Celery Salad with lentils, dates and almonds – a delicious make-ahead salad that keeps for several days in the fridge, perfect for midweek lunches or gatherings. Keep it vegan or add shaved pecorino!
I’ve had a bit of a celery fetish happening lately! Here it is the star of the salad paired with lentils and dates and crunchy almonds. Shaved pecorino adds a delicious depth but if going vegan, feel free to leave it out. The nice thing is you can make a batch to have on hand during the busy week, because it actually tastes great, if not better, a couple of days later! I thought my husband would snub this but he wholeheartedly gobbled it up. Always the true test. 🙂
Celery is so underrated! I love its crunchy salty texture and here in this salad it becomes the backbone for the other delicious ingredients.
This recipe was in inspired by an old classic over at Bon Appetit that I fiddled with by adding the lentils and toasted cumin seeds.
The salty celery, the sweet dates, the toasted crunch almonds and the subtle spice all work together well.
Give it a whirl and see what you think!
On the homefront: We are driving up the Pacific Coast soaking up the salty sea air. It’s been rainy, sunny, misty, windy – each day a surprise. Even though the forecast has called for rain for most of our trip, I’ve been amazed at the glimmers of light in between all the clouds. The blue patches of sky that show up unexpectedly.
One dazzling morning we woke up to a rainbow, end to end over the great blue sparkling ocean, filling us with such amazement. The forecast never predicted that, nor will it ever.
Wherever this finds you, whatever the weather, find the amazement.
So easy, so tasty! Who knew Celery Salad could taste this good?
xoxo
More recipes you may like:
- Celery Stir Fry
- 20 Make-ahead Vegan Salads
- Celery Juice Recipe | Top 10 Celery Benefits
- Simple Celery Soup
Handmade Ceramic Serving Dish available at Bowl and Pitcher!
Celery Salad with Lentils, Dates and Almonds
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: salad, vegan adaptable
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: moroccan
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked, cold lentils ( 3/4 cup dry)
- 6–8 celery stalks, thinly sliced at a diagonal, save the leaves ( 4 cups sliced)
- 8 Medjool dates, finely chopped
- 3 green onions, sliced at a diagonal
- 1/2 cup toasted slivered ( or macrona) almonds
- 1/4 cup shaved pecorino (or parmesan) cheese ( optional, but tasty)
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2–3 teaspoons honey or maple
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted, crushed (or use ground cumin)
- salt and pepper to taste
- aleppo chili flakes, to taste (or regular chili flakes)
Instructions
To cook lentils, place 3/4 cup dry lentils in a medium pot filled with 3 cups of salted water. Bring to a boil, cover, simmer on low until tender, 20-25 minutes. ( Small lentils will cook faster, check after 15 minutes). Drain, cool.
Place salad ingredients in a serving bowl. Add dressing ingredients, tossing gently and well to combine.
Taste. Adjust salt, sweetness and spice level to your liking. Give the salad a little time for flavors to meld ( 10-15 minutes) and re-taste, adjusting.
Notes
If making ahead, be sure to taste again, right before serving- the lentils have a tendency to soak up the salt, so you may need to add more if serving the next day.
Lentils: Any whole lentil will work- I prefer smaller lentils like French Green Lentils or Black Caviar Lentils, but even standard brown lentils are fine here. Dont use split lentils.
If the dates are super soft, put in the refrigerator to firm up before chopping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 339
- Sugar: 26.4 g
- Sodium: 114.2 mg
- Fat: 14.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 10.1 g
- Cholesterol: 2.4 mg
I made it two days in a row! It’s really good and such a great way to incorporate celery and lentils.
My boyfriend made this as a surprise for me and it was fantastic ! I’m vegetarian and he is not. After I introduced him to lentils, and he liked them so much he was searching for recipes to use them in. We’re both happy he stumbled upon this now staple!
This sounds so good and I read the comments of raving reviews. I would love to make this but instead of dates can a person substitute another fruit like apples or grapes? Whats your opinion on that. Never used cumin with these two veggies but use them in a lot of my other salads.
