Roasted Sugar Snap Pea and Asparagus Salad is a bright and lively roasted vegetable salad tossed in a citrus vinaigrette that starts in the oven. An easy and healthy side dish recipe you can throw together in about 15 minutes.
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You’re going to love this
Easy weeknight side dish. You can whip up this easy roasted pea and asparagus salad in about 15 minutes, thanks to quick-roasting your veggies in the broiler.
Use your favorite veggies. This recipe is a great formula for any fresh veggies you have in your fridge. The inspiration for this recipe came when my crisper was overrun with… well, peas and asparagus. But when you’ve got green beans coming out your ears, or broccoli, or Brussels sprouts, or carrots — anything! Just toss them under the broiler and turn them every 5 minutes.
Roasted veggie salad. Roasted vegetables have waaay more flavor than raw, in my opinion— especially when they’re slightly charred (not burnt), but still have a crunchy texture. And my secret to achieving this is the broiler. This pea and asparagus salad is perfect for the broiler because both peas and asparagus cook quickly under the broiler, get nice and crispy brown in places, yet still maintain their toothsome crunch.
Sugar snap peas. Raw sugar snap peas will always remind me of eating peas straight out of the garden. So I certainly have an appreciation for that flavor. But, roasting peas for this salad softens the pods just a tad and brings out a level of sweetness you just can’t get in raw peas.
Roasted asparagus. Roasted asparagus is a simple and delicious side dish all on its own. But when it’s tossed in a salad with sweet peas, raw radishes, an insanely flavorful citrus dressing, then sprinkled with feta, green onions, and slivered almonds, it elevates plain ol’ roasted asparagus to another level.
Citrus vinaigrette. This pea and asparagus salad gets brightened up with a delicious citrus vinaigrette that gets started under the broiler. No kidding! You actually broil the lemons and garlic until they’re both soft, then add them to the vinaigrette. You’ll get 10X the juice from your lemon this way and turn a regular clove of garlic into a sweet little morsel in just a matter of minutes.
Ingredient Notes
Asparagus
When you bring your asparagus home, place it upright in a glass of water so the stalks are submerged, then store it in the refrigerator. This will keep your asparagus nice and fresh until you’re ready to make your pea and asparagus salad.
Preparing asparagus is as simple as just snapping the ends off wherever it wants to break. It’s an oddly soothing meditative process if you let your mind zone out. Kids can help with this, too, since there are no sharp objects involved with this step.
If you want to keep the stalks that you snapped off, just throw them in the freezer. You can use them later for soups or even asparagus pesto.
Sugar snap peas
Depending on where you buy your sugar snap peas, you may need to remove the stringy seam from each side of the pod. The ones sold in a “steamer” bag have usually already been cleaned. To prepare your sugar snap peas for this salad, just snap the end of the pod off with your finger, pull one seam off and then the other.
How to make Roasted Pea and Asparagus Salad
Turn on the broiler and spray two sheet pans with cooking spray. Let the broiler preheat for about 5 minutes.
Zest a lemon into a small bowl and cut it in half.
If the sugar snap peas have strings, remove them by snapping off the end of the pod and pulling the string from the top and bottom of the pod. Cut the peas in half, diagonally.
Snap the ends off of the asparagus and cut it into 1” pieces.
Place the peas, unpeeled clove of garlic, and both lemon halves onto a sheet pan. Salt the peas. Do not add pepper before you broil vegetables or it can burn. Place the sheet pan under the broiler and broil for 10 minutes, turning the peas with a spatula half-way through so they brown evenly.
While the peas are still in the oven, place the asparagus on the second sheet pan, salt the asparagus, and broil for 5 minutes, turning them with a spatula half-way through. The peas will broil for a total of about 10 minutes and the asparagus will broil for about 5 minutes.
Remove the peas and asparagus from the oven when they start to get brown and crispy in places, yet still fork-tender.
Make the citrus vinaigrette. Once the lemon is cool enough to handle, strain the juice into the bowl with the lemon zest. Remove the peel from the garlic, smash it with the side of your knife, finely chop it, and add it to the bowl. Add the Dijon, honey, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth.
Add the peas, asparagus, sliced radishes, and citrus vinaigrette to a bowl and gently toss everything together. To serve your pea and asparagus salad, top it with sliced green onions, feta cheese, and slivered almonds.
