Spring Salad with Beets, Asparagus, and Watermelon Radish
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Welcome the season with this vibrant and refreshing spring salad recipe! A delightful dish featuring a colorful medley of crisp salad greens, sweet gold beets, tender asparagus, and striking watermelon radish. Protein-rich boiled eggs and fresh herbs elevate the flavors, creating a perfect balance of textures and tastes.
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Ideal for a light lunch or a stunning side dish, this spring salad is a healthy and appealing way to enjoy seasonal produce. Discover how to create this easy and elegant salad, perfect for spring gatherings like Easter and everyday meals.
What to Love About a Spring Salad
Hello, spring! The air is buzzing with new life, and our tastebuds are craving all things bright, beautiful, and fresh after a long winter of cozy comfort food.
We’re exchanging heavy casseroles for the vibrant bounty of the season with a salad that’s as beautiful as it is delicious.
Imagine tender greens mingling with sweet, earthy gold beets, crisp asparagus spears, and the stunning pink swirls of watermelon radish, all punctuated by the fresh bite of herbs and the creamy richness of perfectly boiled eggs.
This isn’t just a salad; it’s a celebration of spring, a symphony of textures and flavors that will leave you feeling energized and ready to bloom!
Happy spring, dear friend!
Ingredients for Your Spring Salad
This vibrant, healthy spring salad with boiled eggs and fresh herbs is simple for every day or special enough for spring gatherings, brunch season, and Mother’s Day!
Here’s what you need to make this light spring salad.
- Spring greens: Choose your favorite greens like arugula, spinach, and all kinds of lettuce greens.
- Gold beets: Bring a vibrant spring shade to this seasonal salad recipe!
- Radishes: The pink hues of the watermelon radish bring a pop of spring color to the greens. You can also use Daikon radish as an alternative.
- Asparagus: While I love medium size asparagus for spring, thin asparagus works exceptionally well in a salad.
- Carrot ribbons: Easily made using a vegetable peeler
- Boiled eggs, halved.
- Fresh herbs like basil, mint, dill, or thyme
- Optional: edible blossoms like nasturtium, calendula, edible varieties of violets, or chive flowers add a beautiful visual to this delightful spring salad.
The recipe card below also includes an easy and delicious spring salad dressing. To make it, you will need a small, finely minced shallot, fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and extra virgin olive oil.
How to Make a Spring Salad
Place washed salad greens in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, and add 1-2 tablespoons of vinaigrette. Toss together.
Arrange the tossed greens into a serving bowl or divide them among individual serving plates. Scatter the beets, radishes, and carrot ribbons over the greens. Arrange asparagus spears over the top and place halved boiled eggs. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle more vinaigrette over the top.
Top with fresh herbs and edible blossoms.
How to Prepare Spring Vegetables
This spring salad with beets takes mere minutes to create! Here’s how to prepare the spring vegetables for this easy salad.
Gold Beets: Using a steamer basket nestled into a saucepan, clean and trim the beets, removing any hard tops and edges. Bring the water in the saucepan to a boil, lower the steamer basket into the simmering water, cover, and cook until softened. A fork or a knife inserted in the middle is a great way to test softness. Depending on the size of the beets, it should take about 15 min. Let them cool enough to handle, and gently remove the skin with a paper towel. Let cool and cut into wedges.
Asparagus: Trim the tough ends, then add the asparagus to a small skillet with 1 inch of salted water. Simmer for 1-3 minutes or until softened. Remove from the skillet and let cool.
Carrots: Using a vegetable peeler, peel carrot ribbons and set aside for the salad.
Tips for the Perfect Spring Salad Dressing
A homemade vinaigrette salad dressing is one of the easiest personal touches you can add to an already delicious and vibrant salad. Here are a few tips to consider when making this lemon vinaigrette:
- Add oil slowly: If you add the olive oil too quickly, the vinaigrette can separate or become too thick. Drizzle it slowly while whisking vigorously to emulsify the salad dressing.
- Remember the emulsifier: For the best salad dressing, an emulsifier, like Dijon mustard or honey, helps bind the oil together and prevent separation.
- Use room temperature ingredients: Using cold ingredients, specifically olive oil, it makes it more difficult to emulsify the dressing.
Variations
This spring salad recipe was inspired by a walk through my market’s produce section last weekend. It’s brimming with bright seasonal produce, colors, textures, and flavors. While I’ve written this recipe using what I found early in the season, I encourage you to take a walk down your isles and create a beautiful masterpiece with the vegetables and greens that catch your eye.
More Spring Recipes To Try Next
- Spring Minestrone Soup Recipe is a delicious and bright variation of the traditional Italian soup!
- When thinking about spring, asparagus is often top of mind. This Roasted Asparagus with Dill Yogurt Sauce is a delicious side dish ready in minutes.
- For a delicious variation of this spring salad recipe, try our Asparagus Salad with Peas and Goat Cheese this season!
- Take your spring tea with Lemon Biscotti with Almond and Vanilla, an easy to make sweet treat that’s filled with bright spring flavors.
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear your comments and consider giving it a 5-star rating. Explore the recipe index for more easy, delicious ideas, and stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube!
Spring Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Lemon Vinaigrette
- 1 small shallot minced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup lemon juice and zest (about 1 tsp)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 6 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
Spring Salad
- 3 medium gold beets steamed and cut into wedges
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 4 cups salad greens like spinach, arugula and lettuce
- 1 watermelon radish thinly sliced
- 1 bunch thin asparagus trimmed and blanched for 1 minute
- 1 small carrot peeled into ribbons
- 4 eggs boiled for 7-8 minutes and halved
- fresh herbs like basil, mint, dill, or thyme
- Optional: edible blossoms like nasturtium, calendula, edible varieties of violets, or chive flowers
Instructions
Lemon Vinaigrette
- Add the minced shallot to a small bowl. Pour in the lemon juice, mustard, and a pinch of salt. Whisk until the salt is dissolved, then whisk in the olive oil. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spring Salad
- Steam the beats, parboil the asparagus, and boil the eggs for 6-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Place washed salad greens in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, and add 1-2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss together.
- Arrange the tossed greens into a serving bowl or divide them among individual serving plates. Scatter the beets, radishes, and carrot ribbons over the greens. Arrange asparagus spears over the top and place halved boiled eggs. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle more vinaigrette over the top.
- Top with fresh herbs and edible blossoms.
Notes
- Salad greens: Use a spring mix of greens like arugula, spinach, and lettuce.
- Gold Beets: Using a steamer basket nestled into a saucepan, clean and trim the beets, removing any hard tops and edges. Bring the water in the saucepan to a boil, lower the steamer basket into the simmering water, cover, and cook until softened. A fork or a knife inserted in the middle is a great way to test softness. Depending on the size of the beets, it should take about 15 min. Let them cool enough to handle, and gently remove the skin with a paper towel. Let cool and cut into wedges.
- Carrots: Using a vegetable peeler, peel carrot ribbons and set aside for the salad.
- Asparagus: Trim the tough ends, then add the asparagus to a small skillet with 1 inch of salted water. Simmer for 1-3 minutes or until softened. Remove from the skillet and let cool.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.