Beet and Lentil Salad With Cheddar

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(1,500)
Notes: Read community notes

This salad is a party of sweet, earthy and salty flavors. Store-bought, vacuum-packed beets are called for here, which are not only convenient, but have a mellow fruitiness and a tender texture that is ideal in salads. (If you have fresh beets, and have the time to roast them, you can use those instead.) Beets naturally pair well with sharp and tangy ingredients, and while goat cheese may be a more common accompaniment, crumbly aged Cheddar offsets the sweetness of the beets and the apple cider dressing (though any sharp Cheddar works). French green lentils offer a nutty, peppery, almost mineral-like flavor and are perfect for salads because they hold their shape well, though if you only have brown lentils, that’s just fine. (They cook slightly faster, so adjust the cook time accordingly.) Finally, there’s no shame in opting for canned lentils.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Salad

1½cups French green lentils, rinsed
1garlic clove, smashed
Kosher salt and black pepper
2cups arugula leaves
½cup soft herbs, such as dill, parsley, mint or cilantro, roughly chopped
1(16-ounce) package cooked whole beets (or 1 pound roasted beets), cut into ½-inch wedges
4ounces extra sharp Cheddar, roughly crumbled
¼cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

For the Apple Cider Vinaigrette

1small garlic clove, grated
2tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1tablespoon maple syrup or brown sugar
½teaspoon Dijon mustard

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Prepare the salad: In a medium pot, add the lentils, garlic and 4 cups water. Season with salt and bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until just tender. (The lentils should still have some bite). Drain in a colander and stir to break up and evenly distribute the garlic. Let the lentils cool slightly.
Step 2
While the lentils cook, prepare the vinaigrette: In a large serving bowl, whisk the garlic, vinegar, oil, maple syrup and mustard with ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.
Step 3
Add the warm lentils to the serving bowl, then add the arugula, herbs and beets. Season with salt and black pepper and toss. Add the Cheddar and toss gently, but don’t overdo it because you don’t want the cheese to turn crimson from the beets. To serve, top with hazelnuts.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,500 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

nicola3 years ago

Next time I will omit the maple syrup, as I prefer a zesty dressing. I will also increase the amount of herbs. It is a really lovely meal to have for lunch on a sunny day.

Nancy3 years ago

I love lentils. I love beets. I love cheddar. Ditto vinaigrette. I've made lentil salad before pretty much like this, but never thought of adding beets! Brilliant! AND I used store-bought cooked beets, which until now were anathema to me: they're just as good as home-roasted and SO much less fuss... Didn't use syrup, beets are plenty sweet; added chopped walnuts to the cooling lentils instead of topping with hazelnuts. Otherwise, made as written. Just excellent.

Juliet Jones3 years ago

Don't use canned lentils, they have a metallic taste.

saltnpepper3 years ago

Made this exactly has written - deliciously! Texture and flavor are so good. I used TJs packaged lentils which I nuked for 20 seconds & TJs packaged beets. The star of this was the herbs & dressing, really lovely mix of flavors.

Susanna3 years ago

I doubled the Dijon mustard, but plan to cut the syrup out next time. This was an excellent side to roasted salmon.

aaron3 years ago

I doubled the amount of dressing as the lentils soak it up. I didn’t mind the maple syrup but might experiment with red wine Dijon dressing or something with more zest

Joy3 years ago

I made this for dinner tonight. Had regular brown lentils so used those. Based on comments here doubled the dressing. Didn’t have cheddar so used goat cheese for my hubby and blue cheese for me. Also a spinach/arugula mix cause it’s what I had. We really liked it and will definitely make it again! The beets are such a lovely color - they brighten everything up.

EH3 years ago

My husband loved this, but I thought it was a little too subtle in flavor for me. Next time, I will double the dressing and add a little more cheese. The sharp cheddar works well and I like how it holds up in the salad.

Dools3 years ago

If you're wondering, the packaged cooked whole (Love) Beets can be found in the Produce department of most supermarkets or Costco.

