This Pickled Asparagus is tangy, slightly spicy, and perfectly crunchy! Fresh asparagus is quickly blanched and then marinated overnight with onion in a chili-garlic vinegary brine. It’s a bit of a twist on a traditional pickled recipe, but it’s so quick, so easy, and the end result is wildly delish.

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Asparagus is one of my favorite spring foods, whether I’m cooking it in the oven, air fryer, wrapped in bacon, in a quiche, or pickled! Today’s pickled asparagus recipe is so snackable – if there’s a jar in my fridge, it doesn’t last long. The flavor is tangy with a bit of spice plus earthy garlic and onion, and of course the tender fresh asparagus. When I don’t snack on it, I also love to serve it as pickled asparagus salad with dinner (or at potlucks.) It’s also a great addition to spring charcuterie boards, salads, and more. Everyone loves it.

Helpful Tips

Choose thinner asparagus. When selecting the asparagus bundle at the store, look for ones that are bright green and on the thin to medium-size. Thicker stalks of asparagus will be tougher and not as tasty in this recipe.
Trim the asparagus. There are two ways to do this – you can either just bend the stalks at the end and they’ll naturally break at the woody tip, or, for even and symmetrical pieces, you can just slice the woody ends off with a knife.
Do not overcook the asparagus. For this pickled asparagus salad, you want to quickly blanch the asparagus but not cook it completely. If it’s fully cooked, it’ll be mushy instead of crunchy. I immediately put it in an ice bath after draining it to prevent it from cooking more and preserving some of its pretty green color.
Refrigerate overnight. This is the hardest part of the recipe! Unfortunately, pickled asparagus is not something to enjoy immediately, as it does need to be refrigerated overnight. Otherwise, it won’t be pickled at all. It’ll simply be blanched asparagus in a vinaigrette but without all the flavor. Trust me, it’s worth the wait!

Pickled Asparagus

Fresh asparagus and onion are quick-pickled in a tangy, and slightly sweet-spicy mixture in this Pickled Asparagus recipe. Enjoy as a snack, serve as a salad, or add to salads, sandwiches, and more.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 3

Total Time 18

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus stalks
1/4 cup red onion , thinly sliced into half moons
1 small clove garlic , minced
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup mirin (sweet rice wine – see note below)
1 cup water
1/4 cup honey
3 teaspoons vegetable oil (or avocado oil)
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Sesame seeds , for serving

Instructions

Trim and discard the woody ends of 1 pound asparagus, then cut the asparagus into approximately 2-inch pieces.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 2-3 minutes until just tender and bright green.
Remove the asparagus from the pot and place them in a bowl of ice water to cool and prevent further cooking. Drain the stalks, place on a paper towel and pat dry.
Divide the asparagus pieces between 2 (11.5-ounce) jars (or place all in 1 pint sized jar), along with a 1/4 cup sliced red onion and a small minced clove of garlic.
Place 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 1/2 cup mirin, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup honey, 3 teaspoons vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in a spouted measuring cup and whisk to combine, then pour evenly over the asparagus to cover.
Loosely fasten the lid and let the jar(s) come to room temperature. Then tighten the lids and place in the fridge overnight.
You can either keep them in the fridge and munch on them like pickles, or if serving as a salad, drain the asparagus, transfer to a shallow bowl along with the red onion and sprinkle with some sesame seeds just before serving.

Notes

Mirin is a Japanese rice wine and ideal for this recipe, but can be substituted with a few different options: Sake is a good option as it’s also a rice wine. Rice vinegar or marsala can be used if you add a bit of sugar to mimic mirin’s sweetness.

Nutrition

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Ways To Use Pickled Asparagus

There are so many ways to use pickled asparagus, I’m always finding new things to add it to. What happens most often in my house, is that they can be snacked on like crunchy pickles. I’ll also sometimes drain the jar, transfer it to a shallow bowl, and sprinkle it with sesame seeds to serve it as a pickled asparagus salad with dinner.

But those aren’t the only options! Pickled asparagus makes a great addition to spring salads, sandwiches, avocado toast, veggie bowls, breakfast bowls, rice bowls (like my salmon bowls), sushi bowls, and even charcuterie boards. Basically, anything that could use a bit of crunchy texture and tangy, slightly spicy flavor.

How Long Will This Last?

Keep in mind since this is a quick pickled recipe and does not go through the full canning process, that this pickled asparagus is NOT shelf stable. It must be stored in the fridge! When stored in the fridge with a tight lid, it will last for about a week.

More Pickled Recipes

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube!

Overhead view of a jar of pickled asparagus