A fresh spring asparagus salad recipe with cherry tomatoes, radishes, carrots, and red onion all tossed in a fresh lemon Dijon mustard vinaigrette and sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese. This beautiful colorful side dish is easy enough for a weekday meal yet elegant enough for a special occasion.
This totally customizable spring salad can be modified to your liking or to the vegetables and herbs you have on hand. Sometimes I add fresh spinach, blanched peas, or crisp cucumbers. For herbs, try switching up the flavor with basil, rosemary, or parsley.
How to make Asparagus Salad
Start by blanching your asparagus. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the asparagus, cooking for about 1 1/2 minutes. Then plunge the asparagus into ice-cold water to stop the cooking process and keep them crisp tender.
While the asparagus is cooling, in a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon Mustard, honey, and dried marjoram. Then slowly add the olive oil while continuously whisking. Drain the asparagus and dry well with paper towels. In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, radishes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, red onions, and fresh thyme. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with a little more thyme and feta cheese.
Recipe notes and helpful tips
- Make the dressing up to 2 days in advance and store it in a mason jar in the refrigerator. When ready to make your salad remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes in advance and shake well before drizzling it over the salad.
- The asparagus only needs to cook for 1-2 minutes in boiling water. Anything more and it would be overcooked for a salad.
- If available, purchase a block of feta cheese and crumble it yourself. It is more flavorful than the pre-crumbled and so easy to do. Place it in a sandwich bag and, using your hand break up the cheese. It will crumble quite easily.
- If feta cheese is really not your thing, try cotija or gorgonzola cheese.
- Serve this salad cold or at room temperature.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The radishes and carrots will not be as crisp as when you first made the salad, but it will still be delicious.
What to serve with Asparagus Salad
- Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic and Parmesan
- Air Fryer Salmon
- Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Turkey Burgers
- Grilled Steak
- French Baguettes with soft butter
- Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
- Lemon Dill Baked Tilapia
More salad recipes you will love!
Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
- Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette
- 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 lemon juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano
- ¼ cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- Salad
- 1 bunch asparagus blanched and cut into bite-sized pieces rough stalk removed
- ½ cup sliced radishes
- 1 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 1 carrot julienne
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onions
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the asparagus, cooking for 1 1/2 minutes. Plunge the asparagus into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the asparagus and dry well with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, Dijon Mustard, honey, and dried marjoram. Slowly add the olive oil while continuously whisking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large bowl, combine the asparagus, radishes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, red onions, and 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the remaining thyme and the feta cheese.
Notes
- Make the dressing up to 2 days in advance and store it in a mason jar in the refrigerator. When ready to make your salad remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes in advance and shake well before drizzling it over the salad.
- The asparagus only needs to cook for 1-2 minutes in boiling water. Anything more and it would be overcooked for a salad.
- If available, purchase a block of feta cheese and crumble it yourself. It is more flavorful than the pre-crumbled and so easy to do. Place it in a sandwich bag and, using your hand break up the cheese. It will crumble quite easily.
- If feta cheese is really not your thing, try cotija or gorgonzola cheese.
- Serve this salad cold or at room temperature.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The radishes and carrots will not be as crisp as when you first made the salad, but it will still be delicious.
Nutrition
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Eileen M Loya
Nice! I always love trying new salad recipes and this one was delicious. I love that I can make the dressing ahead, so that’s a plus!
Ntensibe Edgar
Ah yes! This asparagus salad is so lovely with grilled chicken and roasted potato! Thanks for the great recipe. My family loved it.
Michele
I love the rainbow effect of all the different veggies. I am gonna have to try asparagus by itself before I try to make this. For some reason, I think I don’t like it, but I also don’t remember if I have tried. LOL
Irena
It’s the perfect summer salad! Goes super well with steak too!
Bryan
It looks great, with all those colors. And with so many different veggies, good nutrition as well
jen schreiner
This recipe looks amazing. I have never had a cold asparagus salad. I am intrigued. I am hoping it will taste equally good without the cheese. My poor tummy disagrees with cheese.
Rosey
This is a good way to use asparagus. When I was younger I didn’t like it because I only knew canned. Once I tried fresh asparagus, I was sold.
Jennifer L Prince
This was so fresh and delicious. My husband and I are big fans of asparagus and we really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing!
MyYellowApron
This has my name written all over it. 😍 Would love to try the recipe. Thanks for sharing ❤️
Vikki
So fresh and colorful! A beautiful summer salad
Erik
Been looking for ways to work asparagus into my diet, so this was a great find!
Sandra
Packed full of amazing flavors! I love it
Allyson Zea
The flavors here are so good!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert
This asparagus salad looks healthy and distinctive!
Amanda
I can’t get over how gorgeous this salad is! So many colors! And it was so delicious.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Amanda! Glad that you liked it!
Juliane
SO good! My mom’s actually impressed
Beth Pierce
That is awesome!