St-Patrick's Day Inspired Bean and Quinoa Salad with Lemon Mint Vinaigrette

If you're new here, welcome! If you're not new here, hello again. This post has been inspired by St.Patrick's Day, which is a traditional Irish holiday celebrated on the 17th of March. Since I'm from Massachusetts, I've grown up with loving the Boston Celtics basketball team and celebrating St.Patrick's Day each year with my friends. Massachusetts has a great Irish population so I've learned about many Irish traditions over the years! This year I want to have some fun with my cooking and make some healthy, delicious foods that are inspired by the holiday.

Since the colors of the Irish flag are white, green, and orange, I made a salad that has all 3 colors! It's a white kidney bean, chickpea, and quinoa salad with a delicious lemon mint vinaigrette. It makes for a very simple meal prep idea for the week or a quick lunch. If you're plant-based, this is a great option for you as well. So, if you want to make this simple and delicious salad, keep reading. Let's get to it.

Yields: 1

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

This recipe is dairy free, gluten free, and vegan.

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Ingredients:

2 handfuls of arugula

1 carrot finely diced

1 cucumber finely chopped

¼ cup of white kidney beans washed and ready to eat

¼ cup of chickpeas washed and ready to eat

¼ cup of quinoa

Fresh mint

Fresh parsley to garnish

1 garlic clove

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ lemon

1 tbsp of sliced almonds

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Instructions:

1. First, grab a serving bowl. Next, grab a small pot and add 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water. Salt to your liking and cover. Let the quinoa cook until it has perfectly soaked up the water.

2. While you're waiting on the quinoa add arugula to the bowl. Add your washed and ready to eat white kidney beans and chickpeas. Add your carrot and cucumber.

3. The quinoa should be done, so add ¼ cup of it and save the rest.

4. Add the sliced almonds.

5. In a small, separate bowl: add 2 ½ TBSPs of extra virgin olive oil, ½ lemon, kosher salt to your liking, and freshly ground black pepper. Use a muddler and bowl to mash the one garlic clove and 3 fresh mint leaves into a paste. Mash well and add to the vinaigrette bowl. Mix well and pour the vinaigrette onto the salad.

6. Garnish with fresh finely chopped parsley. Add black pepper to taste. Mix well and enjoy!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I did, so if you do, please leave me a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I always read through my suggestions and comments, so please let me know your thoughts. If you have any questions you can feel free to DM me here or through Instagram. Speaking of Instagram - please tag me in all of your creations! I love seeing how the recipes come out and seeing how talented you all are. Sending my love.

xoxo,

Jasmin D the RD