Is this a composed salad? A veg side? Is it basically a meal if you throw in a handful of greens and a nice crusty piece of bread? Yes to all of the above! I’ve been dreaming of grilling season for a while. This grilled carrots dish with roasted garlic chive yogurt sauce and lentils is kicking things off nicely for me. Hopefully for you too ;)

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that there’s nothing I love more than cooking outside. Whether it’s the backyard grill or over live fire, the practice brings me so much joy! My partner and I were gifted a Blackstone from his dad this year, so no doubt there will be even more super fun outdoor cooking times ahead. Send me your Blackstone tips or accessory recommendations if you have any!

The chives popping out of my garden right now have such a strong, vibrant flavour. I wanted to work them into a tangy, vegan yogurt-based sauce with roasted garlic and lemon to drizzle on top of our carrots and lentils. A little touch of tahini helps with the richness here! The mega allium flavour works so well with the sweet, lightly charred carrots and the earthy lentils. It is so garlicky and oniony and I personally just love it.

My favourite plain vegan yogurts for savoury cooking and sauces are: Yoggu, Culina, and Cocoyo.

Grilling carrots is super simple and such a fun way to cook this staple veg. We preheat the grill to high and coat the carrots in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Once we lay them down on the grill, we lower the heat and cook until tender all the way through and lightly charred on the exterior. This process takes about 15-20 minutes total! You could also roast the carrots if you don’t use a grill at home.

The garlic chive yogurt sauce and red wine vinegar-dressed lentils can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Hope you give this one a try as the days begin to warm up! If you like this recipe, you might also like my Smoky Grilled Beets or these Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Chile Lime Tahini Sauce.

Grilled Carrots with Lentils & Roasted Garlic Chive Yogurt Sauce

Grilled carrots smothered with flavourful roasted garlic chive yogurt sauce; all on a bed of lightly dressed French lentils. It's a hearty side that's naturally vegan and gluten-free!

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

Roasted Garlic Chive Yogurt Sauce (makes extra)

• 1 head garlic, divided
• olive oil, for drizzling
• ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy yogurt of choice (see notes)
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• ⅓ cup chopped chives
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Lentils

• ¾ cup French lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 1 roasted garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vegan worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Grilled Carrots

• 1 ½ lbs carrots, scrubbed (about 2 bunches)
• olive oil
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Equipment

• Blender or Food Processor
• Grill

Notes

• My favourite plain vegan yogurts for savoury cooking and sauces are: Yoggu, Culina, Anita’s, and Cocoyo.
• I’ve learned recently that you can make roasted garlic in your air fryer! You do the same prep (cutting the top of the bulb off, drizzling oil, wrapping in foil), but set your air fryer for 360 degrees F and cook for 20-25 minutes.
• If you’re looking for a more straightforward veg side dish, the grilled carrots and sauce alone are so, so good and will definitely take less time to prepare.
• You can also roast the carrots in the oven! Just set the temperature to 400 degrees F and roast until caramelized on the edges and soft, about 30 minutes.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Roast the garlic: Cut the top ½ inch off of the garlic head. Tear a piece of foil (enough to wrap around the garlic) and place the garlic head in the middle. Drizzle olive oil on top, letting it seep into the garlic cavities. Wrap the garlic up and place it in the oven. Roast the garlic until squidgy and golden inside, about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Make the roasted garlic chive yogurt sauce. In an upright blender or mini food processor, combine all of the roasted garlic minus 1 clove, the non-dairy yogurt, lemon juice, tahini, chives, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until totally smooth. If you’re using a full size blender, you may need to add a few splashes of water to get the blade going. Once the sauce is done, check it for seasoning, adjust if necessary, and set aside.
• Place the lentils in a medium saucepan and cover them by 2 inches of water. Bring them to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes. While lentils are cooking, in a sealable jar, combine the reserved roasted garlic clove, red wine vinegar, worcestershire sauce, dijon, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Give it a good shake. The roasted garlic clove should be soft enough to “mash” itself up in the dressing.
• Once the lentils are cooked, drain and transfer them to a medium bowl. Immediately cover them with the red wine vinegar dressing and add a few good pinches of salt and pepper. Toss to combine and set aside.
• Preheat your grill to medium high. If some of your carrots are quite thick, cut them in half lengthwise. Lay the carrots out on a plate or baking sheet. Give them a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
• Place the carrots on the grill, in the opposite direction of the grates, and immediately lower the heat to medium. Cook the carrots, turning them regularly. You want char marks on all sides. Keep cooking them until tender all the way through, about 15-20 minutes.
• On a platter, spread out the lentils. Arrange the carrots on top. Drizzle the carrots with the roasted garlic chive yogurt sauce. Top with more chopped chives if you like, as well as the sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Author: Laura Wright

Course: Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: blender, carrots, chives, coconut yogurt, dijon mustard, food processor, French lentils, garlic, lemon, lemon juice, lentils, olive oil, onion powder, pulses, red wine vinegar, roasted garlic, tahini, vegan worcestershire sauce, vegan yogurt