Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Ginger Sauce is the perfect side dish to any dinner! It is ready in about 20 minutes and is totally vegan and oil-free. The perfect Spring dish with a sauce made with fresh lemon, ginger, turmeric, garlic and almond butter that is so good, you will want to drink it!
ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON GINGER SAUCE
I can’t think of a more perfect Spring dish than roasted asparagus with a lemon sauce. Serve this beautiful dish next time for your guests and watch them ooh and aah and think you are all kinds of amazing. Especially after their first bite of this sauce. I make a lot of sauce recipes, a lot. They are always some of my most popular recipes and I’m here to tell you this one is one of the best I’ve ever created. This will be especially true for those who love lemon, ginger and almond butter. It is tart, slightly sweet, creamy and a wonderful kick of fresh ginger, with a touch of turmeric.
Do not worry if you aren’t a big fan of turmeric. There is just enough to give it this gorgeous color and only a hint of turmeric flavor. The lemon and ginger are really front and center, but it’s all perfectly balanced. It’s so so so good I was legit eating it with a spoon. I have a roasted asparagus with a dijon sauce in my cookbook that is phenomenal as well, but this sauce is completely different than that one, so I urge you to try it immediately.
This is totally an oil-free roasted asparagus too. You don’t need oil whatsoever. For more oil-free tips, see How to Cook and Bake Without Oil!
HOW TO ROAST ASPARAGUS
Add the washed asparagus spears to a large paper towel and pat them dry.
Trim off the ends, about 2-3 inches. Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Squeeze the juice of 1/4 of a lemon over the asparagus and season with salt and pepper.
Bake at 425°F for 8-9 minutes until fork tender, but still firm. You don’t want them overcooked and limp, but not raw either. Depending on the thickness of the spears, time may need adjustment by a minute or so.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON GINGER SAUCE
This sauce is so easy to make, you just need 6 ingredients (+salt, pepper, water):
- fresh lemon juice
- roasted creamy almond butter
- ground turmeric
- fresh ginger
- garlic cloves
- agave or maple syrup
Add the water, lemon juice, almond butter, ginger, agave, garlic, turmeric, salt & pepper to a food processor or a Vitamix, if you have one.
Blend everything until smooth. It will be a fairly runny sauce, like a salad dressing. This is so it drizzles easily over the asparagus.
When you are done eating this Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Ginger Sauce, be sure to eat these incredibly popular Vegan Lemon Cookies for dessert!
OTHER VEGAN SIDE DISHES TO TRY
- Fluffy Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
- Vegan Oil-free Zucchini Fritters
- Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Skillet BBQ Baked Beans
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Roasted Asparagus With Lemon Ginger Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz asparagus spears, washed and patted dry
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 of a lemon
LEMON GINGER SAUCE (makes 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup (60g) water
- 2 tablespoons (30g) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (64g) roasted creamy almond butter
- 2 teaspoons (8g) peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons (10g) agave or maple syrup
- 2 medium garlic cloves (5g)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt + 1/8 teaspoon pepper
NOTE
- Do not worry about this sauce being spicy. The ginger gives amazing ginger flavor, but it is not spicy at all. The lemon juice, almond butter and agave all balance it out like a dream. My daughter LOVED the sauce!
Instructions
- I'd suggest making the sauce early in the day or the day before. While it's not totally necessary, it does thicken as it sits. But it's delicious immediately.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a pan with parchment paper.
- Trim the ends off of each asparagus about 2-3 inches. Place on the pan spread out evenly. Squeeze the juice of 1/4 of a lemon over the asparagus. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes until fork tender, but still firm. You don't want them overcooked and limp, but not raw either. Depending on the thickness of the spears, time may need adjustment by a minute or so.
- While the asparagus is roasting, make the sauce (if you haven't already done so). Add the water, lemon juice, almond butter, ginger, agave, garlic, turmeric, salt & pepper to a food processor or a Vitamix, if you have one. Either will work fine. For the ginger, you want to make sure you get the right amount, so weigh after peeling. I basically grated a large piece of fresh ginger over a bowl and then measured.
- Blend everything on low, slowing increasing speed, until smooth. Scrape the sides down well and blend once more on low. It will be a fairly runny sauce, like a salad dressing. This is so it drizzles easily over the asparagus. But it does thicken overnight or several hours in the fridge. It also doubles beautifully to toss as a salad dressing in greens. So so good. Drizzle over the hot asparagus and serve immediately. You will be tempted to drink the sauce. Sorry about that. Serve alongside roasted potatoes or my Fluffy Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes!
Looks so yummy! What else would you eat this with for dinner?
Thank you Kristen! I’ve served this with roasted potatoes or my Buttermilk Mashed potatoes and black beans. But you could also serve it with fluffy rice and any beans or tofu if you like! Here’s my mashed potatoes recipe: https://thevegan8.com/fluffy-buttermilk-vegan-mashed-potatoes/
That looks amazing! Any recommendations for other dishes to make using this sauce?
Thank you Amy! It is so delicious, that it would be incredible to drizzle on any salad or roasted veggies. Roasted broccoli and I’ve had it over roasted potato wedges. All so so delicious!
Hurray for no cashews! I can’t wait to make this! Thank you so much!
