Chilled Asparagus Crunch Salad.
This cold asparagus crunch salad is filled with so much flavor and texture, including toasted walnuts, creamy blue cheese and a tangy dijon dressing. It’s a fantastic spring side dish!
This is how you get everyone to love asparagus.
This asparagus crunch salad is made with tender asparagus spears, a tangy lemony dressing, crumbled blue cheese and toasted walnuts. It is so satisfying and most of all – textured! Lots of crispy crunchy and flavor.
Just what we all love.
Spring is my least favorite season, but asparagus makes it better!
I just recently shared an asparagus salad with you and it included brioche croutons and all sorts of good stuff. This is similar, but simpler. It’s a bit more classic and traditional. It doesn’t have as many things on top!
Let’s just say that.
And if you need an easy side dish for Easter, this is it.
And it’s so good because this can be considered your side OR your salad. Or both, of course. Which is even easier!
My fresh green bean salad is a dish I make on repeat in the summer months. When I tell you that I sometimes make three or four times a week, that is not an exaggeration. The tangy dressing paired with the crunch of the nuts and the creamy cheese – it’s perfect.
And it’s so good because this can be considered your side OR your salad. Or both, of course.
Which is even easier!
My fresh green bean salad is a dish I make on repeat in the summer months. When I tell you that I sometimes make three or four times a week, that is not an exaggeration. The tangy dressing paired with the crunch of the nuts and the creamy cheese – it’s perfect.
So I’ve been making the same thing with asparagus too! The asparagus gets blanched just like the green beans. Then it’s covered with everything:
The blue cheese
The toasted walnuts
And the lemony dressing
I find that this recipe is such a hit with the asparagus because it is full of vibrance and crunchy bites. The general flavors here are pretty “normal” – as my family would say. Ha! Okay, minus the blue cheese.
We don’t have anything too wild going on, nothing spicy, nothing overly sour or even too crunchy. If you’re flipped out over the blue cheese, use feta instead. Or even parmesan.
Basically, everything is perfect and pleasurable to the palate!
The other thing I love about this recipe is that you can really make the asparagus any way you’d like. I find it is much more forgiving than the green beans. You can blanch it, but you can also roast it.
And you can even grill it too, which is probably my #1 way to make asparagus.
So there you go. An embarrassingly easy dish, but one that is super satisfying this time of year!!
Asparagus Crunch Salad
Spring Asparagus Crunch Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh asparagus spears,, woody ends trimmed
- ⅓ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
- ⅓ cup crumbled blue cheese
lemony dijon dressing
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped herbs, chives, basil, etc
Instructions
- Start by blanching the asparagus . Prepare an ice bath - fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the asparagus and cook for 3 to 4 minutes (add an additional minute or 2 if the spears are thick!). Use a strainer to immediately transfer the spears to the ice bath. Let them chill in the bath for 5 minutes. Pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Place the asparagus on the plate and give it a light sprinkle of salt and pepper. Drizzle on the dijon dressing. Top with the crumbled blue cheese and walnuts. Serve immediately. This tastes incredible cold - like leftovers right out of the fridge. It’s also great at room temperature!
lemony dijon dressing
- In a bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and mustard. Whisk in the oil until the dressing is emulsified. Add a pinch of salt and pepper along with the herbs. Whisk to combine. Any extras of this stays great in the fridge for a few days - it just has to be whisked and stirred before using!
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
I can already taste this!
