This Asparagus with Mustard-Dill Sauce is perfect for spring. It's light, fresh, and flavorful—and asparagus is at its prime in spring!
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I think about this recipe all winter, as I look forward to spring. This dish only takes ten minutes to prepare. It's perfect for weeknight dinners and also Easter feasts!
Click here for more asparagus recipes.
How to Make Asparagus with Mustard-Dill Sauce
- Boil water in a saucepan.
- Blanch asparagus and rinse with cold water.
- Heat oil in a saucepan.
- Add garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.
- Toss asparagus with sauce and let sit before serving.
Full directions for how to make Asparagus with Mustard-Dill Sauce are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Asparagus with Mustard-Dill Sauce FAQs
Can I use another sauce for this dish?
I really love this mustard-dill sauce with the asparagus, but you can use another sauce if you prefer. Whatever sauce you use, make sure there is enough to lightly coat your asparagus.
How should I store leftover asparagus and sauce?
You can store your leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. The longer you let the asparagus sit, the soggier it will get, but it will last up to 5 days. However, I recommend eating this dish right away.
Recipe
Asparagus with Mustard-Dill Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 1 tsp prepared yellow mustard preferably grainy
- ½ tsp salt
- black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Bring 1 quart water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Blanch the asparagus for about 15 seconds. Drain and run it under cold water for 1 minute.
- To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small saucepan.
- Add the garlic and cook on low heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice, optional dill, mustard, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix well.
- Toss the asparagus with the sauce and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Recipe by Devra Gartenstein, from Local Bounty: Seasonal Vegan Recipes, by permission of The Book Publishing Company.
Dwight Kealiher says
Do you cook the asparagus only for 15 seconds? I would think that would barelyi get them warm, much less cooked to any degree.
The recipe says to cut the asparagus in 2 inch lengths, but the pic accompanying the recipe shows full--length asparagus spears in a serving dish with the sauce spread over the middle of the spears, not 2-inch pieces tossed in the sauce.
Please explain.
Jerusha L says
Tried this for Easter dinner. The asparagus was delicious after blanching it or about 20 seconds. The sauce was awful. maybe you should specify the amount of lemon and not a generic term like "juice from half a lemon". My attempt was WAY to lemony. Tried everything to fix it. We ended up just washing it off the asparagus.
Jerusha L says
And I agree with Dwight. The picture definitely doesn't match the description.
Nava says
I'm sorry this didn't suit your taste, Jerusha. This is a contributed recipe and seemed like it would be good. Juice from half a lemon should be about 2 tablespoons, and this doesn't seem like it should be too much for a pound of asparagus, but perhaps it would overpower the delicate flavor. And because the author didn't supply a photo, we used a generic one, which in hindsight doesn't seem like a good idea. But the buck stops here, and I wanted to reply to you, and perhaps I'll take this recipe down. We have lots more asparagus recipes that will hopefully be more pleasing to you and other readers: http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/asparagus-recipes-easy-and-versatile/
Thomas Jaszewski says
Being on a fat free diet and preferring a hot more cooked version, I steamed the asparagus for 7 minutes in simmer. First bring the teamer pot to a boil then turning down to simmer. The sauce was made just as described with 2 large garlic cloves and Dijon style mustard. Uncooked sauce substituted water for oil and let it sit for 4 hours refrigerated.
The dill was garden fresh and a full compacted tablespoon finely minced. A new favorite sauce. We served it with a side of whole wheat pasta under the asparagus and then drizzled the sauce over the whole affair followed by a light sprinkle of parmesan. WOW Thanks so much for the idea!
Christine says
It was a great recipe! We really enjoyed it. We just drizzled it on top of the asparagus and it was yummy! I also prefer it hot so I just steamed the asparagus.
I am also the world's worst cook and managed to make it and have it taste good. It was actually really easy! But it looked gourmet.
I thought I'd had garlic so I didn't grab any at the store when I went to get the asparagus, and didn't want to go out again so I just used granulated garlic. It worked really well as a sub.
Nava says
Thanks, Christine — glad you enjoyed this! And now, voila — you are no longer the world's worst cook.