I bet grapes would taste good!
Amazing. I had bought too much celery and i was so glad I did after trying this recipe!
Haven’t tried the recipe yet, but it looks great!
I’d like to offer a couple spelling corrections:
It should be “stalks” of celery not stocks.
It should be “diagonal” not diagonol or diagnol.
Some of us are distracted by such things. : )
Thanks Sylvia.
Thanks Joan- appreciate this and will fix. Writing and editing are not my strong point- and unfortunately there are thousands more like this. Please try not to let these stop you from cooking. 😉
Amazingly good..
I’m 60 yr old recently retired and thought I’d be traveling the world and tasting yummy cuisines. Instead I’m cooking them until travel is possible and I’m so thankful to have wonderful chefs like you to follow. I loved this Lentil and Celery Salad. It’s deliciously brilliant. I think that the next time I make it I’m going to use stevia instead of the honey just to keep my waistline.
Thank you!
Perfect Wendy and thanks!
What a wonderful surprise. Never have I made a salad like this before, but I will make it again.
Sometimes I literally stumble upon websites, such as feastingathome.com, and my little world gets rocked beyond measure! I made this lovely salad for our supper tonight and I think I could literally eat this every night! Sylvia, you are an amazing chef, and I look forward to trying all of your recipes. Btw, tomorrow night I’m making the Butternut Squash Risotto. Can’t wait! Thank you for sharing your gifts with the world.
Thanks So much Anita!
Absolute sorcery. This was amazing. Especially with one of your baked chicken breasts for lunch. Unreal!
haha, love it! I’m so glad this worked for you!🙌
Celery has never been my favorite but I had some left over from another meal so decided to try this recipe and it was delicious! I am not terribly surprised as Sylvia has a wonderful way of combining textures and flavors to make wonderful dishes but this is surely one I will save and make again in the future.
Awwwwww, thanks Christine!
Just made the lentil and celery recipe. Oh my goodness, this is a winner. Used half a red onion as didn’t have any green ones, and toasted some flaked almonds. Didn’t use the cheese. This is also a lovely thing to have in the fridge for snacking. Thank you I am now a big fan of your cooking and can’t wait to try more.
Thanks, Ann, I appreciate this!
perfect blend of sweet and salty, crunchy and soft!
The celery leaves and Aleppo pepper really make this dish. Super easy and delicious. Can’t wait to make my way through more of the lentil recipes!
This salad was so delicious that my husband has requested I make again tonight!
I made this yesterday. It was absolutely delicious! I combined it with some smoked trout I had on hand which made for a great combination.
I’ll be making this again for sure.
Thanks Lucy!
I never would have put several of these ingredients together but I am so glad that I did! Thank you for another simple yet interesting dish.
Thanks Linda!
could you detail how you cook the lentils?
Where did you get this bowl? ?
Our BOWl and Pitcher STORE!
I absolutely LOVE this salad. The flavors are so savory. The celery is crunchy. The lentils give some fiber and make it feel substantial without feeling heavy. I feel that this is a salad to impress yet is so easy. I have been making it for all my potlucks and dinner parties and everyone loves it. It keeps well and tastes better the next day. Thank you Sylvia!
Hi Trudy! Im so glad you enjoyed this! Yay!!!
This recipe is easy and fabulous. The flavors were perfect together. I cut the dates to 4 for my taste. My husband and friend loved it also. I used Violife vegan parmesan shaved into. It is a wonderful recipe. Thank you for sharing your talent!
Easy yet delicious! Perfect week night dinner!!
Oh good! I like this one a lot too!
Had this today. Amazing! How great to have a unique way to use celery and it’s crunch wax a great contrast to the lentils–this just might change my relationship with lentils. i didn’t use the cheese and only used a splash of OO and the toasted cumin seeds made the dish.
Awesome Judy, great to hear!
Looks great, just anyone watching their oxalate levels might not be able to eat it as all of these things contain high oxalate content so if kidney stones are a concern it is a bummer !
My Husband even liked it 🙂
Yay! love hearing that!!!