Sautéed asparagus is a quick vegetable side dish and appetizer for spring.
Serve them like we do in Italy with fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. I recommend a slice of homemade bread or focaccia on the side.
Sautéed asparagus is a quick and delicious way to cook asparagus on the stovetop. Honestly, it is one of easiest ways to cook asparagus.
You can use sauteed asparagus in a variety of ways. From Italian asparagus pasta and creamy asparagus soup or add them to a Mediterranean couscous salad and easy pasta salad.
Louise and I love our veggies, but we prefer if they are cooked in an easy manner 😋. Enter the stir-fry or sautéed method where asparagus cook until tender-crisp in just about 10 minutes.
Similar to sauteed zucchini and sauteed eggplant, we use simple ingredients to enhance the natural flavor of asparagus.
Enjoy this vegetable recipe as a side dish with extra virgin olive, grated parmesan cheese and zested lemon.
We also love to serve it as a Mediterranean appetizer on a bed of homemade hummus or baba ganoush with pita bread. Let’s get sautéing!
Ingredients
- Asparagus: you can stir-fry fresh asparagus or frozen asparagus. If in season (late February to June), we recommend using fresh ones.
They stay crispier than frozen. You can use both farmed and wild asparagus. Wild asparagus are often found in farmer’s markets, and they are thinner and with a more intense asparagus flavor. - Olive oil: use extra virgin olive oil if possible. Its high antioxidant content makes it stable at high temperatures and suitable for sautéeing.
- Garlic: crushed; it won’t burn this way while still infusing the asparagus with its aroma.
- Lemon: you can use both lemon zest and juice. Sprinkle and drizzle on top just before serving.
Instructions
Rinse and trim the woody ends of the asparagus with a sharp knife.
Chop the asparagus spears into smaller chunks. If you want to sautee asparagus whole, you’ll need a large skillet that can fit them.
On a large skillet, warm up a tablespoon of olive oil.
Add the asparagus, crushed garlic, salt, and pepper. Sauté on medium-high heat for 2 minutes, add a splash of white wine (or water) and stir.
Let the wine evaporate, turn the heat to medium-low, cover the skillet with a lid and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how thick your asparagus is.
To check for doneness, pierce the stalk with a fork. It should be tender-crisp, not mushy and overcooked.
Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a garnish of finely chopped parsley. Optionally, you can grate parmesan cheese just before serving.
Variation with toasted almonds: For special occasions, and when we have guests over for dinner, I serve sautéed asparagus with toasted slivered almonds.
Tips
- Blanching: For a brighter green color, blanch the asparagus before sauteeing.
Cook them in salted boiling water for about 1 minute, then drain, and rinse under cold water for 20 seconds. Pat them dry with a kitchen cloth and sauté with garlic and olive oil. - Deglazing: deglazing the skillet with white wine adds acidity to the dish, which makes the asparagus flavor pop in your mouth. Deglazing simply means adding cold liquid to a hot skillet. Use a dry white wine to deglaze asparagus.
- Crushed garlic: I always found minced garlic to be quite annoying with asparagus. It tends to burn, turing brown and bitter, and it covers the asparagus flavor.
Try adding crushed garlic instead. You’ll get plenty of garlic aroma, but more subtle.
Questions
It takes from 5 to 10 minutes to fry asparagus in a skillet with a tablespoon of oil. Thicker asparagus take longer, thinner asparagus can take as littl as 5 minutes to fry.
Storage
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in microwave.
We do not recommend freezing.
More asparagus recipes
If you like asparagus, check out our other recipes:
If you tried this Sautèed Asparagus recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Sauteed Asparagus
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (1 lb) asparagus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 twists black pepper
- ¼ cup white wine or water
- 4 wedges lemon to squeeze on top
Instructions
- Rinse and trim asparagus ends. Try to cut off only woody part.Chop the asparagus spears into smaller chunks. If you want to sautee asparagus whole, then you'll need a large skillet that can fit them.
- On a large skillet, warm up a tablespoon of olive oil. Add 16 ounces (1 lb) asparagus, 2 cloves garlic (crushed), ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 twists black pepper. Sauté on medium-high heat for 2 minutes, add ¼ cup white wine and stir.Let the wine evaporate, turn the heat to medium-low, cover the skillet with a lid and cook for another 3 to 7 minutes, depending on how thick your asparagus is.
- To check for doneness, pierce the stalk with a fork. It should be tender-crisp, not mushy and overcooked.
