How to Cook Asparagus
People always ask, “How do I cook asparagus?” Well, roasted asparagus in the oven is one of the easiest way to prepare asparagus. This is just that: an easy asparagus recipe that is simple, yet delicious. Just coat the asparagus with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and maybe a little minced garlic, and roast them until lightly browned and tender.
If you want to take the roasted asparagus up a notch, when they’re done, drizzle them with a little lemon juice or balsamic vinegar or sprinkle them with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Tip for Roasted Asparagus
Have you ever had roasted asparagus turn out tough and stringy? The best way to avoid that is to use the fat spears, not the skinny ones, for roasting. The skinny ones will dry out too quickly in the high heat of the oven.
More great asparagus recipes
Roasted Asparagus Recipe
PrintFor best results for roasting asparagus, use thick asparagus spears, not skinny ones. The thin ones will dry out too quickly and will end up tough and stringy.
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus spears (thick spears are best for roasting)
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly grated black pepper
- Lemon juice (or balsamic vinegar)
Method
1 Preheat oven and prep asparagus: Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C). Rinse the asparagus spears. If the ends are tough, break them off and either discard or save for stock. You can also use a vegetable peeler to peel away the tough outer skin of the fatter ends of the asparagus if you want.
2 Drizzle asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic: Line a roasting pan with foil. Arrange the asparagus spears in a single layer on the lined roasting pan.
Drizzle with olive oil and rub the spears all over with the olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and minced garlic, and rub over the asparagus spears to evenly distribute.
3 Roast in oven: Roast at 400°F (205°C) for 10 minutes, more or less, depending on your particular oven and how thick the spears are, until the asparagus are just lightly browned and tender when you pierce them with a fork.
4 Drizzle with lemon juice or balsamic to serve: To serve, drizzle with fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, and if you want, a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese (skip if cooking vegan).
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
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Instead of lemon juice, I like to add a bit of lemon zest before it goes in the oven. Adds a decided bright, but delicate, hit of lemon.
I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to roast vegetables; you made it so easy and the taste is so much better! I also tossed thick-cut onion slices in the oil and sprinkled sea salt, pepper, and because I didn’t have garlic powder I added turmeric for its health benefits. I’d bought thin asparagus spears so only roasted for 7 minutes. Perfect, and delicious!
Thanks for posting! This is my new favorite way to cook asparagus – so simple and delicious!
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I made this tonight with oven- baked chicken wings and mac-n-cheese. So gooooood! I used sesame oil instead of olive oil – delicious! Making more for lunch tomorrow. ;)
We love roasted asparagus. But I put my as pages in a bowl add olive oil salt pepper garlic and Parmesan. Spread out on cookie sheet with bacon layer on top. Cook 400 for 10 minutes. Then turn broiler on until bacon is done. There is never a bite left.