Sprout Salad
For anyone wanting to work more sprouts into their meals, this is one of the best salads I've made in a long time. It includes mung bean sprouts, avocado, arugula, yogurt, and toasted almonds. So many good ingredients and incredibly tasty!
If I had a restaurant, this sprout salad would be on the menu. Especially this time of year. The farmer’s markets are absolutely booming with all kinds of greens, asparagus, favas, green garlic, lilacs, and strawberries. It's glorious. I brought a good amount of mung bean sprouts home on Saturday and threw this together for lunch.
If you can’t find mung sprouts, no problem, you can easily swap in cooked mung beans, or cannellini beans, or any lentils that will hold their shape when cooked - French lentils (lentils du Puy), black Beluga lentils, etc. Another option is to grow your own sprouts! If there’s a good amount of interest in that, I can do a primer about it. Like sourdough, growing your own sprouts is a lifestyle lol.
Sprout Salad Ingredients
Here's a photo of the ingredients you'll need for this recipe - arugula, mung bean sprouts, nuts, yogurt. Avocado should be in there as well. It's a simple salad to pull together on a whim. A couple notes:
- Chive flowers: The chive flowers are optional, but they bring the pretty, so keep your eyes open for them, or get some started in your own garden. The great thing about them is you can dry the flowers after they blossom. Keep the dried chive blossoms on hand to extend the season. Here's a whole page about edible flowers and another on how to dry herbs, in case you want more info on either front.
- Sliced Almonds: I use sliced almonds here, the key is getting them nice and toasted. You can swap in another robust nut here if that is what you have - walnuts are a good swap, same goes for pistachios.
Sprout Salad: Ideas and Variations
There are so many good riffs on this general idea to explore. Here are a few top ideas.
- Tostadas: Instead of cubing the avocado, smash it into hot tortilla straight off the griddle, pile the mung bean component on top of the avocado, add a couple little dollops of the yogurt and finish with this salsa negra - I wrote about why I love it at the bottom of this page.
- Spicy Summer Sprouts: Julie mentions in the comments: “i made a riff on it – couldnt find the mung sprouts, so i used a crunchy sprout mix..put a little chipolte in the yogurt mixture, and subbed in some cherry tomatoes for the almonds. Not too bad, if i do say so myself!”
- Vegan Sprout Bowl: Hannah’s version in the comments sounds fantastic, she says, “This plus brown rice was absolutely amazing…I will certainly be making this again (possibly tomorrow – I just can’t get enough!) and I made this with soya yoghurt strained through cheesecloth for a couple hours for any interested vegans!”
- On Bruschetta: I’m always looking for ways to use the sourdough I bake, and the simple answer is often bruschetta. Here you can use the components to top grilled or broiled slices of bread - yogurt first, then sprout component, a thread of a strong citrus olive oil would make a nice finish.
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Sprout Salad
If you can't find sprouts that look great, swap in cooked mung beans, your favorite small white bean, or a favorite lentil. If you use lentils be sure to use one of the types that will hold its shape throughout the cooking process. I listed a number of suggestions in the post up above.
- 3/4 cup / 6 oz / 170 g plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 handful arugula, chopped
- 1 small bunch chives, minced
- 8 oz mung bean sprouts (or equiv. cooked mung beans), about 2 cups
- a big handful of well-toasted, sliced almonds
- 1 ripe avocado, chopped
- good extra-virgin olive oil
- to finish: chive flowers (optional)
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In a small bowl combine the yogurt, salt, arugula, and chives.
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In a larger bowl toss the mung beans and almonds with a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the avocado, and gently toss once or twice more.
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Serve the mung beans next to the yogurt mixture and drizzle with a bit more olive oil. If you had a few chive flowers in your bunch, sprinkle them across the top.
Serves 2 - 4.
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Comments
I am making sprouts right now and am always looking for interesting ways to use them.
I like the way you used the arugula in this recipe as an herb/flavoring for the yogurt. I usually think of arugula as a salad or cooking green. I love when I come across a recipe that inspires me to cook something in a new way. Thanks.
Hi! I just tried your recipe and LOVED it. As you mentioned, I substituted Cannellini beans for the sprouts, and it was delicious. I decided to “dress” the entire salad with the yogurt instead of placing it to the side so that I could take it to a party…oops…it wasn’t as pretty as yours, but it still tasted good! I’ll stick to your recipe next time!
This sounds like the perfect light lunch to enjoy this time of year. thanks.
I’ve always used sprouts in soup but never in salad. Definitely going to try for my next asian-inspired salad next time.
I love your cookbooks & blog-but why oh why are you not vegan-or at least offer more vegan options? Life without cheese & eggs can be so great-your cooking expertise would help so many people-not to mention the animals!
Hi Shawn – I eat/cook a lot of meals that are vegan. There’s an archive of nearly 150+ vegan recipes. And it likely goes without saying, but I do my best to buy my dairy and eggs from sources who care about the environment and the animals.
