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
Love it. Skipped on olive and honey (on a diet at the moment) but the flavours were still great. Will be making that again!
Good to hear Lena!
I found this recipe when searching for something to do with a huge beautiful bunch of celery that came in our farm share this week. I did not think my husband would care for it because he doesn’t like nuts in his salad but he loved it! I made it as written except used ripe lime instead of lemon (because I grabbed it by mistake) and I put the dressing on the lentils while they were still warm and added the other things after they cooled down.
Perfect Cynthia! Glad you enjoyed!
Outstanding!
I followed the recipe as written using Aleppo pepper and adding the pecorino cheese, so good!
Thanks for another great, healthy lentil dish.
Diane
Thanks Dianne!
This is now in my regular rotation of salads. It’s so good! I use whatever nuts/seeds I have on hand, increase the cumin a tad, cut it down to 6 dates, and leave off the parmesan because I can’t have dairy. Sometimes I’ll do a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, but it doesn’t even need it. Thanks for making such a delicious recipe!
So happy you like this one Tess!
This is absolutely delicious! It’s one of those meals that make you want to keep eating it long after you’re full. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much!
Great, glad you liked this one!
We opted to skip the pecorino, selected marcona almonds over slivered and served the dish with lovely red butter lettuce leaves to use as wraps. Delicious
Sounds just perfect Jeanette!
I didn’t have dates on hand so subbed in a thinly sliced gala apple. It was very good! My husband is a big fan of celery so I think this will become a regular dish in our household.
Perfect Chriselle!
My boyfriend made this tonight and OMG it was so yum! We had so much celery in the fridge from our veggie box, and I’m so glad! Because it leaf us to this devine recipe. This recipe is a keeper. It’ll be great on car camping trips too.
Thanks.
Thanks Tess! Glad you both enjoyed it.
What would you serve with this salad? Someone mentioned Halibut. Is there anything else that would go nicely with this for a dinner party?
How about our Moroccan Salmon or Moroccan Chicken?
My husband and I LOVE this salad. I make it frequently when we have a long drive out of town, and we always talk about how all the salad components seem so strange together, but it totally works! We love the different textures and combinations of everything together. I wish I had easier access to Marcona almonds and that they weren’t so expensive, because I DO prefer them in this salad, but roasted, salted Blue Diamond almonds (chopped) are good in it, too. This is a fantastic recipe!
Thanks Kristin- so happy you both have enjoyed this one!
Thanks Kristin!
I added a thinly sliced fennel bulb and toasted walnuts. Didn’t have time for lentils. Fantastic way to use up CSA box celery! Loved the dates.
Sounds perfect!
I made and served The Celery Salad with Lentils , Dates and Almonds for lunch to my Vegan relatives .
All of us really enjoyed it and I know that it will become a regular .
It is easy and soooo tasty .
I used 3 teaspoons ( 1 Tablespoon ) of Maple syrup and the ground cumin instead of toasting cumin seeds ( next time ) .
Great to hear Diane!
I tried the recipe without any cheese or alternative and it was delicious! Thank you!
Great, so glad you enjoyed Ume!
Do you have a vegan alternative for the cheese? Example nutritional yeast combo of ingredients
Funny you should ask Ume! I’m working on a cashew cheese that can be crumbled or cut into cubes, for salads just like this! In the meantime, honestly for this recipe, I really think you could omit the cheese!
YES!!! Can’t wait to see this recipe. I just can’t seem to recreate the cashew cheese I buy locally ! So tangy xx
I’m just making it again. I don’t know what first made me try this, it’s so different but oh my, it’s a favourite!!! I can – and have – eaten the entire bowl myself…not all in one sitting lol. Highly recommend everyone try this:)
Thanks Lynda- glad you are enjoying it!
Amazing!!!! Will make it again for sure!!
Yay Vanyah!
Perfect as is. I had 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds which I added at the end. Made it quite colorful. Love this recipe!
Sounds delicious!
So delicious and a complete meal in itself!
This has quickly become one of my favorite salads! So crunchy and fresh with a perfect balance of flavors from the dates, vinaigrette, and celery. I toasted some sunflower seeds instead of the almonds because I’m allergic, nearly doubled the scallions, and used goat cheese instead of pecorino! Thank you for sharing!!
thanks Ana- glad you liked it!
Hello,
I was wondering what kind of lentils to use for this recipe?
Any whole lentil will work here- I prefer smaller lentils like French Green Lentils or Black Caviar Lentils, but even standard brown lentils are fine here. Just don’t use split lentils.
I’m planning on making this salad this week, but I was wondering… how much ground cumin should I put in if I’m not using the seeds? Is it still 1 tsp? I wasn’t sure if it would be less since 1 tsp of seeds might end up being less than that once they were ground. This looks so yummy, and I’m very eager to try it!
Start with 1/2 teaspoon, add more to taste!
Very exciting salad.
I did add pineapple and it was delisious.
I admit that I was skeptical when I read the recipe. I couldn’t imagine how the combo of ingredients could work. But I had all the ingredients, and the recipes on this site have never done me wrong, so I jumped in. It was surprisingly delicious. My meat-loving husband ate two large bowls, enthusiastically. And, I can tell you that this also works with toasted walnuts, since I burned the slivered almonds. 🙂
Glad you liked it!
love this salad. Made with red onion as had no green onions. Used one less date as worried it might be too sweet. I think it is a fabulous combination of flavours one might not think to put together. Gets better during the day as it sad in the frig.
I just made this tonight with baked halibut and it was fabulous. It’s definitely a new addition to my rotation. Thank you!