Easter Salad Recipe
Lightly cooked seasonal vegetables and deviled egg salad dressing make this Spring Salad a vibrant part of your Easter menu. Prosciutto and shaved cheese puts it over the top in the best way.
Spring Salad for Easter
This Easter Salad is probably unlike most of the other ones you’ve found on the internet, for all the best reasons.
First of all, this one has a deviled egg salad dressing. And yes, it’s just as good as it sounds, incorporating hard-boiled egg yolks with mustard, a bit of horseradish, paprika and olive oil to create a creamy, tangy dressing.
You also may have also noticed that there’s no lettuce in this salad! It’s not traditional, but using simply a mixture of crisp snap peas, lightly cooked asparagus and parsley keeps this salad crunchy, refreshing, and the perfect thing to have a scoop of on a plate filled with ham and cheesy potatoes.
Oh, and there’s also prosciutto. That may be gilding the lily when there’s already ham on the table, but who’s gonna say no to a bit of prosciutto?
Why you’ll love this Spring Salad Recipe
- The seasonal appeal of deviled egg salad dressing for Easter can’t be beat! This is a great use for dyed Easter eggs if you have them.
- It’s visually stunning when composed on a large platter. It might end up being the star of your holiday table.
- The fresh and vibrant ingredients provide a crisp counterpoint to some of the heavier dishes on the Easter table, like meat and creamy casseroles.
“I made this today for a brunch and we all loved it! To make the salad stretch farther, I assembled it on top of a bed of arugula. It was fantastic!”
—Angie
Easter Salad Recipe ingredients
- asparagus – you’ll need one bunch of fresh asparagus. Trim the woody ends before you start.
- parsley – about 1 cup of fresh parsley leaves will do it for this Spring salad recipe.
- snap peas – you will need a half pound (8 ounces) of fresh sugar snap peas.
- shallot – one small shallot, which you’ll peel and cut into rings.
- hard boiled eggs – you’ll use hard boiled egg yolks to make the deviled egg dressing, and you might as well slice up the whites and put them in the salad, too!
- prosciutto – you will need 2 ounces of thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into bite-sizes pieces for this Easter salad recipe.
- Pecorino Romano cheese – you can’t beat the sharp bite of this special cheese, although if you cannot find it, high quality shaved Parmesan cheese is a fine substitute.
- lemon zest – some ribbons of fresh lemon zest add a nice brightness to this salad.
- red wine vinegar – this adds acid and brightness to the dressing. Feel free to substitute white wine vinegar instead.
- horseradish – the prepared kind, from a jar.
- Dijon mustard – this adds another little kick of subtle spiciness to the dressing for this Spring salad.
- honey – adds sweetness and helps to emulsify the dressing.
- sugar – also adds sweetness to help balance the bite of the horseradish and mustard.
- paprika – what’s a deviled egg without a little bit of paprika sprinkled on top? I included it in the dressing for this salad for Easter, too.
- salt and pepper – seasons the dressing.
- olive oil – choose a high quality oil since it will be the backbone of the dressing.
How to make Spring Salad
1. DRESSING. In a food processor with the knife blade attachment, puree the egg yolks, water, honey, vinegar, mustard, horseradish, sugar, paprika, salt and pepper, then drizzle in the oil while the processor is running.
2. ASPARAGUS. Blanch the asparagus by dropping it into a pot of boiling water for just a minute or two, or until the asparagus is just tender. Then, immediately transfer it to an ice bath.
3. PEAS. Repeat the boiling and ice bath procedure for the snap peas.
4. CHOP. Remove the vegetables from the ice water and pat them dry. Cut the asparagus stalks crosswise into thirds. If desired, gently open snap peas to expose their insides (this is pretty but not required).
5. PLATE. On a large platter, gently toss together shallot, lemon zest, parsley, asparagus and snap peas. Top with the cheese, prosciutto and egg whites. Serve drizzled with the dressing, or serve dressing on the side.
Home Chef Tips for Easter Salad
- My favorite kitchen gadget for perfect hard boiled eggs is the Cuisinart egg cooker (affiliate link). It makes perfect hard boiled and soft boiled eggs EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I cannot recommend it enough!
- Add extra herbs if you have them! A little bit of dill, mint or chives would add even more layers of flavor to this fresh side dish.
- To save time on Easter day, prep as much of your salad in advance as possible. See “Storing Spring Salad” below for more info on this.
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How to serve this Salad for Easter
While this Spring salad is great as part of an Easter menu, it can be a part of any Spring or early summer celebration, including Mother’s Day and baby and bridal showers.
It can also be eaten on its own as a light meal.
What is a traditional Easter meal?
Traditional Easter meals can vary widely depending on culture and region. I’ve included some of my favorite appetizers, entrees and sides for Easter below. Choose 1 -2 from each category to round out your meal.
Storing Spring Salad
Once the salad is drizzled or tossed with dressing, it doesn’t store that well. But, if you have any leftovers of the composed salad that aren’t yet dressed, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a day. Store the remaining dressing in a separate covered container in the fridge.
Let’s also talk about prepping elements of this Spring salad recipe in advance, and storing them that way. Here’s how I do it:
- The parsley can be washed and kept in the refrigerator up to 3 days in advance for this salad recipe for Easter.
