Sheet pan sweet potato and lentil salad
Caramelized, cumin-roasted sweet potatoes and red onion over tender lentils and spinach with feta, pepitas and a maple cider dressing.
- 45 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.46 a serving
- 550 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 sweet potatoes, cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 1 red onion, cut into wedges
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup pepitas
From your pantry
- ⅓ cup olive oil, divided
- 1¼ tsp ground cumin, divided
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Each serving has about 550 calories, 20 g protein, 62 g carbs and 26 g fat, and costs about $2.46 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
- No pepitas? Sunflower seeds work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F. On a , the sweet potatoes and onion with 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 teaspoon cumin, the paprika and ½ teaspoon salt.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
25 to 30 minutes, flipping halfway, until the sweet potatoes are soft inside and at the edges.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Timer: 27 min 30 sec
Meanwhile, the lentils and put them in a with 3 cups of water and ½ teaspoon salt. on high.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to low and 20 to 25 minutes, until tender but still holding their shape. well.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Low heatTimer: 22 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Taste a few at 20 minutes. They should be soft all the way through but not falling apart.In a big bowl, the rest of the oil and cumin with the vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and the rest of the salt. the warm lentils in it.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: Warm lentils soak up the dressing, so dress them straight away.Add the spinach and until it just starts to , then pile the sweet potatoes and onion on top.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Scatter the feta and pepitas over everything.
Dolly’s tip: It keeps 4 days and is good warm or cold. Pack the pepitas in a little bag so they stay crunchy.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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