This asparagus tomato salad with avocado and feta is light, refreshing, and bursting with flavor! Marinated in a simple lemon vinaigrette, this cold asparagus salad recipe is a great make ahead option that can be made in less than 20 minutes! The perfect side dish to serve up at your next Spring or Summer BBQ, potluck or picnic! {Gluten-free & vegetarian}
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Cold Asparagus Salad with Tomatoes
One of our favorite ways to serve up asparagus is in this Asparagus Tomato Salad with fresh blanched asparagus, colorful cherry tomatoes, basil, avocado and feta. Together these ingredients are marinated in a refreshing lemon vinaigrette for a light and refreshing side salad will totally “wow” family and friends.
It pairs well with grilled chicken, salmon or burgers and is the perfect way to put that Spring and Summer produce to good use! Best of all, it can easily be made ahead of time and served cold for a low-fuss side dish any day of the week!
Featured Comment
“It turned out above fantastic. If there were more than five stars, I would use it. Thank you for the recipe. It was delicious. I still can’t believe it was healthy, too.” – Judy
For more asparagus salad recipes, be sure to check out this Asparagus Couscous Salad, Asparagus Kale Salad and Spring Mix Salad too!
Why We Love This Tasty Asparagus Salad with Avocado
- Loaded with fiber and prebiotics to enhance overall gut health
- Rich in healthy fats from the avocado and olive oil
- Great way to celebrate asparagus season
- Super simple salad with just a few ingredients
- Always gets rave reviews
- Light and refreshing option during warm weather
- Great side dish for a special dinner, potluck, and more!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Fresh asparagus: Be sure to wash the asparagus and remove the tough ends. Chop it into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
- Fresh tomatoes: Can use cherry or grape tomatoes. I love using tri-colored tomatoes for that extra pop of color.
- Avocado: Use a ripe but still slightly firm avocado. We don’t want one that’s brown and mushy. That’s never appealing…ever.
- Feta cheese: Can use light or full-fat feta cheese. Instead of feta, you can also experiment with bocconcini, goat cheese, grated parmesan cheese, or halloumi.
- Fresh basil leaves: These add an aromatic freshness. Technically optional, but highly recommended.
- Lemon vinaigrette: Whisk together Dijon mustard, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, honey, salt and black pepper. I like to keep the vinaigrette really bold to help wake up all those veggies. You can replace the lemon juice with white or red wine vinegar in a pinch.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Now the key to making this delicious salad is ensuring that the asparagus is cooked properly. There’s no room for mushy or overdone stringy asparagus in this salad!
How to Cook Asparagus for Salad
- To cook the asparagus, boil a large pot of water. Add the asparagus pieces to the water and boil for 2 minutes.
- Immediately drain and place the cooked asparagus in a bowl of ice water for several minutes to stop the cooking process.
Assemble the Asparagus Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Next, in a large bowl, toss together the blanched asparagus with the tomatoes, cubed avocado, feta and basil.
- Finally, we need to create the amazing flavorful lemon vinaigrette. Simply mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper.
- Pour that mouthwatering dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Expert Tips
- Be careful not to overcook the asparagus: It should be bright green and crisp; not dull, soft and mushy.
- Blanch asparagus: After boiling the asparagus, immediately place it in ice cold water. You can add ice cubes to the water to cool it down. This helps to stop the cooking process so the asparagus stays firm.
- Let it marinate: If you have time, let the salad marinate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavours to combine.
- Make ahead tips: If you’re making this salad ahead of time, for optimal freshness, add the avocado and basil right before serving.
Storage Guidelines
Store in the fridge tightly wrapped with saran wrap or in an airtight container for up to three days.
Recipe FAQ
To keep asparagus nice and crisp, shock it in an ice bath right after it’s finished boiling. Simply fill a bowl with cold water and ice cubes and immerse the asparagus in the ice bath for several minutes. This step will help to stop the cooking process and will keep the asparagus vibrant green, and tender yet crisp.
Yes! In fact, it’s incredibly refreshing to eat this asparagus salad straight out of the fridge since the asparagus will be cool and crisp.
Serving Suggestions
Another bonus is that this refreshing cold asparagus tomato salad pairs well with so many things and is perfect for Spring and Summer when asparagus is in season!
If you’re looking for some ideas, you could try serving it with grilled chicken (marinated in one of these healthy chicken marinades) or these Chicken Feta Burgers or Gluten-Free Turkey Burgers!
More Healthy Salad Recipes
- Greek Quinoa Salad
- Grilled Corn Avocado Salad
- Vegetarian Protein Pasta Salad
- Cucumber Noodle Salad
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Feta
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Cold Asparagus Tomato Salad with Avocado & Feta
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes in varied colors, halved
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup sliced fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add asparagus and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and place the asparagus into a bowl of ice water for several minutes.
- Next, combine the asparagus, tomatoes, avocado, feta cheese and basil in a large bowl. Toss until evenly distributed.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the asparagus mixture and toss to combine. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for later.
Notes
- Be careful not to overcook the asparagus: It should be bright green and crisp; not dull, soft and mushy.
- Blanch asparagus: After boiling the asparagus, immediately place it in ice cold water. You can add ice cubes to the water to cool it down. This helps to stop the cooking process so the asparagus stays firm.
- Let it marinate: If you have time, let the salad marinate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
- Make ahead tips: If you’re making this salad ahead of time, for optimal freshness, add the avocado and basil right before serving.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in April 2016 and was updated in May 2022 to include better tips and photos. The text and formatting were updated again in May 2025 to shorten the post length and make it more helpful for the reader.
Delicious. I’m going to keep this recipe for the rest of my life
That’s awesome Joe! So happy you found a keeper :) I appreciate the kind rating and review!
I had some asparagus and avocados that were perfectly ripe and would like any recipe using both. I wasn’t confident I would find anything good — not ingredients I normally put together. I was pleased to find your combination — and had all ingredients. It turned out above fantastic. If there were more than five stars, I would like to use it. Thank you for the recipe. It was delicious. I still can’t believe it was healthy, too.
Your comment made my day! I’m so happy you found a recipe with all of the ingredients you had on hand. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a kind review!
I added bocconcini minis instead of feta and added blanched green beans as well. My dressing was a little bitter so I put a couple of tsps of honey in it. Turned out great! Thank you for the recipe.
Love the substitutions! Happy to hear that it worked out with the bocconcini minis too! Thanks for stopping by to comment :)
I bet you could add some red onions and yellow squash to this. Parboil the squash with the asparagus? Thanks for the idea. Looks delicious.
Thanks Sharon — you could definitely add some red onions and yellow squash! I bet it would be delicious and so colourful! Let me know if you have a chance to try it out!
Delicious salad. I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes on this site. Thank you!
Thanks so much Paula! Glad you enjoyed it!
I will be making this salad for tomorrow nights dinner. I’m sure it will taste as good as it looks!!
Hope you enjoyed the salad Barb!
Looks great. A nice healthy salad, thanks for the idea
Thanks Keith! Hope you enjoy the salad :)