Easy Quinoa Asparagus Salad recipe. This quick and simple vegan and gluten free side dish is made creamy with avocado.
Anyone turning on their ovens these days?
There is only one room in our apartment that has air conditioning, and I do not leave it at all, unless I am eating or preparing food. So there is no way that I am going to turn on the oven to heat up the rest of the house even more. Heck, I don’t want to jeopardize my cool air conditioned room in case the oven heat gets its way there.
So we are going to be making this Quinoa Asparagus Salad for the next couple of days around here.
What do you need to make this Quinoa Asparagus Salad?
Mainly pantry essentials and some vegetables. All you need is:
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- honey
- garlic
- salt & pepper
- quinoa
- asparagus
- frozen peas
- avocado
That’s it!
Can this be made ahead of time?
To be honest, I actually prefer making this ahead of time because then the flavours all marinade together nicely.
My husband on the other hand, prefers it warm so it’s really up to personal preference. Because of all the lemon juice in this Quinoa Asparagus Salad, the avocados don’t go brown. But if you are nervous, just add a little squeeze of lemon juice on top just to make sure it won’t brown.
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And if you try this recipe, let me know! Rate it, leave a comment and tag me with #atasteofmadness on Instagram! I always love seeing what you are creating!
Quinoa Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Salad
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 bunch asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 medium avocado, peeled, cored and chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water, quinoa and salt to a boil. Boil for around 5 minutes. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for around 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the asparagus and lemon juice. Cook until tender, around 5 minutes. Mix in the peas and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, mix together the quinoa, asparagus and avocado. Pour dressing on top and mix until fully coated. Season with salt and pepper.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
This salad has all my favorite ingredients, quinoa, asparagus, and avocado. I am planning to make this tomorrow for my lunch.
atasteofmadness
Yay! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Amanda Dixon
I made this salad tonight, and it was delicious! The dressing is super simple but full of flavor, and I loved the creaminess the avocado added.
atasteofmadness
So glad you liked it!
Sharon
This is a simple and healthy salad that is great for a spring side dish with grilled chicken. I will be making this again and again during the spring and summer.
atasteofmadness
Yay! So glad to hear 🙂
Elizabeth
I just started cooking with quinoa, so this recipe sounds like a great one to try! Thanks for the recipe share! Excited to make it soon!
atasteofmadness
Let me know how it goes 🙂
Dee
This salad looks so healthy fresh. I love the addition of quinoa making it full satisfying meal.
atasteofmadness
Me too! I can’t get enough quinoa
Katie Crenshaw
Wow! What a delicious combination. This salad turned out so good. This is my new favorite spring salad.
atasteofmadness
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear 🙂
Claire
We’re constantly looking for new salads to integrate into our menu because while garden salads are good, they’re not particularly exciting. Can’t wait to give this one a try!
atasteofmadness
Let me know how it goes!
Daniel
This quinoa salad is really good. The creamy acaoca and grainy quinoa is a great contrast.
atasteofmadness
I can’t stop making it in the springtime 🙂
Isabelle
this is a great spring salad, especially with the fresh rping vegetables. A keeper for sure!
atasteofmadness
Yay! So glad you liked it!
Jenny
All the ingredients work so great together in your recipe. Very original and fresh. The salad tastes fantastic and I love the way it looks. Thanks for such a lovely lunch idea.
atasteofmadness
It’s such a great lunch! 🙂
Amy Liu Dong
One of the best salad recipe that i have seen and is true! It is fresh and flavorful that makes it stand out from the others!
atasteofmadness
I am so glad that you liked it 🙂