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
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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!
Asparagus season! I will probably put some extra pepper in this recepie to fire it up a little bit.
Thank you for another great recipe! I made this for lunch yesterday and LOVED it! I have found myself thinking about this lunch several times since then and simply saying “Mmmmm…”
Our pets can teach us many life lessons, I love my Chocolate Lab kisses everyday. I have say Angela, I ordered your book last week, got it Friday and spent the entire weekend reading and making so many recipes from your book!!! I absolutely love it. I made the Almond butter, almond/Choc chip cookies, green monster and wanted to EAT the entire book. I’m not Vegan, but lead a healthy lifestyle and receive a veggie/fruit CSA, eat eggs raised from the farm, high quality meats in moderation and limit all processed foods. Your book is so awesome, keep up the amazing work! It has truly given me some new motivation and inspiration in the kitchen.
I’ve been reading your blog for a while & recently purchased your book (LOVE.IT!!). I have to tell you that my co-workers & I are loving the roasted chickpeas! One of my co-workers has a peanut allergy & eating the chickpeas reminds her of peanuts. Another co-worker snacks all day long & loves the chickpeas (especially the salt & vinegar version). I love the salt & vinegar, too, but usually make the regular version. There’s something about the flavors that just satisfy my snack cravings. Thank you!
This salad was awesome! Extremely satisfying!
I modified with butternut squash instead of potatoes and the sweetness balanced the tart lemony dressing perfectly. :)
Loved your story. I adopted a Benny in October from a rescue group. He’s older, mostly blind and deaf, and arthritic, but is sweet as can be and never complains. He just takes one day at a time the best he can and brings us a lot of joy. Must be something special about the name Benny I guess :)
You have mad skills, Angela! My daughter wanted it over pasta because, unfortunately, potatoes are never enough starch. She is not a huge fan of mustard so we did 1/4th the amount. She is a HUGE dill fan and we quadrupled the dill. Such a lovely mix of flavors and textures. The yellow potatoes were a perfect choice. I totally forgot the onion, and she didn’t even notice. I like your idea to add raw onion – for next time! Another amazing creation…Thanks!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I only got 2 tbsp of juice from the lemon I had on hand so I made up the rest with some meyer lemon vinegar. Great recipe!
This is so yummy!!! All the flavors blended together are amazing. The fresh dill is a truly wonderful addition. I wasn’t sure what to do with the onions. To roast or not to roast so I did half and half and it was great. Thanks for another, amazing recipe!!!!!
I made this and it was great, all of it, including the asparagus. i also did a half roasted onion, half raw. Thumbs up, I’ll definitely make it again, maybe next time with sweet potato.
That looks wonderful! I also just wanted to say that I just got your cookbook on Friday. I have marked sooooo many recipes. We tried to tortilla soup already and it was a huge hit! Thanks! Next up… the black bean and sweet potato enchiladas. :)
Wow, this looks so good!!
Made this for dinner last night!! Delicious. I roasted the onion along with the asparagus. Next time (when hopefully the weather will be warmer) I will leave it raw for a comparison. I could also see subbing broccoli or cauliflower for the asparagus. Thanks for posting! I LOVE your book by the way.
Made this last night – one of the BEST lentil salad recipes my family and I have had. Simply scrumptious.
This was so good!!!! I used green beans instead of asparagus. Even my husband, the food critic gave this a thumbs up.
Ahh, love the inspiring Benny story – he sounds like such a sweetie! This salad looks amazing! Definitely going to try it. I made the crowd pleasing tex mex casserole last night to rave reviews. I told my hubs “it’s from OSG cookbook” and his reply was “Of course it is. Have you made anything that wasn’t a home run from that book?” Hope your pregnancy is going well, you look beautiful with that little bump! <3
This salad sounds so good! I love the idea of mixing lentils with all the best spring veg and covering the whole shebang with a tangy dressing. Love it!
I had a dog (Cody) when I was young that got hit by a car, and he didn’t make it. Hearing Benny’s story is a painful reminder, but such an inspiration. Thanks for sharing! I will also have to try this lentil salad.
This looks great Angela!!!
I love fresh dill on everything come spring…. just wish my family liked it too – I always have too much lying around ;)
What a great satisfying dish – my kind of a meal for sure ;)
xox ella
Made this subbing in sweet potatoes. Delicious. Everyone at the dinner party loved it!