I usually like to eat asparagus with pasta or lentil loaf and potatoes since people were looking for ideas. ☺️
Yay! Yes, I was actually going to link/suggest my lentil loaf, but it is bbq based and definitely would compete with this particular bright lemony sauce, but another mild lentil loaf would be great! I linked to my my mashed potatoes and suggest roasted potatoes as well. Very delicious with my mashed potatoes, thank you Jennifer!
Could you use a creamy peanut butter? No almond butter on hand.
I really don’t know how it would taste without having tested it. It will obviously yield a peanut butter taste, so keep that in mind.
I subbed for natural creamy peanut butter because that is what I had on hand and the ginger/lemon still took front stage, without being over powering. I put it on kale, cauliflower and chickpea salad but am going to roast some asparagus now just so I can have seconds! Another big hit 🙂 Thank you!
Yay, so wonderful to hear that Amanda, thank you for the loving review!
Can’t wait to try it! Have you by any chance ever tried making this wonderful sauce in bulk and freezing for future use?
Hi Diana! No, I haven’t. I just created it recently, so it has not made it to the freezer. I’m sure it would be totally fine though!
Hi
This sounds great! Do you think I could substitute cashew butter for the almond butter? Or would taste weird…
Thx!
Hi KK! I’ve not tried cashew butter and I’m sure it would be good, it just will change the flavor to a more creamy taste and not the distinct almond taste. Sure it will still be good, let me know after you try it!
Thank you for this most delicious recipe. I made it last night and…OMGoodness, the sauce! So freaky deaky delicious! And with the leftover sauce I’m going to use it tonight on broccoli
Yayyyy Shelley! So very happy to hear you loved this and feel the same way I do about that sauce, LOL! I can’t stop eating it/drinking it, haha! Yes, broccoli, amazing idea!
Ginger is amazing, it goes well with everything
I agree, it’s one of my very favorite ingredients ever!
You were not kidding about this sauce!! Spoonfuls of it and I’m not sorry. I think this would be great over rice and some steamed vegetables. Going to try in a salad too. Thank you!
Haha, really awesome to hear you feel the same, thank you Laura!!
Could I sub sunbutter for the almond butter or would it change the flavor too much?
I think it would be fine! The lemon and ginger and slight sweetness are so so yummy that I think it’d be fine! Let me know after you try it!
Absolutely delicious and I agree that it is so good I just want to drink it!!! I made an extra batch of the sauce to add to quinoa salad. I added tahini and red miso to thicken it a bit. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
Haha, thank you so much Melissa, so happy to hear how much you loved it!! It does thicken in the fridge overnight fyi.
Finger lickin’ good! I used monkfruit instead of maple syrup and it was delicious.
So happy you loved it!
Looks amazing!! Any substitute for nut/seed butter? Would avocado or zucchini work? Better ideas welcome 😊
Hi Renee, no zucchini is just liquid so that would not be good. The nut seed butter adds flavor as well as thickening it some. Avocado I do not think would taste good and the shelf life will go down using avocado. You could try 1-2 tbsp of mashed potato I guess but the nut butter does give the best flavor and texture.
I subbed peanut butter–the sauce was quite tasty, and the asparagus came out absolutely perfect! Thanks for another great recipe!
I just made this sauce – it is amazingly delicious!
Wonderful, so glad to hear that Juliann!
I love to use this as a salad dressing, it’s so yummy.
Made this last night and served it with tonight’s dinner. Oh my! The sauce is out of this world! We had it on the asparagus, BUT all through dinner we kept thinking of all the other things this could go on. SO many uses for this amazing sauce!!! Definitely company-worthy!
We did wonder what ingredient (or combination of ingredients) causes this to thicken substantially overnight. Any ideas? It’s not a problem, just curious….
So very happy to hear that Diana!! So glad y’all loved it! It’s actually the almond butter! Any sauces made with nuts will thicken overnight some in the fridge. It will relax a bit at room temperature again or a good stir!
Hi Brandi!
The “Lemon Ginger Sauce” has become my new addiction, but it’s a healthy addiction! I keep it in the fridge as a spread (a replacement for mayo) that goes on just about everything. It’s great on a veggie sandwich, on pasta, on a baked potato. I use it as a dip! Thank you for your recipes so much!
So very happy you love this so much Joella! It is easily one of my addictions, too, haha!
I’m not a fan of making sauces that has more than 3 ingredients but i have all those ingredients at home and made it for my salad. The light creamy texture, with a hint of sweetness and ginger tang pair surprisingly well with Vietnamese salads! Thanks.
Forgot to mention the sauce i made looks like your sauce in the photos! I have not been able to make anything which resembles recipe photos!
That is wonderful Roza! I always present the colors as they are, so I’m glad to hear that!
Wow this sauce is soooo delicious!
I made it with half peanut butter, half cashew butter because I didn`t have almond butter… Amazing!
Do you have any idea with what I could substitute the nut butter with. My mother is allergic to nuts but still I would love to cook her this.
Yay, that is amazing to hear! Yes, I would try sunbutter, but perhaps one that is already sweetened since sunbutter is a bit bitter and strong and almond butter is naturally sweet. Or add an extra bit of syrup if needed. There is also tahini, but that is very bitter and quite runny.
This lemon ginger sauce is one of the many faves of mine from Vegan 8. It’s drinkable. Completely serious. You will put it on everything!