Smoked salmon & lentil breakfast salad is a no-cook meal prep packed with high-protein, high-fiber lentils, smoked salmon, and fresh vegetables. Easy, fast assembly, and gluten-free!
This smoked salmon & lentil breakfast salad puts together ingredients you might not have considered to string together, for a dish that may at first not seem very breakfast-y. We know. You are probably thinking, who eats lentils for breakfast? Lentils are for soup, right? We don't, normally, but we were craving some smoked salmon one morning and had extra lentils in the fridge. So, we tossed all of this on a plate and were blown away by the flavors! They were too good not to recreate. So, we meal-prepped it to test it out and now we are craving this Smoked Salmon & Lentil Breakfast Salad for lunch and dinner, too!
The best part, other than the ease? It's a breakfast recipe that can be made in 5 minutes, and that is no small thing because we all know mornings can be hectic sometimes. Plus! This lentil breakfast salad packs in 28g of protein, 11g of fiber (almost half of your daily intake), and tons of healthy omega-3 fats! It's the ideal ratio of carbs, protein, and fats to keep you fueled all morning long.
Smoked Salmon & Lentil Breakfast Salad Ingredients
- 1 package steamed fresh lentils
- 2-3 cups baby spinach
- ¼ small onion, sliced
- 2 small tomatoes, sliced or chopped
- 4 oz smoked salmon
- Handful of capers, optional
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (can sub regular)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt & pepper, to taste
How to Make Smoked Salmon & Lentil Breakfast Salad
Ok, so you can totally shortcut this salmon and lentil salad and buy pre-cooked lentils, like the ones we've pictured here. But you can also cook them as part of your weekly meal prep activities in the kitchen and they'll be ready. Smoked salmon needs no help. We love the Dijon-based salad dressing, which gives us a good acidic hit to balance out the rest of the flavors with white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard. Slice up some red onion and tomatoes and serve on top of the greens.
How to Serve Smoked Salmon & Lentil Breakfast Salad
You better believe this also works for both of those meals, as well! Lunch. Check. Dinner. Check. You can even make it into 4 portions and make it a side dish for a party or turn it into a 'build your own' smoked salmon plate at a weekend brunch (and then just save the leftovers for meal prep). This is just another one of those easy meal prep recipes to always keep in your back pocket for when you need something quick. And if you're into it, a nice big slice of crusty bread pairs so well with this.
Substitutions and Alterations
Brown or green lentils work great here. The most ideal lentils for a salad like this are the French ones, which stay firmer when they're cooked; they're also smaller. Steer clear of red lentils, because they break open quickly and don't really hold their shape during cooking.
Baby kale or arugula would also taste great with the dressing and the other ingredients.
If you don't have white balsamic vinegar or can't find it, feel free to substitute apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar instead. The dressing would also taste great with a tablespoon of honey added to it.
If you aren't using this awesome product of steamed lentils from Melissa's Produce, cook the lentils ahead of time. You'll need about a cup, dried. Anything you don't use in this recipe you can freeze in zip-close bags you can label, for later. Or keep the lentils in the fridge for making soup later in the week.
READ MORE: Broccoli Lentil Quinoa Casserole, because lentils are delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 package steamed fresh lentils
- 3 cups baby spinach
- ¼ small onion sliced
- 2 small tomatoes sliced or chopped
- 4 ounces smoked salmon sugar free
- capers optional
Dressing
- 2 tbs avocado oil
- 2 tbs white or regular balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs Dijon mustard
- Fresh lemon juice
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
- Evenly divide remaining ingredients between 2 meal prep containers.
- Put the dressing in a container on the side to prevent the salad from gettng soggy.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days. You can eat this at room temperature.
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