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Not too terribly long ago, I had no earthly idea of how to cook asparagus. I had tried a few years ago, once, and it was an epic fail – it was a mushy, tasteless mess. So, I avoided asparagus for years. Recently though as I’ve tried to save money on groceries, I noticed it would be a cheap, healthy vegetable to feed my family. Here’s a quick hack I discovered to make asparagus taste GREAT!
Most Friday nights if we don’t have Italian, Superman will grill us a steak. A lot of times he will also throw some asparagus on the grill too and wow, what flavor. What if, like me, you don’t grill and you want to know how to cook asparagus in the kitchen that is tasty, crunchy, and full of flavor? I’ve got ya covered, friend. You’re gonna love me for this one!
How to Cook Asparagus
The ingredients and instructions on a printable recipe card are below but here’s the basic idea ->
I cut the hard, lower bottom of each asparagus off (you can tell where the stalk starts turning white and hard) and then line them in a shallow dish or baking pan that is greased. Drizzle a little olive oil or coconut oil over the asparagus stalks. Super-Quick Tip: Instead of drizzling with oil, spraying asparagus with a tiny bit of cooking oil (especially butter flavor) tastes incredible!
Salt and pepper the stalks. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the asparagus too. Toss them to coat and then try to line them up side by side as much as possible. Do not bake more than one layer. Place asparagus into a preheated oven at 425 degrees.
If you bake in a “dish” it will probably take 15 minutes and on a baking sheet will probably only take 10 minutes. The idea is to get them super crispy without overcooking. In my oven it takes 10 minutes and sometimes I’ll broil it for just a couple minutes. If you broil, don’t walk away though!
Here’s your printable recipe card for Quick & Tasty Asparagus:
- Asparagus
- About 2 Tablespoons oil or cooking spray
- salt
- pepper
- parmesan cheese
- Cut the hard, lower bottom of each asparagus off (you can tell where the stalk starts turning white and hard)
- Line them in a shallow dish or baking pan that is greased.
- Drizzle a little oil over the asparagus stalks or spray them with cooking spray.
- Salt and pepper the stalks.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the asparagus too.
- Toss them to coat.
- Line them up side by side (Do not make more than one layer).
- Place asparagus dish or pan into a preheated oven at 425 degrees.
- If you bake in a “dish” it will probably take 15 minutes and on a baking sheet will probably only take 10 minutes.
- Optional: Broil for just a couple minutes for extra crunchy. Watch carefully & don’t walk away!
Knowing how to cook asparagus this way has been such a big relief because the struggle is real to find an assortment of quick and easy vegetables to feed the family. Especially green vegetables. These are seriously so good that we are all guilty of grabbing one every time we pass the counter. When it’s time to fix our dinner plates, there aren’t many left!
When are you going to try this idea of how to make asparagus???
31 Days of Delicious Easy Recipes for Busy Wives series:
Day 6: Quick Red Beans and Rice
Day 9: Homemade Hamburger Helper
Day 11: Easiest Pound Cake Recipe
Published on HuffPost, Okefenokee Living Magazine, and more, Shan is a Family Travel Journalist with a passion for helping women lose the overwhelm of planning family-friendly trips in the south. She shares travel reviews & insider secrets that Women REALLY want to know about Georgia, Florida, & the Carolinas vacations.
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My husbands grills his asparagus.
(opposite of the grill bars — haha)
This is how I cook my asparagus, though I usually do garlic powder in addition to salt and pepper – so simple and delicious! I was surprised you said an inexpensive veggie though, tends to be pretty pricey in my area. (For fresh that is, not sure about canned)
This sounds like a great way to cook my asparagus! I can’t wait to try this! Thanks!!
Growing up I always hated asparagus because it was so mushy but then one day I had it in an upscale restaurant. Total game changer! Now I like to cook it in the cast iron pan or roast it and it’s yummy.
Author
Yes! Marya. Can’t do mushy. LOL I love cast iron. I’ll have to try that!
blessings,
Shan