Zest lemon into small bowl and cut it in half. 
Place lemon, garlic, and peas on sheet pan. Broil 5 minutes. 
Place the asparagus on sheet pan. Broil 5 minutes. 
Remove peas when they are still fork-tender. 
Remove asparagus when it is just starting to brown. 
Make the dressing. Strain the lemons, peel and chop the garlic, add Dijon, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. 
Whisk until smooth. 
Toss peas, asparagus, sliced radishes, and dressing together. Top pea and asparagus salad with feta, green onions, and almonds.
Roasted Pea and Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 pound asparagus, ends snapped off
- 1 pound sugar snap peas, sliced diagonally
- 4-6 radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 2 tablespoons feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Citrus Vinaigrette
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Turn on the broiler and spray two sheet pans with cooking spray. Let the broiler preheat for about 5 minutes.
- Zest a lemon into a small bowl and cut it in half.
- If the sugar snap peas have strings, remove them by snapping off the end of the pod and pulling the string from the top and bottom of the pod. Cut the peas in half, diagonally.
- Snap the ends off of the asparagus and cut it into 1” pieces.
- Place the peas, unpeeled clove of garlic, and both lemon halves onto a sheet pan. Salt the peas. Do not add pepper before you broil vegetables or it can burn. Place the sheet pan under the broiler and broil for 10 minutes, turning the peas with a spatula half-way through so they brown evenly.
- While the peas are still in the oven, place the asparagus on the second sheet pan, salt the asparagus, and broil for 5 minutes, turning them with a spatula half-way through. The peas will broil for a total of about 10 minutes and the asparagus will broil for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the peas and asparagus from the oven when they start to get brown and crispy in places, yet are still fork-tender.
- Make the citrus vinaigrette. Once the lemon is cool enough to handle, strain the juice into the bowl with the lemon zest. Remove the peel from the garlic, smash it with the side of your knife, finely chop it, and add it to the bowl. Add the Dijon, honey, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the peas, asparagus, sliced radishes, and citrus vinaigrette to a bowl and gently toss everything together. To serve your pea and asparagus salad, top it with sliced green onions, feta cheese, and slivered almonds.
Nutrition
I prefer to broil my vegetables because it’s faster than roasting. In this recipe, the roasted asparagus turns the right amount of brown while still staying al dente after just 5 minutes. And the peas get nice and crisp-tender in about 10 minutes.
(Note: these instructions are for broiling vegetables in an electric oven.)
First, position your oven rack so it is about 4-5 inches under your broiler. Turn the broiler on (If you have a choice between high or low, choose high) and let it preheat for about 5 minutes.
The first trick to getting evenly roasted peas, asparagus, and other vegetables under the broiler is cutting them relatively small and in consistent sizes. Because the broiler is so hot, if you cut a carrot, for example, into large pieces, you run the risk of browning them before they’re fully cooked on the inside. And consistent sizes will ensure each veggie is as brown and delicious as the next one.
The next step, which I admit I don’t always do, is to line a baking sheet with foil. This will help make sure nothing sticks to the pan and makes clean-up easier. Then coat the pan — and the vegetables you’re roasting — with a layer of oil and add salt. Pepper can quickly burn, as can other herbs and seasonings, so wait until after your veggies are broiled to add those.
Spread your peas and asparagus evenly on the pan in a single layer, giving each one plenty of space. Because vegetables contain so much water, if you crowd your pan, they’ll just end up steaming and you won’t get the brown crispiness you’re going for.
During the broiling process, check on and turn your vegetables every five minutes. For asparagus, or any other vegetable with a short cooking time, turn them half-way through cooking. Keeping your eye on the clock every few minutes will also help you catch them before they burn. Because once they start turning brown, they can escalate to charred pretty quickly. And if you roast your asparagus for too long, it will get mushy.
Hungry for More Salad Ideas?
Roasted Asparagus Salad with Crispy Turnips and Warm Ham Vinaigrette
Recipe Essentials
Nordic Ware Baking Sheets
My baking pans used to look as shiny as the ones below, but since I use mine all the time, they look like you see in the pics above. They're super durable, great quality, and I would buy them again.
OXO Whisk
This whisk is great for everything from making citrus vinaigrette for pea and asparagus salads :), to plowing through thick pancake batter. It's the one I use for every.thing.
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