Grilled Asparagus Salad

This post has been compensated by Inmar Intelligence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SauceIntoSummer #SauceLikeYouMeanIt #TexasPete

Capture the best flavors of early summer with this grilled asparagus salad. Now get outside and get grilling!

This grilled asparagus salad highlights grilled chicken in a Texas Pete® Original Hot Sauce marinade, grilled asparagus, protein-packed hard-boiled eggs, arugula, and a honey mustard buffalo vinaigrette.

My favorite part of this salad is the marinade and dressing. It’s bold, flavorful, and fun just like Texas Pete® Original Hot Sauce.

Also a fanatic about Texas Pete®? That means you’re a member of “The Tribe!” You don’t need to spend tons of time in the kitchen to be part of the Texas Pete® Tribe. This salad comes together easily and will have you grilling in your backyard before you have time to pour yourself another glass of lemonade.

See that guy? That’s my husband Dan. He is a hot sauce fanatic, the grill-master of the house, and has been our chief grocery shopper the past few weeks. 

He was able to pick up Texas Pete® Original Hot Sauce during our normal trip to Wegmans, making it easy and convenient to keep us well-stocked with essentials like hot sauce. Wegmans also has curbside pickup and delivery options, and everything can be ordered through their app. See a glimpse of our real shopping list below and use the Texas Pete® Locator to find where you can stock up.

How to make this salad:

1. First, make the marinade and dressing. The initial combination will be used for the marinade, and then the olive oil is streamed in to create the dressing. This ensures that the marinade for the chicken and the salad dressing will taste fabulous together, and combines two tasks into one! 
2. Prepare and grill the chicken and the asparagus. Use a grill tray to ensure your asparagus doesn’t fall down into the grill.
3. Assemble the salad with arugula, seasoned eggs, asparagus, and chicken. Serve with dressing and extra hot sauce on the side.

Wow, it seems like a lot of instructions, right?

Here’s the thing. The way to take a salad from ho-hum to memorable is that every single ingredient needs to be well seasoned and cared for. That means there’s an instruction above for seasoning just the eggs. There’s an instruction for seasoning the asparagus. Every component of the salad gets individual attention, and that’s what makes this salad stand out from the rest.

Shopping for Asparagus

Whether you’re shopping at the grocery store or the farmer’s market, when picking out a bunch of asparagus look for firm and sturdy stalks with tightly closed buds on the end. Looking at the buds will tell you how fresh the asparagus is, because as the asparagus ages the buds will open and fall off. The more recently the asparagus has been trimmed also means the less time it will have had for the sugars to convert to starches, which is what makes the ends of asparagus stalks tough and woody.

Learn more about trimming asparagus in my recent recipe for sheet pan salmon with asparagus, potatoes, and honey mustard. 

How to Grill Asparagus

The charred flavor of grilled asparagus is one of the greatest signs that summer is on its way, and getting that wonderful flavor could not be easier. Simply season asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper then grill for 4-6 minutes over high heat until nicely charred. 

I use a grill tray when cooking asparagus to help prevent the stalks from falling through the grill grates. This was one of our best purchases last summer and has helped us grill lots of different vegetables, fish, and fruit without making a mess. One of my favorite grilled sides from last summer was this recipe for buttery grilled radishes.

When grilling asparagus, I tend to choose thicker stalks. The width of the stalk doesn’t have significance on the taste or health of the asparagus, but the variety and genetics of each plant are slightly different making for different sizes. 

The thicker stalks of asparagus can become watery if sauteed, but they are perfect for the grill. Their size also allows them to get nice and charred on the outside while still having a nice crunch on the inside.

More favorite asparagus recipes:

• Sheet Pan Salmon with Asparagus, Potatoes, and Honey Mustard
• Prosciutto, Fennel, and Asparagus Frittata
• Asparagus Frittata

Now fire up the grill, break out the tongs, and join the Texas Pete® Tribe!

Print Recipe

Grilled Asparagus Salad

This grilled asparagus salad highlights grilled chicken in a Texas Pete® Original Hot Sauce marinade, protein-packed hard-boiled eggs, arugula, and a honey mustard buffalo vinaigrette.

Prep Time25 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: grilled, salad, summer

Servings: 4 people

Author: Sarah

Ingredients

Dressing

• ⅓ cup lemon juice from about 3 large lemons
• 2 tablespoons Texas Pete® Original Hot Sauce
• 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt separated
• 1 teaspoon black pepper separated
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil separated

Salad

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 pound asparagus trimmed
• 5 cups arugula
• 8 eggs hard-boiled, cooled, and peeled

Instructions

Make the marinade

• Whisk together lemon juice, hot sauce, Dijon mustard, honey, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper, in a small bowl until combined. Place ½ cup of the marinade in a large bowl or baking dish and add the chicken breasts. Use tongs to flip the chicken breasts until each is coated in the marinade. Place in the refrigerator until ready to grill.

Make the dressing

• With the remaining marinade, gently stream in ½ cup olive oil while whisking vigorously until smooth and creamy to create the salad dressing. Set aside until ready to serve.

Prepare the asparagus

• On a sheet tray or on a large plate, toss asparagus with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.

Grill

• Preheat grill to medium-high heat with a grill tray over half of the grill.
• Place the chicken breasts directly on the grill grate and cook for 6 minutes, flip, and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, until fully cooked. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then slice.
• While the chicken is cooking, spread the asparagus on the grill tray and cook for 4-6 minutes until well charred. When the asparagus is cooked, cut it into 2-inch long pieces.

Assemble

• Cut the hard-boiled eggs in half and season the cut sides with salt and pepper.
• Assemble the salad with arugula, eggs, asparagus, and sliced chicken.
• Drizzle the salad with the dressing, to taste, and toss to coat and sprinkle with additional Texas Pete Texas Pete® Original Hot Sauce. Store any remaining dressing for another use.