This shaved asparagus salad makes uncooked asparagus into delicate, refreshing ribbons tossed with a brilliant lemon French dressing and Parmesan. It’s a surprising, no-cook facet dish prepared in quarter-hour!
Ever tried asparagus uncooked? The primary time I did, I used to be slightly cautious. Wouldn’t it style bitter, like cooked asparagus usually does? Oddly sufficient: it was the precise reverse! Uncooked and shaved into skinny ribbons with a vegetable peeler, asparagus has a gentle taste: recent and nearly candy.
Should you’re attempting to persuade an asparagus hater to do this wholesome vegetable: that is your gateway! Drizzled in a lemon French dressing topped with Parmesan, this shaved asparagus salad is begging to get in your desk.

Tip On Asparagus Measurement
To make this recipe, it’s best to make use of giant asparagus spears. Now, sometimes Alex and I’d let you know to get skinny, tender asparagus spears. The flavour tastes milder, they usually’re the very best for many recipes, like roasted asparagus or lemon asparagus pasta.
Skinny spears have such skinny ribbons, they’re nearly inconceivable to shave off with a peeler. They break simply they usually look unhappy on the plate. Nevertheless, Alex did work out a solution to peel smaller spears: in a bunch! See my Shaved Asparagus Salad video on Instagram (or Tiktok) for extra.
Easy methods to Make Shaved Asparagus Salad
The toughest a part of a shaved asparagus salad is—you guessed it!—shaving the asparagus! It’s going to take slightly observe to get snug. However right here’s my methodology:
- Place the asparagus spear on a chopping board. Nope, don’t maintain it within the air! It bends beneath the load of a peeler. As a substitute, place it on a chopping board.
- Shave from the tip to the bottom. With a vegetable peeler, shave every spear from the from from the tip to the bottom. That is vital, as a result of in any other case the asparagus can break off. It takes slightly observe, however is simple when you get the hold of it!
Particular word: In case you have very skinny spears, shave them in a bunch like in my Shaved Asparagus Salad video. - Pat dry to take away moisture. Place the shavings in a bowl. As a result of the uncooked asparagus carries a number of moisture, then pat them dry to take away further water.
- Use the discarded asparagus! The shaving methodology for asparagus finally ends up with a big “discard” pile. Plenty of half shaved items will stay. Use them for a stir fry or saute them up! They’re not fairly, however they style nice.
- Add the dressing and Pramesan: Now you’ve acquired a giant bowl of shaved asparagus, all you need to do is whisk up lemony French dressing, and the tangy taste was simply good. One of the best half is including Parmesan cheese: it takes it to a different stage. But it surely’s very tasty with out, should you’d wish to go completely plant based mostly.
Variations & Adders
You’ll be able to add many various issues to a shaved asparagus salad! I lately made a social media video for this salad and I added thinly sliced radishes and sprinkled all the things with sumac (under is a photograph I snapped on my telephone).
You can additionally add issues like toasted pinenuts or toasted almonds so as to add a crunch.

Storage and Leftovers Suggestions
A word on leftovers: they style even higher! Because the salad sits within the fridge, the flavors meld collectively and get a bit stronger. Should you’re serving to company, we suggest serving instantly because the asparagus can decide up water because it sits. Leftovers aren’t the prettiest: however they’re extraordinarily tasty!

Dietary Notes
This shaved asparagus salad recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, omit the cheese.
Shaved Asparagus Salad
This shaved asparagus salad combines delicate, skinny sliced asparagus with a tangy lemon French dressing and Parmesan cheese shavings.
- Prep Time: quarter-hour
- Cook dinner Time: 0 minutes
- Whole Time: quarter-hour
- Yield: 3 to 4 modest servings 1x
- Class: Salad
- Methodology: Uncooked
- Delicacies: American
Substances
- 16 giant asparagus spears (about 1 pound)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus lemon zest to serve
- 3 tablespoons further virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese shavings (about 1.5 ounces)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly floor black pepper
- Crimson pepper flakes
Directions
- Make the shavings: Lay asparagus spears on a flat floor. With a vegetable peeler, shave every spear from the tip to the bottom (discard the outer peel). It takes slightly observe, but it surely’s simple when you get the hold of it! Place the shavings in a bowl, and pat them dry to take away further water. (You’ll have a number of discarded items: it can save you these and use them in a stir fry.) Particular word: In case you have very skinny spears, shave them in a bunch like in my Shaved Asparagus Salad video.
- Make the French dressing: In a medium bowl, add the lemon juice. Then steadily whisk within the olive oil, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Serve: Toss the French dressing with the asparagus shavings, Parmesan shavings, kosher salt and recent floor black pepper. High with lemon zest (right here’s methods to zest it!) and some pinches of pink pepper flakes. Style, and add extra seasonings if desired.
Notes
Tailored from Bon Appetit
Extra Asparagus Recipes
Should you’ve acquired a bunch of this stunning inexperienced veggie, listed here are just a few different asparagus recipes you would possibly get pleasure from:
