Asparagus quinoa salad with mustard dressing (vegan)

As soon as you read the ingredient list, you will want to try this salad. Flavorful asparagus quinoa salad with almonds is great for dinner since it contains all the essential macronutrients, yet it is not heavy to digest. Instead of asparagus, you can go with broccoli. And, if you like and have, feel free to sprinkle it with a handful of dried cranberries. It will bring lovely, unexpected sweetness.

The salad is quite simple and allows various modifications. You can completely skip almonds if you are allergic or don’t eat them for whatever reason. They can be subbed with hazelnuts or just left altogether. One of the best things about this salad is quinoa and the lovely texture it has. This pseudocereal is extremely nutritious but light, so you can enjoy such a meal even when on a strict regimen. Quinoa is a perfect choice for a snack you can consider really healthy. Like these homemade mixed quinoa crackers.

What makes asparagus quinoa salad a star is the combination of textures – crunchy almonds quinoa, tender asparagus, creamy dressing – and flavors.

As for the dressing, it’s a typical honey-mustard style dressing (with maple or agave instead of the honey) but you can leave out the sweetener. Instead, sprinkle the salad with some dried cranberries and enjoy this memorable salad warm or cold.

Asparagus quinoa salad w mustard dressing (vegan)

Course: Salads, LunchDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

This salad contains so many highly nutritive ingredients, it can easily be dubbed “superfood salad”. Serve it as a balanced dinner for the entire family.

Ingredients

• 200 gr quinoa, mixed or same type

• 300 gr asparagus*

• 100 gr roasted and salted almonds

• 1 spring onion

• ¼ of a fresh beetroot, grated

• ½ fresh carrot, grated

• A handful of dried cranberries – optional

• Salt and pepper

• 
  For the dressing:

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp of agave or maple syrup, or honey

• 1 tbsp of olive oil 

• Salt and fresh pepper

• 1 garlic clove

Directions

• Cook the quinoa as per packaging instructions.
• Steam-cook the asparagus and add it to quinoa. Mix well.
• Add the remaining ingredients – veggies and coarsely chopped almonds. Season with salt and pepper, adding a few chili flakes if you want a hot taste.
  
• To prepare the dressing:
• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, adding more juice, mustard, or sweetener per taste. The dressing should be liquid and creamy.
• Pour it over the salad, mix all thoroughly and decide whether to add more seasoning.
• Let the flavors set for at least 10 mins before serving. 
  

Notes

• *You can use broccoli instead