Caramelized Sweet Potato Scallion Lentils

These warming Caramelized Sweet Potato Scallion Lentils are topped with a crisp scallion pancake and some cabbage slaw. Budget friendly, easy to make, and packed with protein and fiber.

Soup or salad? Why not both? And a scallion pancake on top? Yes, yes, and yes! Honestly, it’s the perfect combination and really hits all the flavor and texture notes I need in a full meal.

Why You’ll Love These Caramelized Sweet Potato Scallion Lentils

• Easy to make using convenience items and some hacks. The recipe is detailed below, but don’t skip out on some of the extra information shared in the substitutions and expert tips sections of this post to make this even easier.
• Uses cheap ingredients. I tried to really focus on using a lot of pantry and freezer items where possible to help make this meal more on the affordable side. If you have more tips that you want to share, please share in the comments below!
• Fiber and protein packed. You get a great amount of fiber and protein thanks to the use of red lentils as the base. They also provide iron and folate!

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

For the Lentils

• Lentils: This recipe is designed for the use of red lentils. I have not tried this with regular lentils, so I’m not sure how it would behave in this type of preparation. If you were to attempt with a different lentil I would recommend cooking it as instructed and adjusting with additional water as needed to cook the lentils through. Do note, with the change in lentils, this may have a different consistency overall from the original.
• Roasted Red Pepper: I used jarred roasted red peppers. If you don’t like the consistency, feel free to use one red bell pepper and dice then sauté with the onions.
• Vegetable Broth: I used Better Than Bouillon’s Vegetable Base and reconstituted it with water. Feel free to use boxed vegetable broth. The only thing I suggest is making sure you like the flavor of the broth you are using as it will influence the flavor for the overall dish.
• Sweet Potato: Try this with your favorite soft squash like butternut squash or acorn squash.
• Scallions: If you don’t have scallions, try this with shallots instead.
• Ginger: Fresh ginger is best, but you can also use pre-minced/grated ginger too for convenience.
• Garlic: This recipe is designed for the use of a whole bulb of garlic. If you don’t want to use garlic like this, feel free to add some jarred minced garlic along with the ginger to sauté in a pan.
• Onion: I used yellow onion, but feel free to use white or red onion as an alternative.
• Chilies: These are totally optional. I used some mild red chilies from the market, but you can leave these out if you are sensitive to spice.
• Mirin: This is a Japanese-style cooking wine that is available in a lot of grocery stores in their ethnic aisles. If unable to find, replace with a splash of vegetable broth instead.
• Spices: I used a combination of coriander and five spice. You can feel free to leave the five spice out and add a little more coriander or a pinch of cinnamon if desired.
• Miso Paste: I used yellow miso paste, but white miso paste can also work in this dish. If you don’t have miso paste, try adding a splash of soy sauce/tamari for that umami flavor instead.

Extras

• Cabbage: I used green cabbage for the slaw, this can also work with purple cabbage or thinly sliced brussels sprouts. For convenience if you don’t want to chop your cabbage, look for the bags of pre-shredded cabbage instead.
• Vinegar: I used rice vinegar for the cabbage. You can also use a splash of apple cider vinegar.
• Puff Pastry: I used vegan puff pastry. For reference, I used the one from the brand Jus-Rol, but you can also use the one from Pepperidge Farm which is a frozen option that is accidentally vegan).
• Sesame Products: I used both sesame seeds and sesame oil. If allergic to sesame, leave out the sesame seeds and use avocado oil. At the very end for crunch, top with some roasted pumpkin seeds instead.

How to Make Caramelized Sweet Potato Scallion Lentils

For the Lentils

Preheat the oven to 425F. Place the sweet potato halves on top of a parchement lined baking tray. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Rub the potato to coat, then place cut side down on the tray.

Place the garlic bulb on a small square of foil, then drizzle with a teaspoon of oil and pinch of salt and pepper. Wrap the foil around the garlic then place on the baking tray with the potato. Place in the oven on the bottom rack for 35 minutes or until the potatoes are soft then allow to cool.

In a large skillet over medium low heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil. When hot, add the onions with a pinch of salt and sauté until golden, about 4-5 minutes. Add the white portion of the scallions and chilies and continue to sauté for 2 minutes until softened. Stir in the ginger, coriander, and five spice and sauté again until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the mirin and stir it into the aromatics to deglaze the pan.

Add in the lentils, bell peppers and vegetable broth then stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and allow to cook for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked through.

Scoop out the roasted sweet potato from it’s skin and add to a blender cup then squeeze in the roasted garlic cloves. Add the miso and 1 cup of water then blend the mixture until smooth.

Add the blended mixture to the pot of lentils and stir to combine. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes then remove from heat.

For the Slaw

To a bowl add the cabbage, a generous pinch of salt, 3 tbsp of the green portion of scallions from earlier, cilantro, sesame seeds, vinegar, syrup, and oil, then use your hands to massage the ingredients into the cabbage until softened.

For the Scallion Pancakes

Place the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface then roll it out with a rolling pin to thin it out. Cut equal shaped pieces from the pastry (I used a large round cookie cutter). To half of the cut pastry pieces, sprinkle with the remaining scallions and sesame seeds over top.

Take a plain piece of pastry and place it over top to cover the scallion covered piece. Use a rolling pin to press and thinly flatten the pieces together.

Heat a little oil in a skillet over medium-low heat, then add the pastry and cook for 2-3 minutes on both sides until golden. Remove from heat and repeat with any remaining pastries.

Expert Tips

• Time saving tips. If planning this meal ahead of time, prep the caramelized potatoes and roast the garlic and store in the fridge until ready to use. This will help save a significant amount of time when ready to prepare.
• Convenience tips. Reduce chopping by using jarred roasted bell peppers that are julienned. Use pre-shredded cabbage. And instead of making your own scallion pancakes, use some store bought frozen scallion pancakes and cook according to package instructions.
• Adjust the consistency. A lot of factors can impact the cook time of your lentils. The recommendations here reflect my experience with cooking them. Feel free to cook a little longer or add additional water as needed to ensure that your lentils are properly cooked through. If you want your lentils to be a little thinner in consistency, add some more splashes of water at the end of cooking until you reach your desired consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Make It Balanced

As designed, this meal provides you protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, veggies, and fiber. The lentils alone are great, so if you don’t feel like making the slaw or the pancakes, that’s also very fair. There are ways to change it up to fit your needs, so try any of the following ideas.

• Instead of the scallion pancake, serve your lentils with some toasted bread or a scoop of rice.
• Add more greens by stirring in some spinach at the very end.
• For more crunch, add some extra toasted sesame seeds or some roasted pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds have the benefit of providing more protein, magnesium, and zinc to your meal if you are trying to increase your intake of these nutrients.

More Wholesome Plant-Based Dinner Ideas

• Roasted Sesame Mushroom Bean Bowls
• Lemon Pepper Smashed Potato Salad
• Buffalo Tofu Cutlets with Celery Ranch Slaw
• Chipotle Lime Black Bean Bowls
• Mango Chickpea Salad

If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.

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