A delicious potato asparagus salad with ham, hard-boiled eggs, chives, and a simple vinaigrette. You can serve the asparagus salad slightly warm or cold; it is excellent no matter what.
This simple potato asparagus salad is perfect for celebrating the short asparagus season and spring in general.
We’ve been making it every spring for about ten years now, and we love it every time: it’s filling and comforting, flavorful, and perfect for a weeknight meal, for brunch, grilling, or for taking to a potluck.
Check out more of our favorite potato salads, for instance, Deviled Egg Potato Salad, Potato Salad without Mayonnaise, Romanian Oriental Salad, or this traditional German Potato Salad with vinaigrette dressing.
Recipe ingredients
- Fresh asparagus: Look for long, thin, snappy, vivid green spears. You will need about 1 lb/ 450 g, usually sold in a bunch.
- New or baby potatoes: If you can’t find any, use regular potatoes chopped into cubes after boiling them. Fingerling potatoes are also a great choice.
- Eggs: Three hard-boiled eggs.
- Ham: Cooked ham. I recommend buying a thick slice and chopping it yourself into regular small cubes rather than buying thinly sliced ham.
- You can still make the salad if all you have is sliced ham, but the cubes will not look that pretty.
- Fresh chives. Frozen ones are also ok, but don’t use dried chives; they are pointless in terms of flavor. You can also use fresh dill, parsley, or basil.
- Oil: I prefer neutral-tasting oil instead of olive oil when making salads containing potatoes. However, mild olive oil should also be ok (See Expert Tips).
- Vinegar: White balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Other ingredients: A little bit of butter for cooking the asparagus, Dijon mustard, fine sea salt or kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
How to make asparagus potato salad?
- Asparagus: Clean and cook the spears in a large saucepan for 3-5 minutes until slightly tender but still al dente (1). The cook time depends on their thickness. Drain and dry the stalks with a kitchen towel.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients (2) and use half of the balsamic dressing to marinate the asparagus for about 30 minutes (3).
- Potatoes: During this time, boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water.
- Eggs: Place them in a small pot, cover them with cold water, and bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 12-13 minutes. That's the easiest way of getting perfect hard-boiled eggs.
- Chop and combine all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, then toss them with the remaining dressing. Adjust the taste (4,5).
How to serve the salad?
Serve the potato asparagus salad immediately while it’s still slightly warm, or refrigerate it until ready to serve. Ensure you bring it to room temperature before serving; about 30 minutes should be enough.
Adjust the taste again before serving. While the asparagus potato salad stands, the potatoes will absorb most of the dressing, so I always stir in at least another tablespoon of oil and more vinegar, salt, and pepper before serving.
Expert Tips
- Oil: Don’t use any strong-tasting oil. I prefer neutral-tasting oil like avocado or canola oil for making potato asparagus salad; any strong-flavored oil would overpower the delicate asparagus flavor.
- Vinegar: The recipe states that you will need one tablespoon of vinegar, but I admit that when adjusting the taste, I always add at least one more.
- That’s a matter of personal preference; please start with one tablespoon and increase gradually to taste.
Recipe FAQ
In North America, asparagus is harvested from late February to June, depending on location.
The asparagus season in Great Britain officially starts on the 23rd of April and lasts 8 weeks.
In Germany (where I live), Spargelzeit starts mid-April and ends, traditionally, on the 24th of June or St. John the Baptist Day.
Germans prefer white asparagus, while green asparagus is more popular in Great Britain and North America.
Young and small potatoes, which are harvested earlier in the season. They are sweeter than older potatoes, and their skin is very thin and soft so you can leave it on in most cases.
They are perfect for salad and for roasting.
Sure, you can make it several hours or one day ahead.
Once cool, refrigerate it covered. Don’t forget to bring it to room temperature and adjust the taste again before serving.
Refrigerate leftover potato asparagus salad in an airtight container for about 2 days.
Stir well with a spoon before serving, and adjust the taste lightly if necessary. We love packing any leftovers in the next day’s lunch box.
Asparagus and potato salad is not suitable for freezing.
Easy asparagus recipes
Potato and Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus 450 g, Note 1
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 lb new potatoes 450 g, Note 2
- 3 eggs
- 7 oz cooked ham 200 g, Note 3
- 1 handful chives
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons neutral-tasting vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- fine sea salt or kosher salt
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook asparagus: Wash the spears and remove their lower third. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add a teaspoon of butter, asparagus, and salt. Cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are, they should remain firm or al dente. Drain well and dry the spears with a paper towel. 1 lb/ 450 g asparagus + 1 teaspoon butter + ¼ teaspoon salt
- Dressing: In the meantime, make the vinaigrette: whisk vinegar, oil, and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste. 1 tablespoon vinegar + ½ teaspoon mustard + salt + pepper
- Marinate asparagus: Place it on a platter and sprinkle it with about half of the vinaigrette. Rub the spears gently with the dressing. Let marinate for about 30 minutes.In the meantime, cook the potatoes and the eggs.
- Cook potatoes: Wash them and place them in a pot. Cover them with cold water, cover, and bring to a boil. Add salt and cook the potatoes for 10-12 minutes or until fork-tender. The cooking time depends on the potato size. Drain them well. 1 lb/ 450 g new potatoes + 1 teaspoon salt
- Cook eggs: Place them in a small pot, cover them with water. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and let them sit in the water for 12-13 minutes. Remove and rinse them briefly under cold running water. 3 eggs
- Chop and combine: Cut the asparagus into pieces. Peel (optional) and slice or cube the potatoes. Peel and chop the eggs. Finally, chop the ham and the chives. Place all the ingredients into a bowl or platter, add the remaining dressing, and gently toss to combine.
- Adjust the taste. I always add more salt, pepper, and vinegar (to taste).
- Serve immediately while still slightly warm, or refrigerate it for several hours. Let the salad come to room temperature before serving (about 30 minutes), and adjust the taste again. After leaving the salad stand for several hours, you might need to add an extra tablespoon of oil and some vinegar.
Notes
- Asparagus: Substitute green with white asparagus. White asparagus needs to be peeled and cooked for longer.
- Potatoes: If you don’t have new or baby potatoes, use regular potatoes chopped into cubes after boiling them. Fingerling potatoes are also a great choice.
- Ham: I prefer to buy a thick slice and cut it into cubes.
mjskitchen says
This is my kind of salad!!! During the season we can't get enough asparagus. One of our favorite dishes is asparagus with a soft boiled egg and chorizo. This is a GREAT variation of sorts and a salad I know that we are going to love! Thank you Adina! I always find something to make when visit your site. 🙂
Sissi says
Beautiful! Asparagus and eggs always go well. I am an asparagus addict. Especially the green ones. I buy them throughout the whole season and eat several times a week. I'm always glad to discover other cooks' recipes because everyone cooks asparagus in different ways (and I also love to add new recipes to my collection every year!).