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.
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!
This recipe is BEYOND delicious. Oh my gosh. What a flavor explosion! I wanted to lick the plate afterwards! (who am I kidding, I totally licked the plate afterwards)
Eating this now it’s really yummy. Thanks for sharing
SO GOOD! i made this for a family get together and it was a big hit with everyone. a good make ahead as well, i roasted everything in the morning and then just popped the pan back in the oven 10 minutes before we ate to crisp/warm everything up and poured the dressing on. could have eaten the entire bowl by myself, will definitely make again soon!
You’re such an inspiration to me Angela and you have been for the past two years! I just love your story and I always stop by here for inspiration and motivation throughout the week. I love how you’re so down to earth and your writing is hilarious. I’m aspiring to start a blog like yours and blog about vegan food because of you, hopefully I’ll get myself to do it someday. Can’t wait to get my hands on your cookbook! Thank you!
Hugs from Norway
Hi Sara, Thank you so much for your kind words! I keep trying to tell my hubby how funny I am, but maybe this comment will finally convince him? heh…j/k. Good luck with your blog, I’m sure it will be great!!
I love lentils and this salad turned out to be exactly what I hoped for. It’s very very very good. I’m planning on eating it with quinoa, or some sweet potatoes or on top of a green salad. I tasted it when I finished making it this afternoon. I will eat it over the next couple of days.
This is insanely delicious. Just enjoyed it for lunch and think I will have more for dinner. So fresh and good. LOVE asparagus and this is perfect all together. Thanks for a great recipe!
This salad was amazing!! Kid 1 has a second helping. Kid 2 picked at it but still mostly ate all. And the husband said “If you could make more vegan meals like that, I’d almost be tempted to give up meat all together”… Wow! We’ve been having this fight for months now!
Do you have the nutritional facts for this recipe?
My new favourite salad. I’ve made this 4 times since it was posted.
I made this tonight. “Serves four”…I had to restrain myself from eating the whole bowl! It was delicious. Thanks for this recipe, I shall make it again.
haha yes I know the feeling! ;)
I made this salad (along with your tomato cream pasta) for friends last night; it was a big hit! I added a tiny bit of chopped dill to the dressing, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I’m devouring left-over salad today; it’s so delicious!
Was looking for something relatively quick to make for dinner and this seemed like a good choice. Was SO GOOD! Glad I have left overs for lunch and will definitely be making again.
Had it for dinner last night and leftovers just now for breakfast. Remembered to add the raw sweet onion this time. So good!!
This was delicious! I added in about a half-head of steamed kale and used lime instead of lemon (as that’s what I had). I can’t wait to eat this the rest of the week!
The salad was delish. I used a bunch of leftover grilled asparagus. I’m thinking I will take the last of the arugula this week and serve the salad on tip for my lunch for the week. I really love these hearty salads I can make once and eat all week. I did the same with your spring primavera after I ate up all the shaved carrots. It was fab too. I think you could sub any roasted root veggie or even cauliflower for the potatoes and it would be good. Or choose an ethnic seasoning for the veggies and a corresponding dressing. I would definitely serve this to friends (especially the vegetarian ones).
Great, satisfying as a meal. Instead of roasting red onion I like to slowly pour boiling water of onions in strainer to take a hit of bit out.
Made the salad this weekend and it tasted amazing! Light enough for a hot summer evening. Recipe says 4 servings but the two of use munched it down in no time (oops)…! Maple syrup was great to counter balance the mustardy flavor. We had some lentils left so I added cauliflower and onions which worked great as well.
Delish! My husband and I devoured this up tonight. Great recipe!
This was wonderful! I love your recipes and your pictures. Every ones I have made has been delicious! This was such a hit I am making it again today.
Tried this tonight, was great! Nice and light, served it on a bed of baby greens with tomatoes and avocado. Might add a few more potatoes next time. LOVE mustard! OH, and of course, double chocolate brownies for dessert!! I love those!