This quick and easy baked asparagus recipe is made with a few simple ingredients in about 10 minutes.
Whether you want to enjoy this for brunch, lunch, or dinner, oven-baked asparagus is a great healthy side dish to any meal.
Check out our best vegetable sides recipe collection!
When in season, from late February through June, we eat fresh asparagus in all kinds of ways. Oven-baked is a simple and delicious way of preparing them.
Season them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic, then bake them for about 10 to 15 minutes at high temperature, until tender-crisp.
You can enjoy baked asparagus straight out of the oven, as they are, or with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
We generally don’t add butter or parmesan cheese to keep them dairy-free and opt for heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil instead.
Roasted asparagus is an easy side dish recipe that everyone will love. It’s fresh, healthy, crisp, and packed with flavor. You can serve it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner; anytime you want to make your meals a little special.
Ingredients
Asparagus: go for fresh green asparagus, farmed or wild. You can choose thin asparagus or thick ones. The only difference is cooking time. Frozen asparagus don’t get as crunchy in the oven.
Olive oil: extra virgin olive oil is best to cook at high temperatures. It’s rich in antioxidants that protect it from burning, meaning that it is healthier for your to eat. Regular olive oil is also ok for oven-baking. You can replace olive oil with other vegetable oils, although the taste would suffer slightly.
Salt and black pepper: season the asparagus spears before baking them. Good salts are sea salt and kosher salt.
Garlic: we add a couple of crushed garlic cloves to the baking sheet with the asparagus. Garlic and asparagus are a great flavor match. We do not mince the garlic as it tends to burn and get bitter. If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can replace it with garlic powder.
Optional Ingredients
Lemon: a squeeze of fresh lemon juice right before serving them is a good way to boost the taste of asparagus. You can replace lemon juice with good quality balsamic vinegar. You can even grate some lemon zest on it.
Fresh herbs: asparagus goes extremely well with fresh herbs, particularly flat-leaf parsley and fresh basil. Alternatives are dill, chives, and mint.
Nuts: also delicious with asparagus. Try adding some slivered almonds or pine nuts on top. Best if lightly toasted.
Quick Salsa verde: garlic, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a big handful of flat-leaf Italian parsley. Blend for a few seconds and drizzle on the asparagus. This easy sauce is a taste booster.
Mustard vinaigrette: olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, mustard, maple syrup. Whisk and drizzle on top for a tangy, sweet, and sour asparagus dressing. Mustard and asparagus are incredible together.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Rinse and trim the woody ends of the asparagus with a sharp knife.
Transfer the asparagus onto a baking sheet and season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add the crushed garlic, and toss the asparagus stalks with your hands until evenly coated.
Note: we don’t use parchment paper here, but you can do so if you want to spend less time cleaning your baking sheet.
Arrange asparagus on a single layer, then roast them at 400°F or 200°C for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on their thickness. Our thick asparagus took about 12 minutes.
To check for doneness, poke them with a fork at the end of the stalk. It should slide in easily. The asparagus would be tender-crisp, not mushy.
Transfer to a serving platter and serve as is or with your favorite dressing.
Serving suggestion
Lemon and Herbs
The simplest way of serving oven-baked asparagus is with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley on top. The acidity of the lemon makes their flavor pop; the parsley adds aroma and freshness.
Optionally you can add some toasted nuts on top. Slivered almonds or pine nuts are our favorites.
Quick salsa verde
This is something popular in Rome, Italy. If you’ve ever been there, you probably noticed that they drizzle this thing on roasted vegetables and pizza.
To make it, take a big handful of Italian flat-leaf parsley. Add it to a blender with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and the tip of a clove of garlic. Blend for a few seconds and drizzle on the asparagus. This is so quick yet so delicious!
Mustard vinaigrette
A simple tangy, slightly sweet and sour dressing. Make it with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, 1 teaspoon of mustard, ½ teaspoon of salt, a few twists of black pepper, and some grated garlic (or garlic powder).
Whisk well and serve alongside the roasted asparagus for people to drizzle on top. This vinaigrette adds a lot of flavor to this simple recipe. It’s tangy, zesty, a little sweet, and sour. It’s delicious with oven-baked asparagus.
Top Tip
A top Googled question is “why is my baked asparagus stringy?” Asparagus get stringy due to their high fiber content, especially if they are not fresh. Their stalks tend to get woody, and in some cases can result in that stringy texture that is hard to chew and that no one likes.
To prevent this from happening, you can peel the stalk of the asparagus. This is not always necessary, only when the asparagus are not so fresh and feel particularly woody.
If that’s the case with your asparagus, peel the bottom part of the stalk (about 2 to 3 inches) with a vegetable peeler, then season and cook the asparagus. They’ll turn out soft, velvety, and buttery.
More asparagus recipes
If you like asparagus, check out our other recipes:
- air fryer asparagus – one of our favorite ways to eat asparagus
- tofu soup with asparagus – incredibly simple and satisfying
- steamed asparagus – healthy, tender-crisp, and incredibly juicy
- grilled asparagus – smokey, crisp, lemony, and lightly charred
- boiled asparagus – probably the easiest way to cook asparagus on the stovetop
- or see our best asparagus recipes with cooking tips and methods
Questions
Bake asparagus in the oven for about 12 minutes at 400°F. Keep in mind that thick asparagus take longer to bake, and thin asparagus might take less than 12 minutes.
Bake asparagus in the oven for about 14 minutes at 350°F. Keep in mind that thick asparagus take longer to bake, and thin asparagus might take less than 14 minutes.
Bake asparagus in the oven for about 15 minutes at 325°F. Keep in mind that thick asparagus take longer to bake, and thin asparagus might take less than 15 minutes.
Storage
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.
Reheat in the microwave or on a pan with a touch of olive oil.
We do not recommend freezing roasted asparagus.
For many more side dish ideas, check out our sides category page.
Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (1 lb) asparagus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 twists black pepper
- 4 wedges lemon optional to squeeze on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Rinse and trim the woody ends of the asparagus with a sharp knife.
- Transfer the asparagus onto a baking sheet and season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add the crushed garlic, and toss the asparagus stalks with your hands until evenly coated.Note: we don't use parchment paper here, but you can do so if you want to spend less time cleaning your baking sheet.
- Arrange asparagus on a single layer, then roast them at 400°F or 200°C for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on their thickness. Our thick asparagus took about 12 minutes. To check for doneness, poke them with a fork at the end of the stalk. It should slide in easily. The asparagus should be tender-crisp.
- Transfer to a serving platter and serve as is or with your favorite dressing. Serving suggestions are below.
Notes
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
LEMON AND HERBS The simplest way of serving oven-baked asparagus is with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley on top. The acidity of the lemon makes their flavor pop; the parsley adds aroma and freshness. Optionally you can add some toasted nuts on top. Slivered almonds or pine nuts are our favorites. QUICK SALSA VERDE This is something popular in Rome, Italy. If you’ve ever been there, you probably noticed that they drizzle this thing on roasted vegetables and pizza. To make it, take a big handful of Italian flat-leaf parsley. Add it to a blender with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and the tip of a clove of garlic. Blend for a few seconds and drizzle on the asparagus. This is so quick yet so delicious! MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE A simple, tangy, slightly sweet and sour dressing. Make it with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, 1 teaspoon of mustard, ½ teaspoon of salt, a few twists of black pepper, and some grated garlic (or garlic powder). Whisk well and serve alongside the roasted asparagus for people to drizzle on top. This vinaigrette adds a lot of flavor to this simple recipe. It’s tangy, zesty, a little sweet, and sour. It’s delicious with oven-baked asparagus.Nutrition
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