Name: Asparagus sandwich with goat cheese and olives
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 baguette (cut into 4 sections); 2 Tbsp olive oil (see note); 8 ounces goat cheese, spreadable (see note); 12-16 asparagus spears; 1 lemon; 12-16 kalamata olives (or green castelvetrano olives); 1 handful salad greens

This is such an easy spring sandwich that's ready in under 10 minutes. First, spread goat cheese on a toasted baguette or your favorite bread, then top it with raw, sliced asparagus.

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Calories 559

Since asparagus isn't cooked with oil or salt for this sandwich, I add in some fat and salt with olives and goat cheese. Then I brighten it up with a fresh squeeze of lemon and zest.

This asparagus sandwich stays fresh and crunchy for a long time, and the goat cheese doesn't get soggy like sliced cheese does. It's perfect to pack for a picnic, a work lunch, or simply to make ahead for a busy day.

Lunch recipes - a picnic sandwich that holds until lunch time. Raw, crisp and slightly sweet asparagus from the farmers market stays crisp all day, even in this make-ahead version.

This sandwich stands on its own and stays fresh for a long time, but there are a few tricks to ensure this:

Toast open-faced to keep the bread crunchy.
Spreadable goat cheese holds up much better than sliced cheese, which tends to get wilty and damp.
Raw asparagus retains a nice crunch, adding extra freshness to the sandwich, even hours later.

Just make sure everyone likes asparagus, or pack some alternative sandwiches for your picnic.

Recipe

Asparagus sandwich with goat cheese and olives

Veronica Tegen

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Calories 559

Servings sandwiches

Ingredients

1 baguette cut into 4 sections
2 tablespoon olive oil see note
8 ounces goat cheese, spreadable see note
12-16 asparagus spears
1 lemon
12-16 kalamata olives or green castelvetrano olives
1 handful salad greens

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425℉ to toast the rolls. Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice into a medium bowl. Slice asparagus into rounds and toss into lemon juice, add salt and pepper to taste. Chop the olives.
Cut the rolls in half and drizzle with olive oil (garlic flavored if you have it!). Toast in the oven for about 5 minutes, until golden.
Spread 2 ounces of goat cheese on one side of each roll.
Put the asparagus on top of the cheese lay (to hold it in place). Top with olives, zest and greens.
If wrapping for a picnic, wrap each sandwich tightly so the filling doesn't fall out.

Notes

Asparagus: the fresher the asparagus, the sweeter and more tender it will be
Olive oil: this is delicious with garlic flavored olive oil, since it's nice and delicate without having an overpowering garlic flavor.
Goat cheese: I like herbed goat cheese, something like this. You can substitute with other spreadable cheeses, like Boursin or a flavored cream cheese.
Cut rolls in half: You can also cut part way through, leaving one edge intact, so stuff doesn't fall out as easily.

Nutrition

Making this recipe?Let me know how it was! (which helps anyone else who drops by!)

Nutrition highlights

I like to break nutrition down by ingredient on a per-serving basis. This allows you to make decisions on any adjustments you might be considering. or example, making this an open-faced sandwich cuts out 122 calories, but also 5g of protein.

Calories & protein per serving, per ingredient

Ingredient	Calories	Protein
Ciabatta roll	245	10g
Olive oil	60	0
Goat cheese	206	12g
Asparagus	8	1g
Lemon	3	0
Kalamata olives	35	0
Salad greens	2	0.15g
Total	559	23g

This asparagus sandwich has almost 50% of your daily protein. I checked this 3 times to make sure! Most of it comes from protein in the bread and the goat cheese.

It also has 25% or more of most of your daily vitamins, with asparagus contributing a lot of vitamin K.

Raw asparagus is bright and crunchy

Raw asparagus is underappreciated, in my opinion. Think of it like eating raw snap peas, peppers, or even raw celery.

I slice the asparagus spears into coins for this sandwich for two reasons:

They are easier to chew without worrying about accidentally pulling a whole spear out with a bite.
Fibrous spears go unnoticed when sliced into coins like this

Sometimes you get fibrous asparagus spears, which are more noticeable when spears are kept whole and roasted or pan-fried since the fibrous parts run along the length of the spear. Think of this like slicing meat across the grain (coins) vs with the grain (leaving spears whole).

