How Long To Cook Asparagus
One of the most frequently asked questions is how long to cook asparagus. The answer depends on the size of your spears and your cooking method. Thin asparagus could take just a couple of minutes, especially if you’re using a high-heat method of cooking, such as grilling, roasting, or pan-frying. Thicker spears will take longer to cook. Here’s how to avoid overcooking your asparagus.
- Allow plenty of extra spears for testing as you cook.
- No matter which cooking method you choose, the residual heat will continue cooking the asparagus. Remove it from the stove/grill/oven when it’s almost done to your taste.
- If you’re blanching and reheating asparagus, remove it from the boiling water when it’s still a bit more crisp than you like. The reheating will finish cooking the spears.
Get our entire collection of Asparagus Recipes.
How To Roast Asparagus In The Oven
Oven roasting is a great way to intensify the flavor of asparagus. It’s also an excellent preparation method when you’re cooking for a crowd. Follow these four easy steps from Chef Scott Emerick for tender roasted asparagus every time:
Trimming Asparagus Before Cooking It
Trimming the hard, fibrous end off of a piece of asparagus youre about to bake will save you the trouble of trying to chew through it later. Usually, you can tell which part you need to clip away by the color. The hard, tough ends are usually white in color, at odds with the vibrant green at the top.
Its easy to trim off the hard ends of asparagus you can use a sharp knife or even snap the end away with your hands.
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How To Freeze Cooked Asparagus:
For packaged freezing, place spears into freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. Dont overpack bags, but work to keep spears in a single layer for quickest freezing. Freeze bags as flatly as possible. Once bags are frozen, pack them into your freezer to maximize space use. For best quality, use frozen asparagus within eight to 12 months
Bacon Wrapped Baked Asparagus
- Par cook thick bacon by lining a plate with a few layers of paper towels. Line with half of the cut bacon in an even layer, and top with a layer of paper towels. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes . You want the bacon mostly cooked but still soft and PLIABLE. Dont overcook or it will break when wrapping.
- Season the asparagus and drizzle with olive oil.
- Wrap 1 slice of bacon around 2-4 asparagus stalks depending on their thickness to create a bundle. You want the bacon to go up the asparagus so its in a single layer. Place the bundle on the prepared baking sheet, seam-side down.
- Bake until the bacon is crisp and the asparagus is tender.
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How To Prepare Asparagus For Cooking
Before you try any of the methods for cooking asparagus, you’ll want to trim up the asparagus stalks. Trimming asparagus is a “snap.” To remove and discard the tough woody ends of the stalks before cooking, you can just cut them off with a knife. But what’s more fun is to use your hands to snap the stalks in two. They naturally snap at about the point where the woody part begins. Once you’ve snapped your asparagus, you can line them up and give the bottom ends one last neat trim, if you’d like.
How To Peel Asparagus
Some people like to peel asparagus before cooking, and some don’t. Asparagus spears range in size from thicker than your thumb to thinner than a pencil if your asparagus is on the thicker side, you might want to peel the woody stalks with a vegetable peeler. Some cooks also like to trim off the tiny leaves on the stems. But unless they’re very spiky, you can leave them on.
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How To Cook Asparagus In An Instant Pot
Cooking asparagus in an Instant Pot is a way of steaming it. Arrange the asparagus on the steaming rack of your Instant Pot and add 1 cup of water. Close and seal the lid, and set the time to zero minutes on high pressure. By the time the pressure builds, your asparagus will be perfectly steamed.
These asparagus tips come from our culinary experts in the Taste of Home Test Kitchen.
The Best Oven Roasted Asparagus
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My best oven-roasted asparagus is a whole new way to roast asparagus and still maintain a crispy, delicious exterior that makes for a great side dish to dinner.
Theres little in this life that cant be improved by roasting it. And one of my favorite veggies to take to the oven and roast is asparagus. Theres something about the crispy texture asparagus takes on when its roasted that makes it taste even better. My simple oven roasted asparagus recipe can be ready in as little as fifteen minutes.
Cooked asparagus in the oven seals in the natural, nutty flavor of this summertime staple. Also, it enhances the flavor with a blend of garlic, olive oil, and a little char. If youre wondering how to roast asparagus and make a simple side dish for a picnic, barbecue, or just for dinner Ive got you covered. Its a great healthy side dish.
The health benefits of asparagus are also significant. With only five ingredients, this oven-roasted asparagus is super good for you. Plus, it doesnt take away any of the nutrients .