Wow…delicious!!! I was sprouting some beans when I saw this recipe. Just took the yogurt out cause I´m vegan and use flax oil instead of olive oil. Thanks for sharing Heidi!!!
made this earlier in the week – so simple yet so tasty!! today i made a riff on it – couldnt find the mung sprouts, so i used a crunchy sprout mix..put a little chipolte in the yogurt mixture, and subbed in some cherry tomatoes for the almonds. Not too bad, if i do say so myself!
I’m just starting some sprouts of my own! So looking forward to making this!
Lovely idea! And the salad looks amazing, I very much like fresh summer salads.
That even looks healthy!!! I love that every bite of your food looks satisfying, filling and nourishing. Kacie
I love sprouts! This recipe looks delicious and I will try it this week. Thanks!
The picture looks so refreshing, healthy and tasty! What a great recipe!
Hooray! I have a bunch of chive flowers in the garden right now and they’re beautiful but wasn’t sure what to do first. This is it. Perfect.
This plus brown rice was absolutely amazing. Thank you so much heidifor your amazing recipes! I will certainly be making this again (possibly tomorrow – I just can’t get enough!) and I made this with soya yoghurt strained through cheesecloth for a couple hours for any interested vegans! x
TOTALLY just finished reading book Conscious Eating, and was truly enlightening. So, came onto your site for my daily does of ‘101..’ and saw the sprout recipe. Sweet! Going past the whole eating beans thing to making my own sprouts and really pumped about it. Dig this recipe, making my co-op shopping list right now!
Love sprouting my own mungers, sooo super easy to do and will serve with milk kefir dressing instead of yoghurt, thanks for the inspiration!
all the luck for your shop! love the salad! so simple 🙂
Your blog has inspired me to start my own in Beijing!! Please come visit and give me some advice on blogging if you have the time. Thanks!
that sounds and looks so delicious! the textures and flavors! mmm!! thanks for sharing!
I just wanted to follow up and say this recipe was delicious, as in amazingly good. I used green onion instead of chives and didn’t have an avocado on hand. But it still was a perfect afternoon snack, thanks!
This is a great option for salads during the warmer summer months.
Good luck with the shop!
Thanks for a recipe with mung bean sprouts. I bought some at the market a few weeks ago, and then had no idea what to do with them! I ended up making a salad with fresh cilantro and mint, soy sauce, whole-grain mustard, chili, and orange juice – I was surprised to find it was good! Next round, I’ll try your recipe. Eventually, I will know my way around the mung bean.
Aha! Another Heidi Incredible. Had the most incredible watermelon salad per you and super natural every day. I need your next cookbook please. You will have one I hope. Easy, Reliable, Tasty. Everything.
Make your own mung bean sprouts…super easy!!!
looks GREAT 🙂
Another inspiring post…thanks Heidi! I’ve been making sprout salads a lot lately and I love that they are so versatile and taste good with whatever I happen to have on hand….edamame beans, shredded carrots, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, peanuts, etc. Often I make it into a meal by tossing in a whole grain (brown rice is my fave) or shredded tempeh. I also vary the dressing depending on what is in my fridge or pantry…my latest is equal parts coconut milk and rice wine vinegar spiced with some curry powder.
May I also humbly add that it’s a thrill to grow your own sprouts. Super simple, cheap, and for someone like me with a brown thumb it is somehow deeply satisfying to watch them grow and eat them before I ruin them 🙂
Humm…I will try this!
Can’t wait to try this! I am always looking for creative, nutrient packed meals. Looks awesome!
Looks wonderful! Making this asap 🙂
I agree with Sarah: there’s a whole “nother” world north of you and we LOVE your posts!!
you are so inspiring.
This salad is so full of goodness! Love this idea!
The online shop idea sounds fun and I know it will be a hit!
I love light salad and that’s what we are eating these days too.
Your salad looks so refreshing and tasty. Season perfect!
This sounds amazing and might quickly compete wtih the Super Orzo as a summer staple!!
This looks pretty amazing, but I really have to convince my Family to try it, because it looks very healty too, and that might turn them off. Not me!
i haven’t had sprouted mung beans in forever, but i remember loving them!
I love sprouted mung beans! They are a staple in Indian cooking and I had them all the time at home growing up.
How exciting! It’s always fun to do something new. The new thing I’m going to do is cook the mung beans I’ve had in the cupboard for a month! But I have to say that if I find arugula as feathery and beautiful as yours, I might have a hard time chopping it up. Updating my shopping list now to add Ugly Arugula.
Normally I would have glanced a photo of sprouts and said, “Meh!” But my boyfriend has been bringing home bags of sprouts from the farmers market near his office for the past month or so, and I was shocked to find how much I like them. I eat handfuls of them when I pass the fridge and put them on everything. This recipe looks so good, and I happen to have most of the ingredients on hand–I’ll give it a go for breakfast tomorrow!
your salad looks so good! I haven’t had sprouts in far too long. Thanks for the great recipe!
I can’t tell you how happy I am to see a new post from you Heidi – thank you.
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