Protein-packed and perfect for spring, this asparagus French green lentil salad makes a lovely side dish, main course, or spring potluck dish, ideal for Easter gatherings.
If you are looking for another salad option for Spring or for Easter dinner — check out my Warm Spring Salad.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Roasted Potato and Asparagus Lentil Salad with Tangy Mustard-Lemon Dressing
Yield
4 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Protein-packed and perfect for spring, this French green lentil salad makes a lovely side dish, main course, or spring potluck dish. Roasted potatoes and asparagus are folded into the salad along with a tangy mustard-lemon dressing. I also roasted the red onion, but I think next time I might leave the onion raw for a fresh crunch. I imagine this salad would also be fantastic with some cooked quinoa mixed in or using any seasonal vegetables you prefer. The dressing makes a lot - 2/3 cup - so I prefer to stir in half of the dressing into the salad and then serve the rest of the dressing on the side to drizzle on top. This dressing is inspired by one I came across in It's All Good.
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD:
- 1 cup uncooked French green lentils/du Puy lentils (about 2 1/2 cups cooked)
- 3 medium yellow potatoes, diced (about 3 1/2 cups)
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends broken off and chopped
- 1/2 medium red onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- handful minced fresh dill, for garnish (optional)
FOR THE DRESSING (makes 2/3 cup):
- 2 tablespoons coarse seeded/old fashioned mustard (see photo in post)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
- pinch or two fine grain sea salt or pink salt
- up to 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup, to taste (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Rinse lentils in a fine mesh sieve. Place lentils in a medium pot along with 3 cups of water. Bring water to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer the lentils for about 18-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain off water and season lentils with salt (such as Herbamare).
- Place chopped potatoes on one baking sheet and drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon oil. Toss to coat and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
- Roast the potatoes for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place the asparagus on the other baking sheet (and the red onion if you prefer to roast it too - see headnote) and drizzle with 1/2 tbsp. oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- After the potatoes have roasted for 15 minutes, flip the potatoes and return them to the oven along with the asparagus (and red onion if you are roasting that) for another 12-15 minutes. The potatoes should be golden on the bottom when ready and the asparagus will be tender. Add roasted veggies into a large bowl along with the lentils and gently toss to combine.
- Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients together. I love a tangy dressing with a bite so I used 4 tbsp. lemon juice. If you prefer a less acidic dressing you might want to add more olive oil or you can also experiment with adding a touch of maple syrup (the sweetness will offset a bit of the bite). It's definitely a dressing you can play around with!
- Pour half of the dressing onto the veggies and lentils in the bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the salad warm with a garnish of fresh dill (optional), with the rest of the dressing served on the side.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
If you aren’t a fan of mustard dressings, I recommend making the Creamy Avocado-Potato Salad recipe in my first cookbook The Oh She Glows Cookbook (p.107) It’s received great feedback and it’s perfect for spring as well.
Have a fun weekend everyone!
I’m making this right now! I had veggies that needed to be roasted, including potatoes & asparagus, so this came with perfect timing! Thanks!
I hope you’re doing well with baby; I just hit 37 weeks pregnant and have gotten majorly lazy about cooking. I feel great when I eat meals I’ve cooked (most recently, the sweet potato & black bean enchiladas from your cookbook), so I keep dragging myself around the kitchen! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Liz, Yes, I’m feeling good – in that sweet 2nd tri spot! I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well. :) Thinking of you!
I LOVE the recipe from It’s All Good – I was going to make it tomorrow actually until I saw this. Can’t wait to try it!
Oh.My.GOSH!!!!!
This looks heavenly.
— Alex at cashmerekangaroo.com
This looks simply delicious! and healthy too!
myownloves.com
This recipe sounds delicious! Easy and quick, I’m a huge mustard lover!
ANGELA – I have a request! Any chance you can bring back your THINGS IM LOVING LATELY posts? I always loved those posts! Please please please :)
Potatoes are one of my favorite ingredients! The combination of lentils and potatoes is fantastic!
indeed, it does take courage and a determined spirit, for the “golden years”.
benny loves with a great big heart. he wants to stay awhile longer with his beloveds.
the salad looks scrumptious.
Making this tonight – do you think it would work using all dijon mustard (in case i don’t find the grainy one where i live)? By the way, I am loving your cookbook – I’ve made countless recipes from it already – so far I like the 10 spice soup the most!
Hi, do you think it’s possible to switch yellow potato with sweet ones?
Hi Angela!
I just want to say that I am SUCH a huge fan! You’ve actually inspired me to start a vegan food blog of my own. Your photography always looks so beautiful, would you happen to have any tips about photographing food? I have a little experience with photography but I’m having trouble making my pictures really look good…
Hey Elise,
Thanks for your kind words! Food photography is really, really tough in the beginning so I can feel your pain. When I first started out, I was so frustrated with my photos. In the end, it took a lot of practice (I’ve been doing it for 5 years now on a regular basis) and lots of reading up about it. I recommend looking at a lot of food photos that you like for inspiration. Play around with styling the food and using props. I also always use natural light. Hope this helps!
Yum! This looks perfect for spring! Animals are truly amazing. Hopefully one day society will realize that Bentham was right when he said that every being counts as one and only one :)
I’ve been on such a lentil kick lately and I’ve needed some new ways to eat them. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Just made this for lunch – amazing! Thank you.
Hi Angela
This looks awesome! I just bought your cookbook and our whole family is excited to get it. Congrats on all the publicity too. I saw your recipes in Hello and Brendan Brazier’s magazine and it made me glow to watch your success.
Natalie
Love this! Made it tonight and was worried the mustard dressing would be overwhelming but it was wonderful! Angela, you are fabulous and inspiring! If you are ever in Connecticut I hope to see you! I love your blog and the cook book is wonderful!
I made the recipe today. It caught my eye, and I happened to have some asparagus in the fridge already with no plans for it. I loved the salad, my husband and I devoured more than 2/3 of it (serves 4? we usually have 6 meals from a serves 4), but we both agreed that the asparagus was the weakest part of the dish. Next time, I would try something else in place of the asparagus, not sure what though… maybe blanched brocoli?
Will definitely try this in some way. The recipe in your book with the avocado dressing is deeelish!
This looks amazing! Do you have the nutritional facts on this recipe?
This looks delicious! Any ideas on a flavorful substitute for the mustards?…my husband has a severe life-threatening allergy to mustard :-(
Made this tonight. Lovely spring evening in the pacific northwest – chilly and blustery but sunny – this was an excellent season spanner. I have some tweaks in mind for next time – and there will be a next time. Thanks for a lovely recipe to inspire me on a Sunday evening.
Happy Spring!