How spear size affects texture

A common misconception is that thin asparagus spears are more tender. It's actually the opposite.

Asparagus spears need structure to grow straight up and not flop over, so they produce a woodiness (lignin) to stand up on their own. That's what causes the stringy texture and it's mostly concentrated in the outer layer.

So a thin spear has more woody surface area compared to the center fleshy part when compared to a thick spear. You can really use any size you want for this asparagus sandwich since they are cut into coins and any woodiness should go unnoticed.

Thin spears: great for a super fast saute, like this shortcut, easy eggs Benedict
Thick spears: perfect for grilling or roasting as they can hold up to the high heat better

Purple asparagus is sweeter and more tender than green (or white)

Purple asparagus has about 20% more sugar than green varieties and are more tender as well.

White asparagus will be the most fibrous because they grow slower (which makes them woodier).

The other fun reason to use purple asparagus if you can find it (or are growing it in your garden), is the color. The purple color fades quickly when cooked, but not when it stays raw.

Why fresh asparagus tastes better and how to store it

Once asparagus is harvested, sugars start to convert into a substance (lignin) that causes woodiness. The longer it's stored, the more sugars are converted, and cooking doesn't make it less stringy.

Refrigeration slows this process down, but buying asparagus fresh from the farmers market will have the best flavor and texture.

Store asparagus in a jar of water in the fridge, like you would store a vase of flowers. They can be tall, but I find that the door of the fridge has more height clearance.

No need to snap the spears, just cut off the white or dried out bottoms

While it's fun (and satisfying) to snap the ends off asparagus spears, it's not doing what is promised. It doesn't find the natural woody break point.

Instead, just cut off any dried out ends or white bottoms. The white ends were below the soil line and didn't get sunlight (which turns them green). They are also fibrous just because they are at the lowest part of the plant and drying out after harvest.

Use goat cheese or another spreadable cheese

You have a few cheese options for this asparagus sandwich depending on what you prefer. You just want to make sure you use a spreadable cheese, because that helps hold the diced asparagus in place. If you use sliced cheese, the asparagus coins would roll right off.

My go-to: herb goat cheese

I like using an herb-flavored goat cheese because it adds a lot of extra flavor to the raw asparagus sandwich.

If you can't find an herbal version, you can spread a plain goat cheese over the bread and sprinkle your favorite dried herbs over the top or make your own. To make your own, add in ½ to 1 teaspoon dried herbs per 8 ounces of cheese and mix it together (here's a recipe from Epicurious).

Boursin cheese

A great backup are those little containers of Boursin cheese and come in fun flavors like garlic & herb, shallow & chive, and even black truffle & sea salt.

All of these are great options.

Flavored cream cheese

Another backup is a good flavored cream cheese, whether you make it or buy it that way. My local farmers markets have some flavored with fresh chives, or even everything bagel seasoning.

Baguette roll with sliced asapragus, goat cheese, olives, and lettuce

Pack it for a picnic

One of my favorite ways to enjoy spring produce is a little picnic in the park while the weather is still nice. (I live in the Midwest so I have hot and muggy summers here).

Here are a few tips to pack your asparagus sandwich for the road:

Toast the bread ahead of time to help it stay crunchy
Then layer the ingredients on, making the whole sandwich ahead of time
Cut each sandwich in half, then wrap in plastic wrap or something snug to keep the asparagus in place.

The goat cheese is the main ingredient that needs temperature control, so keep the sandwiches on ice or refrigeration if they will be out for more than two hours (or less in hot weather).

Keep the sandwiches chilled

Ice packs and insulated picnic baskets can keep these sandwiches cold for a pretty long time. According to an ice pack manufacturer, here's how effective different cooling options are:

Gel ice packs last for 6-12 hours
Water-based ice packs like for 4-6 hours

A well insulated cooler will be the best option, but a lightly insulated bag still extend the cooling duration.

More asparagus recipes

I grow asparagus in my garden, so I go through a lot of recipes to use it up. Here are a few of my favorites, or check out my guide for 10 different ways to cook asparagus.