Last Updated on 20th July 2022 by
Asparagus is hands down the ultimate treat when it comes to vegetables. It’s delicious, it’s versatile, and it’s a nutritious addition to your diet!
Asparagus is a highly nutritious vegetable that can be eaten cooked or raw. The most popular method is cooking because of its tough texture. Steamed, simmered, roasted, battered, grilled, sautéed, or wok-fried— asparagus can be cooked in different ways.
For quick meals on hectic days or for days when you’re feeling too lazy to prepare a full meal, simple and delicious asparagus recipes can surely get you by.
Ready for asparagus season? Try making these quick and easy asparagus recipes!
How to Bake Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese
Baked asparagus in olive oil and parmesan cheese must be the easiest way to prepare asparagus. This is how to bake asparagus with parmesan cheese.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound asparagus
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse or chunky kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 cup loosely packed (40g) grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Break or cut off the woody ends of the asparagus spears.
- Arrange the asparagus spears on a foil-lined baking sheet and coat them with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 400°F until the cheese begins to brown. This should take you about 8-10 minutes.
Tada! You just learned how to cook asparagus in the oven with parmesan cheese. They’re a perfect side to salmon, scallops, shrimp, or ham and delicious with eggs of any kind—poached, fried, or hard-boiled.
How to Make Parmesan Asparagus in an Air Fryer
Another fast, easy, and reliable asparagus recipe to try is air fryer asparagus. Roasted asparagus in the air fryer involves just a little bit of prep work and a little bit of air frying, and you’ll have a side dish that’s ready in just 10 minutes. This is how to make parmesan asparagus in the air fryer:
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Clean the asparagus with water and pat them to dry. Then, cut about an inch off the bottom of each spear. If you have a small air fryer, you have to cut a bit more, so they’ll fit.
- Place the asparagus in the air fryer basket. Don’t overcrowd them as this can cause undercooked veggies. Then, spray the spears with a little bit of oil.
Voila! Your air fryer asparagus is ready to be eaten. Eat them like French fries!
How to Make Pan-Fried Asparagus with Parmesan
Pan-fried asparagus with parmesan cheese is another tasty side dish that should be ready in minutes. It’s cheesy and crunchy and goes well with dinner – fish, chicken, steak, turkey, or pork. This is another quick and no-fuss asparagus recipe to try.
Directions:
- Rinse the asparagus under running water.
- Trim off the hard parts of the asparagus. These are the woody parts at the bottom. Grab the stalk of asparagus at either end and bend until it snaps to remove the woody ends. It will naturally snap where it starts to get tough.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet or frying pan. Once hot, put the asparagus in. Use a spatula, fork, or asparagus tongs to help you spread the asparagus so that each piece is touching the skillet or pan.
- Let it fry for about 20-30 seconds before shaking the skillet to turn your asparagus the easiest way. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Once ready, place the fried asparagus on a clean baking sheet. Combine parmesan cheese and ground almonds together and generously sprinkle this over. Shake the baking sheet until you see all the spears are generously coated in the cheese mixture.
How to Cook Parmesan Asparagus on Tin Foil
Another favorite way to enjoy asparagus is serving this healthy grilled asparagus in foil with all meats and seafood.
Grilled asparagus is one of those vegetables that I could eat every day! I am sharing my method on how to grill asparagus parmesan on tin foil so that the stalks stay crispy, right until you serve them!
Ingredients:
- Fresh asparagus
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh lemons
- Parmigiano Reggiano
Directions:
- Preheat a grill to 400-425 F. Use a sharp knife to cut off an inch and a half or two from the bottom of each asparagus stalk. These are woody, hard, and tough to chew. Discard them.
- Place trimmed asparagus on a large piece of aluminum foil. You might have to do this in two batches depending on the size of the asparagus bundle. Try not to have more than two asparagus stacked on top of each other, or it won’t cook evenly.
- Drizzle the asparagus with two tablespoons of olive oil, ½ tsp salt, and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Pull up the sides of the aluminum foil, then fold tightly to create and seal the asparagus into a wrapped packet.
- Place each packet on a preheated grill, then cook for 5-6 minutes per side. Remove carefully, then rest for 5 minutes. Thinner stalks of asparagus will cook in less time, while larger, thicker stalks may take more than five minutes per side.
- Carefully open each packet, then finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon, grated parmesan cheese, and a dusting of salt.
How to Cook Garlic Parmesan Asparagus
For me, the perfect crispy and crunchy asparagus side dish or snack is garlic butter asparagus with crispy parmesan cheese— it has so much flavor!
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds (1 kg) asparagus washed, dried and wood ends removed
- Three tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
- Five cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese)
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- Two teaspoons parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste (about 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Using a non-stick cooking oil spray, lightly grease a baking tray or sheet.
- In a bowl, place the trimmed asparagus. Then, add the rest of the ingredients and use your hands to coat the asparagus evenly.
- Transfer the asparagus and breadcrumb mixture to a prepared baking sheet and arrange it into one even layer. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the asparagus are just tender.
- Broil/grill for 2-3 minutes until breadcrumbs are golden browned and your asparagus has reached your desired doneness.
I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!
