Warm winter salad made with just 9 ingredients, including rice, a lentil trio, arugula, and almonds. All coated in a rich and velvety creamy cilantro tahini dressing. Ready in 45 minutes. Make a big batch and eat for days. Gluten Free too. So I have this odd habit of buying a lot of random things at the grocery store. Whenever I go I usually have a list written, ready in my hand, yet somehow the second I step into that magical food land, the list is gone and I am quickly throwing a whole handful of random food items into the cart.

My friends can confirm this behavior. This is probably one of the reasons they try to keep me away from the grocery store on any group trips. Once I’m there I can’t spend less than $100.

I just become consumed with a need to buy everything I see. I suppose it’s a good thing this only happens to me at the grocery store, and not the department store. At least the damage can only be so high when we’re talking food shopping.

So that’s how I ended up with a bag of red rice and a TruRoots lentil trio (a bag of sprouted black, green and brown lentils). I had never even tried red rice before, nor heard of sprouted lentils. Yet they seemed like an excellent purchasing decision at the time.

Yesterday finally, when brainstorming recipe ideas I decided it was time for the red rice and lentils to come together. A vegan warm winter salad recipe with rice quickly formed in my mind. I have made a wild rice squash salad in the past, so was working off of that.

As the rice was simmering – the red rice takes a whole 40 mins to cook, but not to worry that’s idle time, or lentil and sauce making time. The lentil trio literally was ready in 5 minutes and the sauce took a few mins of creating before being blended all together in seconds. To add some sharpness into this vegan warm winter salad, I added chopped arugula to the rice and for a bit of crunch toasted sliced almonds.

Once the rice cooks mix that with the lentils, and chopped arugula. Divide the vegan warm winter salad mix among the bowls, sprinkle with almonds and drizzle with cilantro tahini dressing.

By the way new favorite dressing alert. By now you’ve probably seen my plethora of tahini based dressings. Let’s reminisce shall we? There was the avocado tahini drizzle to go along with the vegan butternut squash and cauliflower quinoa, and the pesto tahini with vegan quinoa roasted veggie buddha bowls. You get the idea.

And now it’s a cilantro tahini dressing with coconut milk, garlic and olive oil. Simple, yet the ultimate flavorful dressing. Nutty, creamy, sharp, simply the best. This vegan warm winter salad was a big hit with my parents last night and will be requested again shortly, I can see it already. Perfect to pass the cold winter days.

And since I’m still in the winter holiday spirit today I am happy to announce that I am hosting a giveaway with 34 other food bloggers. We’re giving away a $700 Amazon Gift Card. Enter Below!

Some other winter centric recipes you’ll love:

And don’t forget to take your dietary supplements to keep that immune system strong– even more important in the winter months!

How to make my vegan warm winter salad

4.6 from 75 votes Print Vegan Warm Winter Salad with Rice and Cilantro Tahini Sauce {GF} + a 0 Amazon Giveaway Prep Time 5 mins Cook Time 45 mins Total Time 50 mins A 9 ingredient vegan warm winter salad with rice, a lentil trio, aurgula, and almonds. All coated in a rich and velvety creamy cilantro tahini dressing. Ready in 45 minutes. Make a big batch and eat for days. Gluten Free too. Course: Dinner Cuisine: American, gluten free, Healthy, Vegan Servings : 6 Calories : 417 kcal Author : Vicky Berman Ingredients 1 cup red rice

1 cup sprouted lentil trio I used TruRoots Sprouted Lentil Trio with green, brown and black lentils, but you could use any other lentils

3 ounces arugula

1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

salt/pepper to taste

For the Sauce:

1/4 cup tahini

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1-2 teaspoons chopped garlic 1 large clove

3 tablespoons coconut milk

3-4 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Instructions Cook rice according to package directions. Cook lentils according to package directions. Drain lentils when cooked and set aside. In a blender combine sauce ingredients, tahini, cilantro, garlic, coconut milk, water and olive oil. Blend until smooth, adding more water if needed to reach a desired consistency. In a large bowl combine cooked rice, lentils, and arugula. Mix. Top with sliced almonds and cilantro tahini sauce. Nutrition Facts Vegan Warm Winter Salad with Rice and Cilantro Tahini Sauce {GF} + a 0 Amazon Giveaway Amount Per Serving Calories 417 Calories from Fat 162 % Daily Value* Fat 18g 28% Saturated Fat 3g 19% Sodium 13mg 1% Potassium 526mg 15% Carbohydrates 48g 16% Fiber 11g 46% Sugar 1g 1% Protein 14g 28% Vitamin A 440IU 9% Vitamin C 4.5mg 5% Calcium 87mg 9% Iron 3.9mg 22% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Now on to the giveaway! The giveaway runs for two weeks until Jan 27th. There are many different ways to enter (as you can see below). Residents of the US, Canada and UK that are 18 or over are eligible to win.

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