JLM3 years ago

After stacking my ingredients up to start prep, I noticed one major error...I forgot the lentils (!!). So, I substituted with a tin of cannelloni beans which I cooked in the same way as the recipe requires. The result was pretty good if you fancy a little something different, added a creamier depth to the salad.

stephanie3 years ago

Made this tonight as written with only one substitution: gruyere instead of cheddar because it’s what we had. For herbs I used a mix of parsley, tarragon, dill and basil. This salad was divine.

sushiq3 years ago

Very good and great leftover for lunch. This would be a lot to eat for 4 even as a main course. I did take others advice and double the dressing, real maple syrup does not make it sweet. I used black lentils and was a pretty salad. Micro greens sprinkled on top and/or chive blossoms would be pretty.

Nash Wednesday2 years ago

Really like beets? Prove it! Use a jar of pickled beets and sub that pickling liquid for the apple cider vinegar and maple syrup in the dressing.

Greg2 weeks ago

I doubled the maple syrup and used walnuts instead of hazelnuts. Delicious!

jessica4 weeks ago

For an individual salad, dressing recipe: 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar 1.5 TBSP olive oil 1/2 TBSP maple syrup 1 tsp Dijon mustard

LLN1 month ago

I cooked the lentils in homemade vegetable stock ( from cuttings including fennel, leek greens, onion and garlic). Added garlic , basil and Spike to lentils as they cooked plus salt and pepper. Roasted beets, fennel and green beans. Garnished with feta, and topped with the vinaigrette (a little extra mustard, no maple syrup). Delicious.

JuanZ1 month ago

I forgot to add the cheddar but it was great anyway! Don’t overcook the lentils. Al dente is key.

SanuraJamila2 months ago

Separate arugula greens and/or use a tougher green

Moira in Altadena2 months ago

Oh wait—she meant 1 1/2 cups cooked? Not dry?

Moira in Altadena2 months ago

To veganize, swapped avocado for cheese. 10x’s the greens so it was a green salad with lentils instead of vice-versa. More fresh (combo) herbs, more dressing. Lighter on beets—used one large sliced thin to roast quick. Make sure to really drain lentils or dressing watered down. Walnuts for hazlenut. Mixed spinach and arugula. Light and healthy!

SaintSavory3 months ago

I found this dry as a bone, and the sauce was very thin. I whisked together two more tablespoons of olive oil, a few teaspoons of balsamic vinegar and another 1/2 tsp of dijon mustard and added that, and it was great.

Rose9 months ago

Better than expected and I had a high bar as I love all the ingredients. I used what I had on hand which meant sub'ing split peas for lentils, chard for arugula, cashews for the hazlenuts, and it was still amazing.

Martha11 months ago

This is one of my favorites, though I serve it with toasted walnuts and grated parmesan. If you make it with Trader Joe's prepared lentils and beets, it's so easy. This cider vinegar dressing has become my main summer salad dressing.

Lucia11 months ago

This was fabulous. Only had red lentils which were very mushy for anyone wondering about a sub - definitely follow the recipe there!

NancyK11 months ago

One and a half cups uncooked lentils sounded like too much. I cooked a half cup dry of black lentils. I used chard instead of arugula (I had chard on hand) and steamed it before assembling the salad. I decreased the brown sugar to one teaspoon. Salad was a hit for a substantial summer dinner. Will make again as more summer vegetables are available locally.

Tiana L.1 year ago

Yum! I added lemon to the dressing and switched our balsamic vinaigrette for ACV (didn’t have it!). Added carrots to the beets as I roasted them. Added tomatoes, lettuce, carrot greens, and mushrooms to the salad part. Topped it all off with bleu cheese and candied pecans to tie it all together- so good!

Tanya1 year ago

Awesome fast weeknight recipe- perfect for that night I get home late from work. You can buy vacuum seal lentils, beets and a bag of arugula from Trader Joe's and dinner is almost done... Agree with less maple syrup- 1 tsp.

Amanda1 year ago

This salad is my lunch for half the month every month. I prep the ingredients at the beginning of the week and store them separately. Then at lunch I microwave the lentils and then add and toss the rest, which takes about 5 mins max. It's to me a perfect salad: hearty, nutty, veggie forward, filling, just enough for a full meal. I used honey mustard instead of dijon + maple syrup. Definitely get the hazelnuts really toasty, it adds so much depth to the flavor.

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