Asparagus Avocado Salad is a five-ingredient dish that's delicious and nutritious. This beautiful verdant salad is vegan, gluten-free, and easy to make.
Are you a fan of fresh asparagus? I look forward to enjoying the green stalks when they are in season.
Usually I keep it simple by serving them with a little fresh lemon juice or making Marinated Asparagus Spears. They're also great in fried rice. But my new favorite way to eat this vegetable is in this delicious avocado salad.
Top tip
The key to making this recipe is making sure the asparagus isn't overcooked. To me it's almost like pasta. I really don't enjoy eating a bowl of mushy noodles.
And I don't want my asparagus ruined by cooking them too long. That's why it's very important to have a bowl of ice water standing by to shock the spears and stop them from continuing to cook.
Preparing asparagus
The trick is to bend each spear until the tough end breaks off. Then you can discard the woody part and keep the tender ends for cooking. If you want to learn more about choosing asparagus, storing them, and preparing them, check out this great article from The Kitchn.
Instructions
First blanch the asparagus spears in simmering water for only a minute or two. Then quickly remove them from the hot water and transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking.
The spears should look bright green. If they turn brownish gray while cooking, they've been in the water too long.
After patting the spears dry, cut them into bite-size pieces. I like to cut them diagonally on the bias just to be fancy.
Then add them to a salad bowl along with a diced avocado. Next drizzle the dressing ingredients over the vegetables. Olive oil, fresh lime juice, and a little salt and pepper is all you need.
Finally some fresh mint leaves are added, and the salad is ready to be gently tossed and eaten. You can use as much mint as you like. It's my favorite part of this salad, so I add a generous amount.
Serving suggestions
I struggled with how many servings to call it when I was writing up the recipe. To be honest, I could eat the entire bowl in one sitting. But in reality, it's probably two servings as a starter salad and maybe four servings as a side dish.
It's great for lunch with a cup of Vegan Wild Rice Soup or Potato Corn Chowder. Or you could enjoy it with a Vegan Tuna Salad Sandwich.
Whatever you eat it with, I hope you like it as much as I do!
Asparagus Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus , (about 1 to 1.25 pounds)
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh mint leaves, torn or chopped
Instructions
- Wash the asparagus and remove any tough stalks. In a large pan, add about an inch of water and bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook just a few minutes until tender and bright green. Drain and plunge in a bowl of ice water to stop the asparagus from cooking.
- Drain the asparagus once it's cool and pat dry. Cut into bite-size pieces.
- Place the asparagus pieces in a salad bowl. Add the avocado.
- Drizzle the salad with the olive oil and lime juice. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Gently toss the salad.
- Add the mint leaves and serve right away.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Grab your FREE Vegan Holiday Recipes eBook
Linda
Great recipe. The crunch of the asparagus and the creaminess of the avocado are a perfect marriage of two of my favorite foods. I had a half bunch of very thin asparagus and some avocados that had to be eaten today. I added lemon juice instead of lime juice because that's what I had. I added balsamic vinaigrette, mostly because I rarely use that dressing and wanted to give it a go. I enjoyed my salad, and, next time, I'll stick to the olive oil and lime juice in the recipe.
Amy Katz
So glad you enjoyed it, Linda!
Vicki
Hi Amy,
What an interesting coincidence that your Asparagus Avocado salad recipe arrived today, just as I sat down at the computer to search for a recipe that could use the fresh asparagus and avocado I have on hand. In this time of COVID when I can't get out to buy the mint, I tried some fresh marjoram from my garden. What a lovely, light, nutritious and delicious meal! Thank you for sharing.
Amy Katz
Hi Vicki! I'm so happy to hear this! I love that the marjoram worked so well with the asparagus and avocado.
Derrick
made this salad. It was excellent. Great way to enjoy asparagus
jen czaharyn
Can the asparagus avocado salad be made ahead for later use.
Amy
Hi Jen, Yes, it can! I've made it a day ahead, and it was delicious the next day.