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This Spring Salad celebrates fresh Spring produce! Featuring a flavorful basil vinaigrette, it would make the perfect green salad for an Easter brunch, or your next potluck.
Why You’ll Love It
It’s loaded with Spring vegetables. Roasted asparagus, crisp radishes, shredded carrots, and lettuce are the main event in this dish!
It’s flavorful. When you blend fresh basil into a simple lemon dressing, your salad will taste like it came from a restaurant. Fresh herbs make such a huge flavor difference!
It’s filling. Canned chickpeas are convenient, and add extra texture and protein to this spring salad recipe. Paired with fresh avocado and tangy feta cheese, this salad will leave you feeling satisfied!
It’s colorful. All of these components make for a beautiful salad that is perfect for bringing to a gathering. It looks impressive, and it even tastes as good as it looks!
How to Make the Best Spring Salad
1. Roast the asparagus.
Roasted asparagus adds texture to this salad, but it will need to roast for roughly 20 minutes, so make sure you get started on this component first.
Preheat your oven to 400ºF and remove any woody ends from the asparagus. (You can bend each asparagus spear towards the bottom, and let it snap naturally to remove the woody area.) Then cut it into 1-inch pieces and toss with olive oil and salt directly on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender.
2. Prepare the dressing.
In a blender, add the lemon juice, olive oil, basil, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper, and blend well. Taste the dressing and make any adjustments that you like, adding more honey if you’d like a sweeter vinaigrette.
For a more tangy dressing, you can add a splash of vinegar, or a small squeeze of Dijon mustard, for extra punch.
3. Assemble.
In a large serving bowl, add in the salad ingredients. Start with a bed of lettuce, followed by the sliced radish, shredded carrot, and cooled asparagus.
You’ll also want to add in the drained & rinsed chickpeas, sliced avocado, and a sprinkle of feta cheese or goat cheese. (Or leave it off, if you need a dairy-free version.)
Finish it off with a drizzle of the basil vinaigrette, then toss well and serve right away.
Feel free to add or swap any other spring veggies you have on hand, such as red onion, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, or green beans. You can also add fresh strawberries for sweetness, or a handful of pistachios or pecans, for added crunch.
Want to add more protein? Feel free to top this salad with cooked chicken breast, hard boiled eggs, or crispy air fryer bacon. For vegetarian protein, try baked tofu on top!
More Spring Salads & Side Dishes
I can’t wait to hear which salad recipe you try next!
Ultimate Spring Salad
This Spring Salad is bursting with Spring produce and is tossed with a flavorful lemon-basil vinaigrette. It is the perfect salad for a potluck or Easter brunch!
- 1 pound asparagus (1 bunch; 12 oz. after woody ends removed)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- fine sea salt
- 5 ounces spring salad mix (or other baby lettuce)
- 1 large carrot , shredded
- 3 radishes , trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas , drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup feta cheese crumbles
- 1 ripe avocado , pitted, peeled, and sliced
Dressing
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (tightly packed)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
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Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Remove the woody ends from the asparagus by bending the spears towards the bottom; they should snap where the tougher ends should be removed. Slice the asparagus into 1-inch pieces, then place them on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the olive oil. Sprinkle the top with salt, and roast until it’s tender, about 15 minutes. (If using thinner asparagus, it may be done in as little as 10 minutes.)
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While the asparagus is cooking, prepare the dressing. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, basil, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth, and adjust any seasoning to taste. For a sweeter dressing, you can add more honey, and for a more tangy dressing you can add more lemon juice, or a squeeze of spicy brown mustard.
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When you’re ready to assemble the salad, start with a bed of mixed greens, and top them with the shredded carrots, sliced radish, drained chickpeas, and roasted asparagus. Sprinkle on the feta cheese (or omit for a dairy-free salad), and add the sliced avocado right before serving, so it won’t brown. Drizzle the dressing generously over the salad, and gently toss. Serve right away.
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This salad dressing can be stored in an airtight container, separately from the other salad components, for up to 5 days in the fridge. Once the salad is tossed with the dressing, it will wilt if you store the leftovers, so it’s best to only dress as much salad as you plan on eating, if you’d like to store more for later.
For a vegan recipe, replace the honey with maple syrup and omit the feta cheese. You can add a tablespoon of tahini or almond butter to the dressing, to make it creamy instead.
Calories: 408kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 604mg | Potassium: 721mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4087IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 144mg | Iron: 4mg
If you try this Spring salad recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
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