- The eggs can be boiled and the dressing can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
- The asparagus and snap peas be blanched, ice bathed, patted dry and stored in the refrigerator in zip top bags up to 1 day in advance.
- The cheese for this salad for Easter dinner can be shaved up to 1 day in advance and kept in the fridge.
- The shallot can be sliced up to 1 day in advance and kept in the fridge.
On the day of the big feast, simply assemble all of your ready-to-go ingredients for this Easter salad and serve!
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Salad for Easter
Ingredients
For the Deviled Egg Dressing:
- 4 hard-boiled egg yolks save the whites for the salad
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- Pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup olive oil
For the Salad:
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 8 ounces snap peas
- 1 small shallot thinly sliced
- Zest of 1 lemon grated or thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
- 2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese shaved
- 2 ounces prosciutto torn into bite-sized pieces
- 4 hard-boiled egg whites sliced
Instructions
Make the Deviled Egg Dressing:
- In food processor fitted with knife blade attachment, puree egg yolks, water, honey, vinegar, mustard, horseradish, sugar, paprika and salt and pepper until well combined. With processor running, slowly drizzle in oil until all oil is incorporated. Makes about 3/4 cup dressing.
Make the Salad:
- Heat large pot of salted water to boiling over high heat. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and place it next to the stove.
- Drop asparagus into boiling water and cook 1 to 3 minutes or until asparagus is just tender when pierced with a paring knife. Using tongs, transfer asparagus to ice water.
- Repeat process with snap peas (these should take 1 to 2 minutes to become tender).
- Remove vegetables from ice water and place in clean kitchen towel to pat dry. Cut asparagus stalks crosswise into thirds. If desired, gently open snap peas to expose their insides (this is pretty but not required).
- On large platter, gently toss together shallot, lemon zest, parsley, asparagus and snap peas. Top with cheese, prosciutto and egg whites. Serve drizzled with dressing, or serve dressing on the side.
Notes
- My favorite kitchen gadget for perfect hard boiled eggs is the Cuisinart egg cooker (affiliate link). It makes perfect hard boiled and soft boiled eggs EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I cannot recommend it enough!
- Add extra herbs if you have them! A little bit of dill, mint or chives would add even more layers of flavor to this fresh side dish.
- To save time on Easter day, prep as much of your salad in advance as possible. See “Storing Spring Salad” below for more info on this.
I made this today for a brunch and we all loved it! To make the salad stretch farther, I assembled it on top of a bed of arugula. I also left off the prosciutto since we had ham in the meal already. And I dislike horseradish so I left that out of the dressing. I had to add in a few extra splashes of the vinegar to offset and balance the flavors due to my omission, but otherwise it was fantastic!
I’m so glad everybody loved it, Angie. Love the arugula idea!
This salad looks so good to me but my husband isn’t a fan of parsley. I’m usually good at making my own substitutions, but I have to admit the flavor combos here are throwing me off! Any other herb/ or lettuce suggestions here? I love mint, but I’m not sure how that would pair with the dressing. We also like arugula but perhaps that would make this too peppery?
Hi Theresa! I think dill or basil would work really well in place of the parsley. Another choice would be arugula. I don’t think it will be too peppery, no. Enjoy!
Could you substitute spinich or romaine or arugula for the parsley?
Hi Sadie – If there’s any other herbs you might like, like dill or basil, I would recommend that. If not, a handful of arugula will work!
Something seems to be wrong with the “print” button. The instructions do not print, only the ingredients and the nutrition information.
Hi Dianne – You are absolutely right, something is broken here. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention; I had no idea! I’ll have my team fix this ASAP.
Should be fixed now 🙂
Thank you! Can’t wait to try this salad, it looks yummy!
HI Hannah! While some of it will definitely depend on how strong the horseradish you use it, this dressing is NOT at all runny nose level 🙂 In fact, I made it, tasted it, and then actually had to add extra horseradish before getting to the final recipe. There’s still just a little hint of it, jut the way I like it.
I’ve never used horseradish in a salad dressing, how “spicy” is this one? Is it like runny nose level, or just enough to make you say, “Hey what’s in that?”
Also, cool salad tongs. I like using my fancy salad bowls and random serving pottery as often as possible.
Awesome, Ice! I have a string of pearls my grandma gave me, and I definitely don’t save them for just special occasions – otherwise I feel like I’d never wear them.
I don’t get bottled dressings, either. I was just leaving that same comment on another blog. Homemade is so much easier!
After reading this post I decided to wear my mother’s pearls today while I am cooking for a couple of friends coming over today… and I look fabulous as I wash the dishes.. 🙂
The salad looks great. I never understand people who buy bottled salad dressings when it is so easy to make.
What a great salad! We have a friend that brings deviled eggs to our 4th of July celebration every year…and Bill dives right in. I need to make him this yummy dish! PS Are those from Michael Aram? I covet his stuff!!!
Oh, I think Bill would love this, then! And the vegetables are totally open to whatever he likes. The dressing could even be used on grilled vegetables or something.
They ARE Michael Aram, nice eye!
You ARE special every day, Jennie. And I love that way of thinking! Life’s too short to save things for special occasions!
This is such a creative salad. I love that dressing. I never save any of my dishes for “special.” I even use my antiques. I figure I’m special every day 🙂