Need the perfect healthy, gluten-free summer side dish? This asparagus, tomato, and feta salad is chock full of colorful vegetables and toasted walnuts and is an impressive dish to take to BBQs, potlucks, Memorial Day, 4th of July celebrations any summer gathering! ⟹
With Memorial Day approaching quickly, I’m starting to see lots of recipes for cookouts, 4th of July, and summer parties.
And while the cute creative red, white, and blue patriotic sweets are usually the “star” of the meal, how about a showy salad as a healthy option to balance all of those desserts? If you’re searching for a side dish for your Memorial Day menu, I’m sharing this simple and delicious asparagus salad recipe that compliments almost any summer meal!
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What’s in Balsamic Asparagus, Tomato, and Feta Salad?
Aside from the ingredients in the name of this beautiful salad…asparagus, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette, there are lots of options!
For this recipe I’ve also included these ingredients to amp up the colors, flavors, and texture:
- Cucumbers
- Sweet mini peppers
- Red onion
- Black olives
- Toasted walnuts
Or here are even more ingredient ideas:
- Carrots
- Radishes
- Chickpeas
- Goat cheese instead of feta
- Add protein like chicken for a meal
It’s so versatile…just add or omit any of these or come up with some of your own!
Ingredients for the balsamic vinaigrette.
I might have cheated on this step since I love shortcuts and used a ready-made balsamic glaze, but I’m glad I didn’t because this vinaigrette with balsamic reduction and a little sweetness added tastes amazing! My friend and hostess for the gathering I’m taking this to is extremely sensitive to gluten and sometimes balsamic glazes have something in them that makes her sick. So with that in mind, I went homemade on the vinaigrette and all of these ingredients were gluten free approved:
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- Honey
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
See the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and directions.
How to make this yummy Balsamic Asparagus, Tomato, and Feta Salad recipe.
Assembling this salad is easy and I was able to multitask the following steps and chop veggies while the oven was preheating for the walnuts, and make the vinaigrette while waiting for the water to boil.
- Chop and toast the walnuts: Coarsely chop the walnuts and toast them in a 375 degree oven for 5-6 minutes.
- Prep the veggies: Wash, slice, and chop all of your veggies.
- Cook the asparagus: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp tender, about 4 or 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus.
- Cool the asparagus: While the asparagus is cooking, fill a large mixing bowl with water and ice. When the asparagus is done, submerge it in the ice bath for ten seconds to stop the cooking and maintain its bright green color.
- Make the vinaigrette: Reduce the balsamic vinegar by boiling it down by half for about 3 minutes and then whisk it and the rest of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a bowl.
- Put together the salad ingredients: Layer or combine all of the ingredients for the salad in a bowl or on a platter. Since I was taking mine to a party, I wanted a pretty presentation so I arranged the asparagus tips around the rim of a white serving platter. Then I layered on the different colorful ingredients and finished with the feta. I topped it with a little special touch for Memorial Day…some cucumber stars! It only took a minute to punch out these cute stars from the cucumber slices with a star cookie cutter.
7. Add the vinaigrette: To finish it off I drizzled the balsamic vinaigrette over it all. If you put it on early, it will soak in a bit, but it is still tasty! But if you’d really like to be able to see it, wait until your gathering starts. (When everyone started making their plates, I did toss the salad a bit with the serving utensils to mix everything.)
Although this salad is perfect for summer, it’s also popular in the spring when asparagus is in season. If you need a couple of other recipe ideas for summer gatherings, check out my Summer in a Cup cocktail and my cold No Bake Eclair Cake dessert!
So let’s make this delicious Asparagus, Tomato, and Feta Salad!
Fourth of July Strawberry Cheesecake Mason Jar Dessert
Looking for an easy Fourth of July dessert? This yummy strawberry cheesecake checks all the boxes for the perfect patriotic dessert…no-bake, super simple, red, white, and blue, and its presentation is sure to impress!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons softened butter
Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz softened cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
Strawberry Layer
- Strawberry sauce (recipe below) or strawberry pie filling or strawberry dessert topping
- 1 cup sliced strawberries (to mix in sauce)
- 2-3 strawberries sliced (for garnishing)
- handful of blueberries
Strawberry Sauce (if making homemade)
- 1 pint strawberries
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
The Crust Layer
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and softened butter well in a mixing bowl until it’s all moistened with the butter. (You can make graham cracker crumbs in the blender or food processor)
Divide the mixture evenly between the jars (about 4 tablespoons each) and slightly press down with the end of your fingers.
The Cheesecake Layer
Combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, whipping cream, and vanilla in another bowl and mix with a hand mixer until it’s light and fluffy.
Spoon the cheesecake filling evenly into the jars on top of the graham cracker crust layer.
The Strawberry Sauce Layer
Core and slice a cup of strawberries. Slice 2-3 more strawberries and set aside for garnish.
Stir the sliced strawberries into the strawberry sauce (if making homemade see below) and top each cheesecake layer with the desired amount.
Garnish with strawberry slices and blueberries.
OPTIONAL Homemade Strawberry Sauce (skip if using ready made)
Core and cut in half a pint of strawberries.
In a saucepan, heat the halved strawberries, sugar, lemon juice (optional), and vanilla until juice begins to form. Mash a few of the strawberries with a wooden spoon and simmer until the sauce thickens.
Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Then transfer it back to the saucepan.
To thicken it further, make a cornstarch slurry of one tablespoon of cornstarch and two tablespoons of water. Slowly stir it into the sauce until it thickens.
Let the sauce cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the sliced strawberries and top the cheesecakes with the mixture and garnish like above.
Enjoy and let me know what you think and how you customized it!
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Pin this to your recipe and salad boards to refer to later:
Not sure what happened, but I see the 4th of July mason jar cheesecake recipe on this page instead of the asparagus tomato salad. Is it possible to send the salad recipe via email? Thanks!
I will email it to you right away Audra! Can you tell me where you were linking from when you ended up in the wrong recipe? I’d love to get that fixed. Was it maybe Hometalk or my email?
Your friend might want to talk to a wine expert about the problem with her gluten illness. Good vinegar Balsamic is aged in oak barrels, that formerly contained wine during it’s first fermenting stage. It can be in those barrels for 50+ years aging itself. During that time any remaining yeast from the wine it followed. A balsamic reduction concentrates the the vinegar since you’re evaporating the water from it to obtain it. Not many people realize yeast doesn’t get all of its energy from sugar. That just enables us to test it. it grows on flour too,, but more slowly, in a controlled fashion. A wheat flour may have been the substrate for the yeast used for the wine.. That would cause her a nasty reaction. In a Celiac Disease patient, it definitely. She should get a full spectrum allergy testing, as well. Where 1 major problem exists, more may be lurking. Food allergies are often found in groups. They would test for all grains and seeds, to determine which ones are most problematic, then if there are other allergies, she’ll know about them. They might be able to offer some treatment options or meal planning help.
Now about your salad. It sounds great. It contains all of my favorite ingredients and the dressing sounds unique and different using reduction instead o straight vinegar balsamic. I’ve put it on my list of salads to try..
Thanks for all the good info MaryAnn! I’ll make sure my friend sees it. Although she’s so highly allergic she has done extensive research and testing. She’s mostly gun shy about dishes with balsamic in restaurants because it’s usually a glaze. I get it, I’m highly allergic to avocados which is sad so I avoid them like the plague. I hope you enjoy the salad!!
What are the stars?
Hi Cathy! They are cucumber slices that I punched stars out of with a small cookie cutter.