Asparagus provides amazing nutrition. It is naturally rich in fiber and low in calories, high in Vitamins K, C, and A, and antioxidants. It has been shown to support pregnancy and lower blood pressure.
So, lets bake!
And check my Air Fryer Asparagus recipe for how to bake asparagus in an air fryer! Or check my guide on how to cook asparagus to perfection.
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How To Store Fresh Asparagus
Not unlike herbs, it’s best to store asparagus standing up in a cup of water in the fridge until ready to cook. Makes sure to trim the ends first and cover the upright spears loosely with a plastic bag.
Best practice is to use asparagus soon after buying, as the sugars naturally found in the stalk will migrate to the ends and can make the spears tough and stringy, but the water glass technique can make fresh asparagus last three to five days. Want to store it for longer? Try freezing it.
How Do You Bake Asparagus So It Isnt Chewy
A downfall of asparagus and the reason some think they dont like it is that it can come out chewy or mushy if not done right. Paying attention to your cooking time and method will keep the asparagus from losing its ideal crisp texture.
To bake asparagus so that it doesnt come out chewy, cook it on a baking sheet uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes, check on the stalks if they seem crispy when prodded with a fork, theyre perfectly done.
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How To Make Roasted Asparagus With Parmesan
You’ll find the full, step-by-step recipe below but here’s what you can expect when you make this top-rated Parmesan asparagus recipe:
Arrange the asparagus spears in a single layer in an oiled casserole dish, then spray with olive oil. Evenly sprinkle the asparagus with Parmesan, salt, and garlic powder. Roast in a preheated oven until the thickest part of the stem is easily pierced with a fork.
How To Prepare Asparagus
To peel asparagus, it would help if you only were paring the outer part of 1/3 of the asparagus stem from the base upwards. If you intend to use them, the tip of the asparagus is very fresh young, and soft, so you dont need to peel it.
Besides, you should only get from the beginning of the asparagus to the smooth stem from the hard stem to the root of the asparagus, you should remove it. To find out where the complex parts of asparagus begin, Pickup asparagus and bend them.
To wash asparagus, you need to rinse asparagus under running water to clean the sand in the gaps at the beginning of the asparagus, then line the asparagus up in a baking tray without overlapping them.
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How To Store Asparagus
Pro tip: Place your asparagus in a heavy-bottomed jar or drinking glass when you get home, and add a couple inches of water. You can place a plastic bag over the top to retain maximum freshness.
Then, store the asparagus like this in your refrigerator. It will stay fresh for several days longer this way!
Washing Asparagus Before Baking
Just as with any vegetable, a quick wash before its headed into the oven will get rid of extra dirt or debris that might have hitched a ride with it. All youll need to do is lightly scrub the spears in your hands and run them under cold water.
Dont wash it too early, though you should cook your asparagus right as youre about to cook it. Washing it too early will make the color begin to dull more and will also make it harder to get nice and crispy.
You should also take care to dry your spears off before popping them in the oven, as they will get crunchy faster when there is less moisture to cook off.
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What To Serve It With
Roasted asparagus is the perfect side dish to serve with any main meal, protein, or full spread of veggies. And if you were wondering what protein goes well with asparagus, you are in the right place.
I love it alongside Roasted Carrots and Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash for a full, plant-based meal. Or if you have leftovers, make my Roasted Asparagus Salad recipe.
Its a wonderful addition to those long weekend mornings and brunch gatherings alongside Spinach Feta Frittata and Goat Cheese Quiche, too.
What Temperature To Bake
I found the ideal temperature to roast asparagus to be 425 degrees F. This is the fastest and most efficient.
I have read other recipes that bake the asparagus at 350 or 375 degrees F, but that just means you have to wait longer. If youd rather bake asparagus in a lower temperature oven below are the baking time for various temps:
- 350 Degrees F: 25-30 minutes
- 375 Degrees F: 22-25 minutes
- 400 Degrees F: 15-17 minutes
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How To Tell When Asparagus Is Fully Cooked
Asparagus is at its best when it is a little crunchy yet still tenderly crisp. That vibrant green you saw before it went into the oven should emerge muted and mellowed down to an olivine tone.
When you use a fork to test how done the asparagus is, bear in mind that undercooked spears will be too hard to stab with a fork, and overcooked ones will begin to fall apart.
Other Seasonings For Oven
Ginger, soy, and sesame seeds are delicious ingredients to season the roasted asparagus with, or you could try wrapping the asparagus in bacon before it hits the oven. A touch of lemon juice or a sprinkle of any tender herbs after the asparagus comes out of the oven is another delicious way to finish the dish instead of adding almonds.
