This avocado lentil cranberry salad is packed with healthy fats from a good dose of avocado. Cooked lentils and both fresh and dried cranberries are tossed with a lemon dijon dressing to make this a hearty lunch or side salad.
I have been crazy obsessed with parsley lately.
Is that weird? I feel like it is.
Of all the herbs out there, I picked the most boring one to go and get obsessed with.
I was explaining my recent lunch obsession of tuna, greek yogurt, mustard, celery and parsley on piece of toasted cheese bread to Brandy the other day and she’s all “so, basically it’s a tuna melt” and I’m like “well yes, but OMG THE PARSLEY, it totally makes the sandwich”.
Who says that? Who gets that excited about freakin’ parsley?
So all I wanted out of this salad was the opportunity to use a ton of parsley and be happy.
The result though is a bit better than that. Parsley + lemon dijon dressing might’ve been a bit weird anyway.
I bought those giant Florida avocados the other day (someone tell me why I’ve been paying twice as much for Haas when these are cheaper, about 3 times the size and taste exactly the same?) and with two of them sitting on the counter, an avocado intervention needed to happen.
The intervention includes some lentils (I recommend just slightly under-cooking them, you don’t want them mushy in this), fresh and dried cranberries and of course, my beloved parsley.
This salad is creamy, bright, fresh and oddly hearty at the same time.
So get your parsley pants on and dig in.
You can also replace the lentils in this salad with mung beans.
Just like I use them interchangeably in my mung bean soup recipe, this is another example where that swap would work well.
Love this avocado lentil cranberry salad recipe?
Try my other salad recipes:
Baby Kale Chicken Cherry Salad
Roasted Winter Root Vegetable Salad with Toasted Pecans
Blue Cheese and Cranberries
Chopped Crispy Citrus Chicken Salad
Or, this Mediterranean quinoa salad from my friend, Aysegul which looks filling and delicious in a light and healthy way!
Avocado Lentil Cranberry Salad
This salad is packed with healthy fats from a good dose of avocado. Cooked lentils and both fresh and dried cranberries are tossed with a lemon dijon dressing to make this a hearty lunch or side salad.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups chopped avocado
- 3/4 cup cooked lentils
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- juice from 1 Meyer lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 shallot, thinly sliced
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Combine avocado, lentils, cranberries and parsley in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, shallots, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss until well coated.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 360Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 157mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 12gSugar: 17gProtein: 6g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.
Aimee @ ShugarySweets
Thursday 14th of January 2016
This looks fantastic! So pretty too!
Ruth in OZ
Saturday 24th of January 2015
I live on the west coast of Australia and fresh cranberries so not happening here. I have frozen ones in the freezer so wondering if it will work? Dried cranberries we can get easily and we are blessed to have abundance of avocado cheap is time of year and parsley a plenty courtesy of my organic gardening husband. Xxx. ruth
sarah
Saturday 17th of January 2015
I know this sounds stupid, but how do you cook the lentils?
Running to the Kitchen
Sunday 18th of January 2015
You can easily google how to cook lentils but all you do is put them in a pot with water covering them by about an inch or so, bring to a boil and then simmer (covered) until they're cooked to your liking. Unlike rice, lentils won't absorb all the water so you'll need to drain them once finished cooking. About 20 minutes cooking time should suffice for this salad since you don't want them to be mushy.
Jennie
Tuesday 13th of January 2015
When I was little I would eat parsley off of everyone's plates because I loved it so much. I still love it so much. And I love your obsession with it, and I also love the look of this recipe!
Bridget McGahen
Wednesday 7th of January 2015
I LOVE your grey little plate! Where's it from?
Running to the Kitchen
Wednesday 7th of January 2015
Haha, so many people keep asking me that...eBay! Just searched for pewter plates and stalked a few auctions until I got these :)