Perfect Roasted Asparagus with 4 simple ingredients. Full of flavor and with great texture even your kids will love this healthy side dish.
Simple roasted vegetables like roasted cauliflower and roasted sweet potatoes are every busy mom’s best friend. 🙂
Oven Roasted Asparagus
Roasted asparagus is extremely versatile side dish. A great balance to any meaty main like baked salmon or pot roast. Oven roasted asparagus with its bright green colour will immediately check off “eat more vegetables” goal.
And how easy this roasted asparagus recipe is. Just basic avocado or olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 10 minutes and half of healthy dinner is done.
I buy asparagus a lot during fall and winter months. As asparagus does not attract many insects, it is sprayed with fewer pesticides. In off-season months asparagus from Mexico is a blessing because kids eat it with pleasure.
How to Trim Asparagus
In order to prepare asparagus for cooking, all you have to do is just trim its ends. It is chewy and woody part of the vegetable that is unpleasant to eat.
To trim asparagus, just snap the end of one asparagus stem. Where it snapped is where chewy part ends. Then just line remaining asparagus by that line and trim with a knife.
How to Roast Asparagus
- To trim asparagus, follow the steps above.
- Season asparagus by placing vegetable in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then toss with hands or tongs.
- Bake for 12 minutes at 425 degrees F preheated oven. The trick is to cook asparagus at right oven temperature for right amount of time.
- Asparagus is ready when it turns bright green, is tender but still has a bite to it. If asparagus is hard to chew – it is undercooked, mushy – overcooked.
- Season more. You can also add freshly shredded Parmesan, freshly grated garlic or lemon juice on top of roasted asparagus.
Tip: Make sure you use large enough baking sheet so the pan is not overcrowded resulting in asparagus steaming instead of roasting.
How to Store Fresh Asparagus
One thing about asparagus, it doesn’t last too long in the fridge. The top blossom part becomes mushy quite fast and then asparagus is no good.
I often buy asparagus at Costco where it is packaged in sealed plastic bag. I find this way it lasts around 3-4 days maximum.
To prolong the life of asparagus:
- Remove asparagus from the package or take off rubber band.
- Trim off 1 inch at the end.
- Fill tall jar with cold water and stand asparagus in it.
- Cover loosely with beeswax wrap or linen towel and refrigerate for up to 5-6 days.
Is Asparagus Good for You?
Is asparagus healthy? Very. According to Health.com, health benefits of asparagus include:
- Lots of soluble and insoluble fiber, antioxidants, vitamin K and E and folic acid.
- Asparagus also makes you empty your bladder more often which is good for urinary health.
- As someone who cares about consuming less RoundUp sprayed vegetables, I can tell you that asparagus is on the list of less likely to be heavy in pesticides vegetables.
Tip: Washing vegetables thoroughly helps to remove pesticides from them.
More Healthy Asparagus Recipes
Hope you enjoy this easy and delicious roasted asparagus!
PrintRoasted Asparagus
Perfect Roasted Asparagus with 4 simple ingredients. Full of flavor and with great texture even your kids will love this healthy side dish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: North American
Ingredients
- 2 lbs asparagus, rinsed
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Scant 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line rimmed baking sheet with silicone mat or unbleached parchment paper.
- To trim asparagus, snap the end of one spear and cut remaining asparagus same length with a knife. Usually 2″ off, that’s the chewy stringy part you don’t wanna eat.
- Arrange asparagus on the sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Using tongs, toss to coat evenly.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
Store: Refrigerate covered for up to 2 days.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
This recipe is awesome.
Yay! So happy to hear! Thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to let me know you enjoyed my recipe.
I can’t wait to try this today! I’ve tried so many ways and it always comes out soggy or just the florets are crunch and the rest is floppy. I’ll follow up to let you know how it went!
The key is not to overcook it and remove from the oven even while it’s a bit too firm. Asparagus cooks super fast.
it’s ok
★★★★
I adore roasted asparagus! I do the snap but then I cut each one first below the floret part. and the stem I cut in halves and sometimes quarters, depending on how thick. My marinade is avocado oil with a no-salt seasoning blend that I brush onto the veggies. No parchment or mat. I scrub my rimmed baking sheets with a steel brillo and hot water and they come out just fine. No soap. Today is asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, and potatoes, which will take 3-4 pans and be fabulous leftovers tomorrow that I’ll eat with brown rice and chick peas, both cooked in IP and ready. Sooo good! Lately I’ve been doing 410. Will try 425 today. Great recipe and great stuff from you all the time!
★★★★★
Sounds so good and so many veggies! I use mats so my food doesn’t cook directly on the aluminum as it is leaching chemicals in to food when heated. Thank you so much for your kind words. I try.:)