Herb Chicken, Sweet Potato & Lentil Salad with Chili-Yogurt Dressing
A hearty main-meal salad: herb-roasted chicken and chili-roasted sweet potato piled over lentils and greens with avocado, sugar snaps, cranberries and toasted seeds, finished with a cool chili-yogurt dressing.
Best for high-protein · high-fiber lunch bowl
This is the kind of salad that actually keeps you full — roasted herb chicken and sweet potato over a base of lentils and leaves, with avocado and sugar snaps for freshness, a scatter of cranberries and toasted nuts or seeds for crunch, and a bright yogurt dressing spiked with chili, lime and a touch of honey. It's a proper balanced plate: lean protein, plenty of fiber and heart-healthy fats, and it packs into a lunch box beautifully. Roast the chicken and sweet potato while you mix the dressing and everything comes together in well under an hour.
Ingredients
Herb-baked chicken
- 600 g chicken breasts , 4 breasts, about 150 g each
- 20 g chopped fresh herbs , parsley, dill and/or basil
- 1 piece lemon , finely grated zest
- 22 ml olive oil
- 4 g fine sea salt
- 1 g black pepper
Roasted sweet potato
- 500 g Sweet potato , peeled, cut in 1 cm cubes
- 22 ml olive oil
- 1 g Chili flakes
- 1 g fine sea salt
Chili-yogurt dressing
- 200 ml plain Turkish yogurt
- 8 g sambal oelek , 1–2 tsp, to taste
- 1 piece Lime , juiced (about ½ tbsp)
- 14 g honey
Salad
- 380 g cooked puy or green lentils , drained and rinsed
- 15 ml olive oil
- 2 piece avocados , sliced
- 150 g sugar snap peas , sliced
- 65 g mixed salad leaves
- 35 g dried cranberries
- 35 g roasted nuts or seeds , seeds to keep it nut-free
Instructions
Herb-baked chicken
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1
Heat the oven to 225°C (435°F). Put the chicken in a baking dish. Mix the chopped herbs, lemon zest, olive oil, salt and pepper and rub it all over the chicken. Bake in the middle of the oven until cooked through (72°C internal), 20–30 minutes, then rest.
Roasted sweet potato
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2
Turn the oven up to 250°C (480°F). Toss the sweet potato cubes with the olive oil, chili flakes and salt, spread out on a tray and roast until golden, 10–15 minutes, stirring halfway.
Chili-yogurt dressing
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3
Stir all the dressing ingredients together — yogurt, sambal oelek, lime juice, honey and a little salt and pepper — and taste, adjusting the heat to your liking.
Salad
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4
Toss the drained lentils with the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Halve, stone and slice the avocados and slice the sugar snap peas.
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5
Slice the rested chicken.
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6
Arrange the lentils and salad leaves on a platter and pile over the sweet potato, chicken, sugar snaps and avocado. Scatter with the nuts or seeds and the cranberries, and serve with the chili-yogurt dressing.