Unsprouted Lentils
Some of you may be wondering what reason there could be to eat sprouted lentils vs. unsprouted lentils.
Truthfully, sprouted lentils offer some nutritional benefits that unsprouted lentils cannot, and vice versa. Sprouted lentils also tend to be more easily digestible than their unsprouted counterparts. What specifically those are, read about it here.
In terms of flavor and taste, there is not too much of a difference either.
Mainly, I’ve found that sprouted lentils are easier to get a more pleasant al dente texture than unsprouted lentils. This is because they’ve already been soaked/washed (a.k.a sprouted), and so are almost partially softened in that process already.
In this carrot salad, you’ve already got some crunch from the veggies and pistachio, so the lentils should be a hearty, comforting bite of meaty leguminous goodness – not too soft, not too hard.
More Lentil Recipes
Lentils are one of my all-time favorite ingredients: they come in a wide variety; they’re full of plant-based protein and other essential nutrients; they’re easy make; they’re super meaty and pleasant to bite into; you can add them to anything from a soup to a salad to a casserole to a taco…and beyond!
Explore the immensely delicious world of lentil with some of these recipes below!
- Baked Butternut Squash and Lentil Bowl
- Comforting Golden Lentil Soup
- Green Lentil Fritters
- Jackfruit and Lentil Tamales with Chipotle Cashew Crema
- Puy Lentil and Mandarin Orange Salad
- Zesty Green Lentil Salad
If you enjoyed this tahini’d carrot salad, then consider leaving me a comment and recipe rating before you go.
Tahini’d Lentil-Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry green lentils, sprouted or unsprouted both work
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups grated organic carrots, save the carrot tops
- ½ cup roughly chopped carrot tops, or just use additional parsley
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- Some sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 tablespoons raw tahini
- 5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 – 3 tablespoons water, or more for thinner dressing
- Dash of sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup unsalted shelled pistachios, roughly chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Begin by measuring out 1 cup of dry green lentils, and bring 3 cups of water to boil in a medium pot. Briefly spread the lentils out on a lightly-colored dish cloth, and pick through them to ensure there is no debris. Then, cook the lentils at a steady boil for about 10 – 15 minutes, or until tender but not mushy (you just don't want them crunchy, basically). Double-check the instructions on the package, if you have them, since each brand of lentil can sometimes cook differently. Once boiled, drain and rinse the lentils in a colander, and then add them to a large mixing bowl.
- Next, along with the cooked lentils, add the grated carrot, chopped carrot tops (only if you could find fresh organic carrots with the tops on, otherwise just substitute with more parsley) and fresh parsley, as well as the chili powder, ground cumin, ground cayenne, and sea salt and black pepper.
- Then, in a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, lime juice, water, salt and black pepper, until creamy and thick without being cement-like. Add this dressing to the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients, and fold everything together until it's all coated well.
- Serve the tahini'd carrot and lentil salad on a large platter. Garnish with additional parsley and roughly chopped pistachios. You can also store this salad in the fridge for later in the week. If that's the case, I'd recommend adding the pistachios only when you're about to eat it, otherwise they become soft (which isn't necessarily a bad thing!).
Nutrition
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
Leave a Reply