Roasted Asparagus Salad – Delicious roasted asparagus, candied nuts, and a little bite from the cheese (or not). Makes a great addition to your spring table.
I always feel sad for people who say they don’t like salad. To me, if you don’t like salad, you aren’t putting enough goodies in it.
While it may not be the healthiest way to eat a salad, I LOVE eating a salad chock-full of goodies–nuts, fruit, veggies, cheese, sometimes bacon, and a great dressing. While I do like packing them full of add-ins, salads like this don’t have to be unhealthy. We eat big, filled-out salads like this once a week or so, which breaks up our routine, gives us a good helping of fruits or vegetables (or both), and is a great excuse to pack a salad full of yummy goodness.
I saw a great idea for a salad with roasted asparagus in it. I love roasted asparagus, and I had a “doh!” moment where I thought “now, why didn’t I think of that!?” This salad is delicious with spring mix, roasted asparagus pieces, dried cranberries, candied pecans, and a touch of cotija or feta cheese to top things off.
I tried this with a few different dressings to see what went best. We tried a balsamic vinaigrette and Brianna’s brand creamy poppy seed dressing. Both were delicious. You don’t need much in the way of dressing–just enough to coat it. (p.s. I like Brianna’s brand because they don’t use corn syrup)
This was very satisfying as a meatless main dish and would be delicious paired with some roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes or a nice, good-quality bread. Try it quickly, before asparagus season is over!
Roasted Asparagus Salad
- Yield: 6+ 1x
Description
This was delicious with the balsamic dressing described below. For easier preparation or a shortcut, feel free to substitute creamy poppy seed dressing (I recommend Brianna’s brand)
Ingredients
For the salad
- 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-2″ pieces
- 1 (5-6oz) container spring mix
- 1/2c dried cranberries, more or less to taste
- 3/4c candied pecans**
- cotija or feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/4c-1/3c), optional*
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
For dressing:
- 4 Tbsp honey
- 4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 2–3 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Prepare asparagus by tossing it with a small drizzle of olive oil, a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread asparagus pieces out on a baking sheet and roast at 375 degrees 10-12 minutes, or until tender (but not mushy). Allow to cool.
- Assemble salad dressing in a small bowl by whisking together honey, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- For salad, layer spring mix, asparagus pieces, cranberries, pecans, and cheese. If serving immediately, drizzle dressing over all and toss to combine. If you plan on eating leftovers, drizzle dressing over individual servings before serving.
Notes
To trim asparagus, hold the ends of each spear in your finger tips and bend until the asparagus naturally snaps. This will get rid of the woody, tough part of the stem.
* For dairy free: skip the cheese. Feel free to serve with this vinaigrette. If you decide to go with a creamy poppy seed dressing instead, Brianna’s brand is gluten and dairy free.
**To make your own candied pecans, melt 3 Tbsp sugar in a saute pan over medium heat until liquid. Add 3/4c pecans and stir to coat. Spread out over parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to cool.
I love this Emily. We eat big salads pretty often and I agree that if you don’t like salads, you just don’t have enough good stuff in them! We are having salads tonight, actually, and I think I might try this dressing, I love the addition of the honey!
Yum! We had really yummy asparagus-lemon pasta yesterday. We are definitely looking for ways to pack as much asparagus as possible into our days before the season is over!
Made this salad tonight for my family it was a big hit! Will definitely be making it again!!! I did omit the Dijon mustard because we are not fans, but dressing was great without it!!!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review–it’s so helpful! 🙂
That’s so funny, I always feel the same when I hear someone hates salad. I think I would be about a billion pounds heavier if I didn’t like salad. This one looks spectacular!
This is a Noom sponsored recipe? Cranberries, candied pecans, cheese, honey? All things I avoid like the plague since I started this diet! The cranberries went into the freezer, the walnuts stay in the freezer (sometimes I put three in a salad), and cheese is in the freezer only for very special recipes that are for a bunch of folks so I don’t get much of it. I don’t think I can save this salad.
★★★
Christine – What is Noom? I’ve never heard of it before. Did you get referred to this recipe by someone else? You certainly don’t have to save it if it’s not your cup of tea!
I’ve made this recipe twice & received rave reviews both times! I made it exactly as stated. It does take a while for the sugar to become liquid to coat the pecans & roast them but I didn’t want to risk burning them. Thank you Emily!!
★★★★★
Michele – I’m SO glad to hear that! So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this with what I had on hand after the holidays–minus the lettuce (grocery store wasn’t open on New Year’s Day). It was good. Probably better with thicker asparagus spears than the thin ones I had, which roasted too quickly. But I appreciated that the sauce was easy to make. I used 1/2 the honey so it wasn’t as sweet. Thanks!
★★★★
Yum! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.