Roasted Asparagus and Goat Cheese Salad

Roasted asparagus, chopped hazelnuts and fresh goat cheese bring staying power to these hearty spring entrée salads. They’re naturally gluten-free and vegetarian.

This recipe is part of my Salad Month series, where every year during the month of May, I celebrate by sharing my favorite salad recipes.

If you had asked me two years ago if I was going to write another cookbook, I would have said, yes. I would have said that I was waiting for the right idea to come my way.

If you then asked one year ago me if I had come up with an idea for said cookbook, I would have also said yes.

And about a year ago, I actually wrote a cookbook proposal. I spent more than a month doing so. It had fancy new recipes, fancy new photos and a complete table of contents. It even had chapter openers, folks. I even had my cross-testing team from my maple cookbook help out. It was no joke.

Then I submitted it to my awesome agent Sally. And she loved it! And then we worked on it until it was great.

And then… I just dropped it.

Like I totally changed my mind.

I flaked.

I’m not going to go into the reasons why right this minute. Because I do eventually want to get to this Roasted Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese.

But since then, those lovely recipes from the proposal have been sitting on my hard drive. Unloved.

Guys, It’s odd: I’m not sad about not writing the book. But I’ll tell you what I am sad about. I am sad about those recipes. I hate thinking of them, not living the delicious life they were meant to have in somebody’s kitchen.

This recipe was one of them. And today I am breaking it out of jail. Be free recipe! Head out into the world of kitchens. Make people happy! And full.

How to Make Roasted Asparagus and Goat Cheese Salad

• Stop and preheat the oven. I used a 400 degree oven, because when roasting it’s important to use a hot oven- to get a bit of browning.
• Snap the woody ends off the asparagus so only the tender stalks remain. Then chop them into bite-sized pieces.
• Spread the asparagus out on the pan- but don’t crowd it.
• The dressing is one I’ve been making for ever- and it is a dream with the roasted asparagus, goat cheese and hazelnuts! It is thick- thanks to Greek Yogurt- so it is good for drizzling (as opposed to tossing- which would be too gloppy.)
• I added in hazelnuts for crunch and staying power.
• And then there’s the goat cheese! The earthy creaminess of the goat cheese is a lovely addition to the spring veggies and crunchy nuts and radishes.

More Recipes You’ll Love

• Turn on the grill for Grilled Asparagus or try my Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise or Pesto.
• This One Pot Chicken and Rice with Spring Veggies is bursting with asparagus and peas.
• This Sesame Roasted Asparagus Salad elevates basic roasted asparagus with the addition of Asian Sesame Dressing.
• This Shaved Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese and Hazelnuts is made with raw asparagus cut into ribbons with a veggie peeler.
• This Frittata with Ham and Asparagus is another spring brunch entree to consider.
• Find more asparagus recipe ideas here and please check out my guide to asparagus.
• For more big salad love try this French Bistro Brunch Salad or my recipe for SouthWest Cobb Kale Salad. This Spinach Salad with Bacon and Eggs is another fave at this time of year!

Thanks so much for reading. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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