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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Not only is parsley absolutely vibrant and delicious, it’s hardy. My parsley just went over in the garden after our recent snow storm. This salad looks absolutely delicious. Pinned.
Yes it really is! Mine is still alive outside, not really growing voraciously or anything but very much alive!
Tabbouleh has a ton of parsley in it, and I dump that shit on everything.
Omg, tabbouleh…why haven’t I thought of that. Must make.
You know, I think I’ve only bought the FL avocados once…and I live in FL. I usually buy the Hass, because the one time I bought the FL ones, I think I ate it before it was ripe and I was like ugh. So here’s for you for inspiring me to give them a try again! Totally picking some up the next time at the store so I can try this salad. Great recipe, Gina!
I think parsley is one of the herbs that’s supposed to have a detoxifying effect so it makes sense that you would crave it this time of year.
The last time I had it was on top of puréed cauliflower soup and it was so good. It looks awesome in this salad. I love the sound of it with the lemon Dijon dressing!
I may not share you excitement for parsley, but this salad I can get excited about, even more because I have everything I need to make it already home
I am going to be thinking about this salad all day long. Those colors are beautiful and I’ll bet it tastes out of this world, parsley and all!
This salad is so vibrant ans colorful. It looks fantastic!
I’m so on board with your parsley obsession! This salad looks wonderful, Gina!
in questi giorni dopo le feste voglio solo insalate come questa! ottima, da me non si trovano i mirtilli rossi ma cercherò un sostituto :-)
un saluto
I was just looking for another great lentil recipe–this has to be it! Love the avocados and cranberries with this superfood!
dear gina … here is an honest question: what exactly is a “shit ton” ? does using the vulgar term for feces in any way enhance your presentation of this interesting recipe? maybe it’s quirk but i am not enamored of the idea of thinking about food in the same phrase as a substance that should be avoided because of its capacity to ruin food or to make human beings very, very sick. does it make a person appear to be more clever, or more hip, or more gifted in handling the language to include the word “shit”. thanks for the recipe and don’t fuck off.