Today I have a 20 minute recipe for a salad of shaved raw asparagus ribbons, shredded romaine lettuce, hazelnuts and goat cheese tossed and dill shallot vinaigrette.

a bowl of shaved raw asparagus salad with a hand holding the bowl

I originally shared this recipe on May 7th, 2015. I have updated the text and photography to share it with you today.

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Why You’ll Love This Shaved Asparagus Salad Recipe

If you love asparagus, and are looking for a unique way to prepare it, then shaving it and eating it raw in a salad is delicious! The fresh lightly sweet and slightly nutty flavor of the raw asparagus is delicious paired with creamy goat cheese, hazelnuts and bright dill and shallot dressing.

Eating asparagus raw is best when it is freshly picked, so asparagus season is the best time to enjoy this recipe! The peak of the season is April, but depending on where you live, the season lasts several months during the spring.

Ingredient Notes

ingredients for shaved asparagus salad
  • Asparagus: It takes a little practice to shave asparagus and I found that it was much easier with fatter asparagus. So if you have your choice at the market (or in the garden) choose the fatties. (By the way, asparagus aficionados will tell you the fatter stalks are the best ones anyway.)
  • Extra-virgin olive oil: for the salad dressing
  • Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar: for the dressing. Swap in red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Lemon would also be excellent in this dressing
  • Seasonings: Shallot (or chopped chives), dill, honey, salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Dijon mustard: to emulsify the dressing
  • Hearts of Romaine: very thinly sliced
  • Fresh chevre: Use fresh goat cheese for topping the salads. Parmesan is a good alternative if you do not like goat cheese.
  • Hazelnuts: You can substitute walnuts, pine nuts or pecans. or pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds for a nut free alternative.

How To Make This Shaved Asparagus Salad

A knife on a cutting board with Shaved asparagus

Step 1: To shave the asparagus, you just hold the stalks on the cutting board and run a regular old vegetable peeler down the stalk.

When you got to the center of the stalk and can’t shave it down further, set that core aside and continued along with the remaining stalks. Then at the end take all the cores and chop them with a chef’s knife.

whisk dressing add asparagus and romaine and toss

Step 2: Then I made a mustard dill and shallot dressing to go with it. It actually took me a few tries to get the right level of acidity. You all know by know that I have a thing about acidity in recipes right?

Well this is a pretty tart salad, I’m not going to lie, but it is important to have a bit of tart to balance the bitter of the asparagus.

Step 3. Add the shaved asparagus to the dressing. I also added shredded romaine hearts into the salad for more volume. I cut it up into the finest ribbons I could handle. The idea being the strips would match the strips of the shaved asparagus.

add hazelnuts and goat cheese

Step 4: Then I added in toasted hazelnuts because I wanted toasty flavor and a bit of crunch. And then the fresh goat cheese on top. Ahhh, it is so perfect. The creamy tart cheese with the asparagus oh and the dill and mustard and shallot. You! Guys! It is magic.

Serving Suggestions

shaved asparagus

FAQs

How do I prevent the asparagus from breaking when I shave it?

This is pretty common and hard to avoid entirely. If you rest the asparagus on the cutting board as you peel to support it, it won’t break as easily.

How do I make this vegan?

Omit the goat cheese and use agave instead of honey. If you want to add a vegan topping instead of the goat cheese you can use shiitake bacon or homemade croutons.

Can this be made ahead?

This recipe is best served immediately. The dressing can be made ahead up to 3 days. The asparagus and romaine can be prepared one day ahead. Toss with the dressing just before serving.

If you love asparagus in salads you’ll also want to check out our Spring Salad with Peas and Asparagus, our Sesame Roasted Asparagus Salad and this Roasted Asparagus Goat Cheese Power Salad.

Thanks so much for reading. If you make this recipe, please let me know by leaving a star rating and review. Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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Shaved Asparagus Salad Recipe

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5 from 7 reviews

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Description

If you love asparagus, then try shaving raw asparagus into long curling ribbons with a veggie peeler. Then make it into a salad with shredded romaine lettuce, hazelnuts and goat cheese all tossed and dill shallot vinaigrette.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends removed
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 small shallot, minced (or 3 T chopped chives)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 2 hearts of romaine, very thinly sliced
  • 3 ounces fresh chevre
  • 1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Instructions

  1. Shave asparagus into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Cut any remaining pieces that cannot be peeled any thinner into bite sized lengths with a knife
  2. Whisk oil, vinegar, shallot or chives, dill, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
  3. Add romaine and the shaved asparagus to the bowl and toss to combine.
  4. Divide among four plates. Crumble goat cheese over the salads. Divide hazelnuts over the salads.

Notes

This recipe is best served immediately. The dressing can be made ahead up to 3 days. The asparagus and romaine can be prepared one day ahead. Toss just before serving.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 1/4 cup
  • Calories: 270
  • Fat: 25
  • Saturated Fat: 6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 10 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 7 g

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