Recipes Dinners Side Dishes

Grilled Asparagus

Nothing beats the flavor of asparagus, coated in olive oil, sprinkled with salt, and quickly grilled.

Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Elise Bauer
Published May 16, 2016
Elise Bauer
Grilled Asparagus
Elise Bauer

Mmm. Asparagus. You can steam them, boil them, roast them, but I don't think anything beats the flavor of asparagus that are simply grilled.

The smoky flavor, the char marks. Tender, but still with a little crunch. Seriously good! I could (and have) eat them like French fries.

Grilled Asparagus
Elise Bauer

The best thing about grilling asparagus? So easy. You don't need anything more than thick asparagus spears, olive oil, salt, and hot grill. It just takes a few minutes to get some char.

More Ways to Enjoy Asparagus

Grilled Asparagus

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 7 mins
Total Time 22 mins
Servings 4 servings
Thick asparagus work best for grilling, get the chubbiest spears you can. Thin spears will dry out before they get a good char.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound asparagus (estimate 1/4 pound per person), thick spears
  • 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt

Method

  1. Preheat your grill for high, direct heat.


  2. Prep asparagus, coat with olive oil, sprinkle with salt:

    Prepare the asparagus by breaking or cutting off any tough bottom ends (can save for stock, or discard).

    Place the asparagus in a pan (to contain the spears while you put them on and take them off the grill).

    grilled-asparagus-method-1
    Elise Bauer

    Coat them with olive oil and sprinkle salt over them.

  3. Grill on high, direct heat:

    Brush the grill grates lightly with olive oil. Place the asparagus spears on the grill so that the thickest ends are aimed toward the hottest part of the grill.

    Alternatively, you can use a grill pan, heat on high.

    Grill the asparagus spears for 2-4 minutes, until lightly charred and just fork tender, turning them often so that they brown on all sides.

    grilled-asparagus-method-2
    Elise Bauer

    Remove from grill and serve.