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Home » Recipes » Seasonal » Spring » Spring Vegetable Barley Salad with Mango-Red Pepper Relish

Spring Vegetable Barley Salad with Mango-Red Pepper Relish

April 16, 2014 By Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan 8 Comments

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I actually made a vow to myself that I wouldn’t post any mango recipes for a while. Mangos are the best, but I already used them twice over a three-week span, and my bag of frozen mango had finally run out. Well, the universe had other plans for me. I got to Whole Foods this weekend and they were having an INSANE mango sale: $0.70 each for Ataulfo mangos, or a whole case of them for $9. I went for the whole case, because this price doesn’t come around very often here.

Spring Vegetable Barley Salad with Mango-Red Pepper Relish - Yup, it's Vegan

Ataulfo mangos are also known as champagne mangos and they are super sweet and creamy, tending to be less fibrous than the Tommy Atkins (which are the reddish-green skinned ones that are in supermarkets throughout the year). Their mellow flavor and toothsome texture means that they taste amazing in… EVERYTHING. I ate a good few of them plain, but now I am getting creative and finding more ways to make them savory (ideas are welcome!!).

This post kind of turned into a mango love letter, but we are getting tons of good veggies these days as spring finally perks up. All sorts of greens, fresh herbs, beans, asparagus, cabbage… the Baltimore farmer’s market is the place to be right now. Welcome, spring! (Of course, as I am writing this, the temperature is dropping into the 20’s as part of a freak weather event, but I’m just pretending that isn’t happening).

This barley salad bowl is an homage to everything that’s delicious in Maryland in April. I chose bok choy for my greens because when eaten raw it has a great spicy flavor to it, and the stems are crunchy and refreshing. If you aren’t sure about raw bok choy this would also be great with spinach. Toss in some basil and culantro (a cousin of cilantro that basically tastes the same but is shaped more like basil – used in Caribbean cuisine). crisp-tender green beans, roasted Brussels sprouts, a creamy tahini dressing, and the aforementioned fresh mango relish, and you are cruising for a perfect lunch.

Spring Vegetable Barley Salad with Mango-Red Pepper Relish - Yup, it's Vegan

I made a big batch of this because it was some work to cook the barley, green beans, and Brussels sprouts. Most of that is hands-off, though, so it wasn’t too much of a chore. This meal is packed with nutrients and it makes an awesome office lunch, no microwave required!

5 from 2 votes
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Spring Vegetable Barley Salad with Mango-Red Pepper Relish

Spring vegetables come together with chewy barley, sweet pepper mango relish, and tahini dressing for a flavorful bowl that makes great leftovers.

Course bowls, lunch
Cuisine dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword barley salad
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Yield 4 bowls
Calories Per Serving 425 kcal
Author Yup, it's Vegan

Ingredients

For the relish:

  • 1 mango diced
  • 3 small sweet peppers (or 1 large), stem and seeds removed, diced
  • 1/4 sweet onion diced
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 lemon or meyer lemon juiced and zested
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • salt, pepper, paprika, and ground coriander to taste

For the tahini dressing:

  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 1 tsp spicy whole grain mustard
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp water
  • 1 tsp cider vinegar
  • salt, pepper, and smoked paprika to taste

For the bowls:

  • 1 cup dry barley , cooked (I used pearl barley: here are instructions on how to cook it)
  • Tahini dressing (see above)
  • Mango-red pepper relish (see above)
  • 1 lb green beans
  • 1 lb Brussels sprouts
  • 1 handful fresh basil thinly sliced
  • 1 handful cilantro or culantro roughly chopped
  • 1 small head of bok choy leaves sliced into ribbons & stems chopped (substitute fresh chopped spinach for a milder flavor)

Instructions

For the relish:

  1. Add all ingredients to a small saucepan, bring to a light boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until liquid is gone, season to taste, and set aside.

For the tahini dressing:

  1. Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl until well-combined, season to taste, and set aside.

For the assembled salad:

  1. Cook the barley, green beans, and Brussels sprouts according to your favorite method.

  2. Toss together the cooked barley, herbs, bok choy (or spinach), and all of the tahini dressing. For each serving, add a dollop of mango-red pepper relish and generous handfuls of green beans and roasted Brussels sprouts. Serve while warm, or later at room temperature or cold.

Recipe Notes

To make this recipe gluten-free, you could try substituting the barley with brown rice or another chewy grain.

Nutrition Facts
Spring Vegetable Barley Salad with Mango-Red Pepper Relish
Amount Per Serving (1 bowl)
Calories 425 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Sodium 197mg9%
Potassium 947mg27%
Carbohydrates 92g31%
Fiber 21g88%
Sugar 29g32%
Protein 17g34%
Vitamin A 9000IU180%
Vitamin C 328.4mg398%
Calcium 380mg38%
Iron 6.3mg35%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Happy Hump Day!

Filed Under: Lunch, Salad, Spring Tagged With: oil-free, plant-strong, refined sugar-free, tropical fruit

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Comments

  1. Emily says

    October 7, 2014 at 21:27

    5 stars
    Whoa this looks amazing! Can’t wait to give this a go in summer 🙂 Thanks for sharing this beautiful recipe!

    Emily

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      October 8, 2014 at 18:45

      Thank you, Emily! I love your blog name, by the way =]

      Reply
  2. Richa says

    April 18, 2014 at 20:51

    love the mango relish and the nicely browned up brussels sprouts!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      April 20, 2014 at 15:15

      I actually forgot about the B-sprouts in the oven, but rescued them in the nick of time =]

      Reply
  3. Eunice says

    April 16, 2014 at 10:48

    Do you have any suggestions for a gluten free replacement? I have never used kamut……is that a possible substitute? Thanks for all your hard work, I love your blog.

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      April 16, 2014 at 11:04

      Thank you for reading, Eunice! I haven’t tasted kamut before – that said, I do think you could use pretty much any grain for this salad and it would still taste good, especially something chewy like brown rice. Just adjust the seasonings as needed.

      Reply
  4. Laura @ the gluten-free treadmill says

    April 16, 2014 at 09:17

    5 stars
    No complaints about mango usage from me – the color is awesome, and this just sounds so delicious!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      April 16, 2014 at 10:58

      Thanks, Laura 🙂 I figured people wouldn’t be TOO mad about the excess mango…

      Reply

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I'm Shannon, founder of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. I create healthy plant-based recipes that everyone will love, using seasonal produce and global inspiration.
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