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How To Prep Asparagus For Roasting
Bend and Break Hold the top of the stem in one hand and grip it near the base with the other. Briskly bend, and the asparagus will naturally snap in the right place. Its almost like magic and very satisfying.
Cut the Bunch . Hold the entire bunch of asparagus in one hand and trim off the ends about 1 1/2 inches or so from the bottom.
How To Saute Asparagus
Ingredients
- 12 fresh spears of asparagus
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 1/2 cup of grated cheese
Instructions
Step 1: First, cut the prepared asparagus into long pieces about 3 -inch
Step 2: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until the oil begins to smoke slightly, add minced garlic and stir well.
Step 3: Next, add asparagus, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper powder then stir well and cook for 6 7 minutes for thick asparagus and 4 5 minutes for thin asparagus.
Step 4: Transfer cooked asparagus to a plate and sprinkle grated cheese over them. Serve
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Asparagus In The Oven
This Baked Asparagus recipe is so simple, youll wonder why you never started roasting asparagus before. All it takes is 5 simple ingredients for you can make time and time again.If you were ever looking for a healthy way to cook asparagus, along with tips and tricks on how to prep and store, you have come to the right place. Serve this simple green side dish for dinner along meat, chicken or veggies. Or whip up some eggs for a spectacular brunch soiree.
This oven-roasted asparagus recipe is created for one reason and that is because I am always looking for simple, straightforward ways to incorporate more greens into my diet. And side dishes, especially vegetable side dishes, give me an excuse to do so.
Cooking asparagus in the oven delivers a quick and healthy side dish that is easily customizable. Plus, I think it is the easiest way to cook it. Once you learn all there is to know about prepping, storing and cooking, the fun part comes in the seasoning and serving.
Add this baked asparagus to your recipe book. I promise you that itll be one youll turn to over and over again. If youd rather cook asparagus on the stove, be sure to check out my Sauteed Asparagus Recipe, and if you want to try your hand in cooking it in the air fryer be sure to try my Air Fryer Asparagus recipe as well.
Can I Make Oven Baked Parmesan Asparagus Ahead Of Time
ThisBaked Parmesan Asparagus is the perfect dinner side to assemble in advance. Simplytoss the asparagus with olive oil and seasonings and either store in an aright containerin the refrigerator or spread into an even layer on a baking sheet, cover withfoil and refrigerate.
Youcan also prep the panko topping ahead of time and store it in a Ziploc bag orairtight container.
Whenyou are ready to eat, top the asparagus with Parmesan and bake according todirections.
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How Do I Choose Asparagus
The best Baked Asparagus starts with fresh asparagus! Look for asparagus that are firm and straight and not limp and saggy.
Look for asparagus that are bright green with a small amount of white towards the base. The tips should be compact and firm instead of loose and starting to spread or sprout. When asparagus is going bad, the tips are the first indicator they will turn a very dark green and will become mushy when touched.
When selectingasparagus, size isnt always an indicator of flavor, so for this Oven Baked AsparagusRecipe, you can use any size of asparagus spears, you will just need to adjustthe cooking time accordingly.
I like to use mediumsize spears as opposed to small spears because that way there is a little more room in betweenthe asparagus when they are lined up so they caramelize better.
How Do I Store Fresh Asparagus
Once you select fresh asparagus, you will want to keep it fresh. Its a sad day when youre giddy to bake asparagus and your asparagus are bad.
The best way to store asparagus is to trim the base, just a half-inch or so, and place them upright in a container with about an inch of water at the bottom. You can use a tall measuring glass, jar, vase or a couple glasses to do this. I like a large glass jar because then I can see when the water is getting low.
Youwant the asparagus stems to stay in water while storing, but you want the restof the asparagus to stay dry, so never rinse your asparagus before storing. Now,cover your asparagus with a plastic bag, preferable in the crisper drawer, andstore for up to 5 days.
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Does Asparagus Soften As You Cook It
The longer you cook asparagus in a 350-degree oven while wrapped in foil, the softer and more pliable it will become. This is because the foil will trap the water and steam inside the vegetable and allow it to soften. If you want to mash the asparagus or use it in a stew, wrapping it in foil is the way to go.
Unwrapped, however, will take the foil in the opposite direction. The longer it bakes, the crunchier and harder it will become. When baked in a 350-degree oven, the water inside each spear will evaporate, almost dehydrating them. If you overcook it without the foil, your asparagus will fall apart.