Shaved Asparagus Salad

This shaved asparagus salad makes raw asparagus into mild, refreshing ribbons tossed with a bright lemon vinaigrette and Parmesan. It’s a stunning, no-cook side dish ready in 15 minutes!

Ever tried asparagus raw? The first time I did, I was a little wary. Would it taste bitter, like cooked asparagus often does? Oddly enough: it was the exact opposite! Raw and shaved into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler, asparagus has a mild flavor: fresh and almost sweet.

If you’re trying to convince an asparagus hater to try this healthy vegetable: this is your gateway! Drizzled in a lemon vinaigrette topped with Parmesan, this shaved asparagus salad is begging to get on your table.

Tip On Asparagus Size

To make this recipe, it’s easiest to use large asparagus spears. Now, typically Alex and I would tell you to get thin, tender asparagus spears. The flavor tastes milder, and they’re the best for most recipes, like roasted asparagus or lemon asparagus pasta.

Thin spears have such thin ribbons, they’re almost impossible to shave off with a peeler. They break easily and they look sad on the plate. However, Alex did figure out a way to peel smaller spears: in a bunch! See my Shaved Asparagus Salad video on Instagram (or Tiktok) for more.

How to Make Shaved Asparagus Salad

The hardest part of a shaved asparagus salad is—you guessed it!—shaving the asparagus! It will take a little practice to get comfortable. But here’s my method:

Place the asparagus spear on a cutting board. Nope, don’t hold it in the air! It bends under the weight of a peeler. Instead, place it on a cutting board.
Shave from the tip to the base. With a vegetable peeler, shave each spear from the from from the tip to the base. This is important, because otherwise the asparagus can break off. It takes a little practice, but is easy once you get the hang of it!
Special note: If you have very thin spears, shave them in a bunch like in my Shaved Asparagus Salad video.
Pat dry to remove moisture. Place the shavings in a bowl. Because the raw asparagus carries a lot of moisture, then pat them dry to remove extra water.
Use the discarded asparagus! The shaving method for asparagus ends up with a large “discard” pile. A lot of half shaved pieces will remain. Use them for a stir fry or saute them up! They’re not pretty, but they taste great.
Add the dressing and Pramesan: Now you’ve got a big bowl of shaved asparagus, all you have to do is whisk up lemony vinaigrette, and the tangy flavor was just perfect. The best part is adding Parmesan cheese: it takes it to another level. But it’s very tasty without, if you’d like to go totally plant based.

Variations & Adders

You can add many different things to a shaved asparagus salad! I recently made a social media video for this salad and I added thinly sliced radishes and sprinkled everything with sumac (below is a photo I snapped on my phone).

You could also add things like toasted pinenuts or toasted almonds to add a crunch.

Storage and Leftovers Tips

A note on leftovers: they taste even better! As the salad sits in the refrigerator, the flavors meld together and get a bit stronger. If you’re serving to guests, we recommend serving immediately since the asparagus can pick up water as it sits. Leftovers aren’t the prettiest: but they’re extremely tasty!

Dietary Notes

This shaved asparagus salad recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, omit the cheese.