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    30-Minute Recipes » Autumn Lentil Salad with Chickpea Pancakes

    Published: Sep 11, 2017 · Updated: Mar 6, 2019

    Autumn Lentil Salad with Chickpea Pancakes

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This autumn lentil salad served over chickpea pancakes is a protein-packed meal that’s easy to make and makes use of the best of the season’s produce. Serve this salad warm or cold, as a main or as a side. It’s great as a make-ahead meal or to take to a potluck. Is there anything this salad doesn’t do?

    This autumn lentil salad served over chickpea pancakes is a protein-packed meal that’s easy to make and makes use of the best of the season’s produce. Serve this salad warm or cold, as a main or as a side. It’s great as a make-ahead meal or to take to a potluck. Is there anything this salad doesn’t do?

    So you’ll notice that I’m totally on a lentils kick right now. It was just a couple days ago that I published this red lentil chili recipe and now I’m back with another, this time featuring good old brown lentils. There’s been a chill in the air and pomegranates in the supermarket so I thought it the perfect time to put together this autumn lentil salad recipe!

    I make this salad on a lark over the weekend with some odds and ends I had leftover in my fridge. I also have a very overgrown basil plant on my roof (yes, I garden on my roof) which was in desperate need of pruning so it all came together into this autumn lentil salad.

    This autumn lentil salad served over chickpea pancakes is a protein-packed meal that’s easy to make and makes use of the best of the season’s produce. Serve this salad warm or cold, as a main or as a side. It’s great as a make-ahead meal or to take to a potluck. Is there anything this salad doesn’t do?

    Turns out that everything works so well together: the earthiness of the lentils, the sweetness of the sweet potato, the juiciness of the pears and pomegranate, and the bitterness of the arugula. It’s all tied together with a tangy, herby orange-basil dressing and bulked up with a tasty chickpea pancake to serve on the side or as a base to pile the lentil salad high on top of. Not only is this autumn lentil salad delicious, it’s nice to look at too!

    The chickpea pancake is a sort of a French socca or Italian farinata. It’s super simple: just chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil. If you don’t have it already, chickpea flour is a great addition to a vegan pantry. I use it to make vegan quiches, vegan omelettes, Burmese tofu, and these gluten-free savoury pancakes.

    This autumn lentil salad served over chickpea pancakes is a protein-packed meal that’s easy to make and makes use of the best of the season’s produce. Serve this salad warm or cold, as a main or as a side. It’s great as a make-ahead meal or to take to a potluck. Is there anything this salad doesn’t do?

    I like to bake my chickpea pancakes because they get nice, slightly charred bits on top. I’m lucky enough to have four 15 cm (6 inch) oven-safe pans I can stick in the oven all at once and get four perfect pancakes. If you don’t, you can make one big pancake in a large oven-safe dish (it doesn’t matter if it’s round or not) and cut it up to serve or you can make them one by one on a pan over medium-high heat on the stove.

    This autumn lentil salad served over chickpea pancakes is a protein-packed meal that’s easy to make and makes use of the best of the season’s produce. Serve this salad warm or cold, as a main or as a side. It’s great as a make-ahead meal or to take to a potluck. Is there anything this salad doesn’t do?

    Autumn Lentil Salad with Chickpea Pancakes

    This autumn lentil salad served over chickpea pancakes is a protein-packed meal that’s easy to make and makes use of the best of the season’s produce. Serve this salad warm or cold, as a main or as a side. It’s great as a make-ahead meal or to take to a potluck.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Recipe Rate
    Course: Main Course, Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Total Price: $8.21
    Price per Serving: $2.05
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 468kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 ⅓ cups (120 ml) chickpea flour - $0.48
    • 1 ⅓ cups (320 ml) water - $0.00
    • 4 tablespoons olive oil plus a bit more for the pan, divided - $0.20
    • 2 ½ teaspoons sea salt - $0.03
    • 1 medium-large sweet potato peeled and diced - $0.93
    • 1 packed cup (40 grams) fresh basil - $3.00
    • 1 clove of garlic - $0.08
    • ⅓ cup (80 ml) orange juice - $0.22
    • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar - $0.03
    • ½ medium red onion diced - $0.17
    • 400 grams (14 oz) cooked brown lentils - $0.75
    • 1 pear thinly sliced - $0.32
    • ½ a pomegranate - $1.00
    • 50 grams (1.8 oz) arugula / rocket - $1.00

    Instructions

    • Combine the chickpea flour, water, 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a bowl and whisk well. Let sit to hydrate while you prepare the salad, the longer you let it sit the better to allow the flour to hydrate. Give it a good final whisking just before baking to remove all the lumps.
    • Put the diced sweet potatoes on to boil until tender. If baking the chickpea pancakes, preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F) and place your pans or baking dish inside to heat up (I divided mine between 4 -15 cm / 6 inch pans but you can also make one big one. See the text above for different ways to cook the pancakes).
    • In a small food processor, blend the basil, orange juice, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt, garlic and vinegar until smooth.
    • Toss together the lentils, cooked sweet potato, red onion, pomegranate seeds, arugula and pear and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt.
    • To bake the chickpea pancakes, carefully remove your pans or baking dish from the oven and add a generous glug of olive oil. Tilt the pans to cover the entire surface and pour in the pancake batter. Bake in the centre of the oven for 5 – 7 minutes, or until the top sets, then move the pans to the upper-most rack under the broiler for 3 – 4 more minutes to brown on top. Watch them carefully, they can burn!
    • Let the pancakes cool slightly before removing them from the pans. They can stick a bit so use a spatula. Serve the pancakes either on the side with the salad or on 4 plates with the lentil salad piled on top. Drizzle over the orange-basil dressing.

    Notes

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    Nutrition

    Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 1508mg | Potassium: 993mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 5280IU | Vitamin C: 18.7mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 6mg
    Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. Please refer to our nutrition disclaimer for more information.

    We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 

    « Red Lentil Chili
    Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Karl @ Healthy Kreation says

      September 14, 2017 at 9:57 am

      I love how your lentil salad incorporates so many flavors and it's so quick and easy to make as well. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe.

      Reply
    2. Anna says

      March 09, 2019 at 2:58 pm

      5 stars
      OK, OK perhaps giving it 5 stars is a bit cheeky as didn't make it exactly to recipe. But I had a variant due to cupboard restraints and it was great! swapped sweet potato for butternut squash, roasted, and used less basil cos ran out, plus no pomegranate cos I'm not a fan. But I loved it. Will defo make again

      Reply

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