Home › Recipes › Courses › Salads › Warm Sweet Potato Noodles, Cabbage and Lentil Salad
by Lisa Bryan
30 Comments
Updated Nov 22, 2020
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
Jump to Recipe
Sweet potato noodles salad with cabbage and lentils is a warm and hearty salad that’s perfect for fall and winter. It’s vibrant, nutrient-packed and loaded with flavor thanks to sautéed onions and Swiss chard along with a Dijon vinaigrette. Fresh herbs and toasted pine nuts finish it off!
There’s quite a bit of protein in lentils, making this salad a complete meal on it’s own. But if you serve it up as a side salad it would pair wonderfully with my Carne Asada, Dijon Baked Salmon or Sweet and Smoky Beef Brisket.
Spiralized Sweet Potato Noodles
I’m such a fan of my spiralizer and the myriad of ways you can use spiralized veggies. You’ve previously seen me turn spiralized sweet potato noodles into Curly Sweet Potato Friesand Spiralized Sweet Potato Egg Nests. But today we’re making a vegan and vegetarian sweet potato noodles salad!
Sweet potatoes, when spiralized on a thin blade as you see below, can be used in both cold and warm salads. Many folks forget that you can definitely eat sweet potato raw.
You can also spiralize sweet potatoes ahead of time as I show on my Winter Meal Prep video (coming next week). But when the weather’s cold outside, a quick sauté of sweet potato noodles makes for a warm salad option (and more tender noodles)
Sweet Potato Noodles Salad
This sweet potato noodles salad is loaded with veggies. In addition to the sweet potato noodles, we’ve got sautéed onion, Swiss chard and red cabbage. Sautéed onions that are caramelized are the best and I’m such a fan of Swiss chard. You know my motto, the more greens the better!
To that we’re adding green lentils for heartiness and protein. Just 1/2 cup of cooked lentils provides 12 grams of protein. Looking for a meatless Monday salad recipe? This sweet potato noodles salad is a great option!
To finish off the salad, we’re adding a bunch of chopped herbs (I love a combination of parsley and cilantro) and toasted pine nuts. Then we’re drizzling the tastiest, most flavorful Dijon vinaigrette on top and tossing it all together. Hearty, nourishing, filling, warming and delicious – this salad ticks all the boxes. Enjoy!
More Healthy Salad Recipes
- Roasted Butternut Squash, Romaine and Goat Cheese Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Pulled Pork, Cabbage and Arugula Salad
- Greek Salad
- Wild Rice and Arugula Salad
Looking for another recipe with lentils? Give my lentil soup a try!
Sweet Potato Noodles Salad with Cabbage and Lentils
5 from 7 votes
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 20 minutes mins
Total: 35 minutes mins
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan
PrintPinReviewSave
Description
Sweet potato noodles salad is a combination of spiralized sweet potato noodles, cabbage, lentils, sautéed onions and Swiss chard. It's topped off with fresh herbs, toasted pine nuts and a zesty Dijon vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup green lentils
- 4 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 piece kombu seaweed, approx 4 inches long
- 1 sweet potato, spiralized
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 leaves Swiss chard, sliced
- 2 cups sliced red cabbage
- 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1 bunch parsley or cilantro
- 1 recipe Dijon Vinaigrette
Instructions
Add the lentils to a fine mesh sieve. Examine and remove any bad ones and rinse under the faucet.
Place the lentils in a small pot along with the water, bay leaf and kombu. The water should cover the lentils by about 2 inches. Bring the lentils to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes. The water should be a very gentle simmer with very few bubbles.
After the lentils have cooked for about 5 minutes, add the olive oil and onion to a very large pan and heat on medium. Sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. You can sauté them until they've fully caramelized as well.
Add the sliced Swiss chard to the pan and sauté for a minute. Then add the spiralized sweet potato and sauté for 3 minutes, using tongs to turn them. Lastly, add the sliced red cabbage to the pan and cook for one more minute, while tossing and stirring. Then transfer the salad to a large serving bowl.
At this point, the lentils should be nearly done. Drain and rinse them and add to the salad.
Top the salad with the toasted pine nuts, fresh herbs and Dijon vinaigrette. Toss everything together and serve warm.
Lisa's Tips
- Spiralized sweet potato noodles can beverylong. Usekitchen scissorsto trim them before cooking, making them easier to eat.
- Addingkombu seaweedto the lentils while cooking not only adds a great umami flavor, but it helps digestibility by reducing phytic acid in the lentils.
- For more vegetables you can spiralize, make sure to watch mySpiralizer Beginner’s Guidevideo. And this is thespiralizerI’ve used for years.
Nutrition
Calories: 414.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 41.3g | Protein: 14.8g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 2.6g | Sodium: 375.5mg | Fiber: 10.5g | Sugar: 6.1g
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: sweet potato noodles, sweet potato noodles salad
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!
