Roasted Asparagus – WellPlated.com

With its tender stalks and crispy ideas, Roasted Asparagus is without doubt one of the most delectable methods to get pleasure from this wholesome, quick-cooking veggie. This can be a recipe that’s simple sufficient for a weeknight dinner, however fancy sufficient to serve for a vacation meal!

Why You’ll Love This Oven-Roasted Asparagus Recipe

• Fast-Cooking. As a result of asparagus is a softer vegetable and the spears are skinny, it cooks extra rapidly than laborious greens like Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Simply 9 to fifteen minutes, relying on the thickness!
• (Virtually) Zero Prep. Simply trim the ends, and you might be able to roast (no laborious peeling like if you’re making Roasted Butternut Squash).
• Versatile. Season it up with Parmesan and lemon, make it spicy, or maintain it easy. Pair it with a protein like Baked Salmon, or serve it alongside any of those pasta recipes.
• Feels a Little Fancy. Ohh-la-la asparagus! This veggie is a well-liked restaurant facet however, like Roasted Mushrooms one other dining-out favourite, it’s tremendous easy to make at dwelling.
• Child-Pleasant. Asparagus is sort of delicate, and the spears are enjoyable to select up along with your fingers when you don’t thoughts letting the children (and youngsters at coronary heart) have just a little enjoyable. Asparagus was the primary inexperienced veggie I beloved as a child. Roasted Broccoli took me till maturity to embrace, savory contemporary asparagus and I received alongside immediately.

How you can Make the Greatest Roasted Asparagus

Baking excellent roast asparagus comes down to a couple simple however important ideas.

Trim the Asparagus

Each stalk of asparagus has a troublesome, woody finish that needs to be eliminated earlier than roasting. The place this woody part stops and begins varies from stalk to stalk.

There are two strategies for trimming asparagus to contemplate: bend and break or trimming with a knife.

• Bend and Break (least quantity of waste). Maintain the highest of the stem in a single hand and grip it close to the bottom with the opposite. Briskly bend, and the asparagus will naturally snap in the proper place. (Be at liberty to channel Legally Blonde and consult with this methodology because the “bend and snap.”)
• Minimize the Bunch (quickest methodology). Maintain your complete bunch of asparagus in a single hand (this works very properly if it’s nonetheless rubber-banded collectively) and trim off the ends about 1 1/2 inches or so from the underside.

For my part, the most effective methodology of trimming asparagus is to bend and break.

It takes just a little longer, however not a lot, and it ensures you solely take away the powerful parts of every stalk, leading to much less waste and assured tenderness on each stalk.

Get Prepared for Roasting

• Wash and Dry the Asparagus. Like Roasted Green Beans and different veggies, asparagus needs to be washed earlier than it’s roasted (no must soak, except your asparagus is tremendous soiled). You are able to do this both earlier than or after trimming it; simply be sure you dry it utterly.
• Oil and Season. Be certain that the asparagus has a lightweight coating so the guidelines don’t burn. Preserve the seasonings easy with salt and pepper, or attempt one of many variations under.
• Unfold the Asparagus right into a Single Layer. Be certain that the spears aren’t touching so the air can flow into.

Roast at a Excessive Temperature

• 425 levels F is the perfect oven temperature for roasting asparagus. The excessive warmth yields the crispy outdoors, caramelized inside texture we’re on the lookout for with out burning the spears.
• In case you are baking different dishes with the asparagus within the oven (or including it to this Sheet Pan Chicken with Rainbow Vegetables) and must tweak the oven temperature to accommodate, my second advice can be asparagus at 400 levels F.

Recipe Variations

Listed below are some tasty methods to season roasted asparagus with on a regular basis easy elements.

• Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan. Sprinkle the roasted asparagus with freshly grated Parmesan cheese simply earlier than serving. You can also sprinkle on the cheese, then pop the asparagus again into the oven for a minute or two when you’d just like the cheese extra melty. Asiago cheese would even be pleasant.
• Roasted Asparagus with Lemon. Add a thinly sliced lemon to the pan with the asparagus previous to roasting. End the dish with an additional squeeze of contemporary lemon juice and lemon zest.
• Spicy Roasted Asparagus. Add a pinch of purple pepper flakes. This variation is particularly good mixed with lemon and Parmesan.
• Balsamic Roasted Asparagus. Drizzle the asparagus with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar throughout the previous couple of minutes of cooking.
• Herb Roasted Aspargus. Add dried herbs like basil, oregano, or Italian seasoning (earlier than roasting), or end with chopped contemporary herbs like parsley (after roasting).
• Nutty Roasted Asparagus. High the asparagus with a sprinkle of toasted slivered almonds, chopped toasted pecans, or toasted pine nuts.
• Garlic Roasted Asparagus. Sprinkle and toss the asparagus in garlic powder previous to roasting.

Storage Suggestions

• To Retailer. Refrigerate asparagus in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. 
• To Reheat. Rewarm leftovers on a baking sheet within the oven at 350 levels F. 
• To Freeze. I don’t suggest freezing roasted asparagus, because it turns into mushy. When you should, freeze asparagus in an hermetic, freezer-safe storage container for as much as 3 months. Let thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating. 

What to Serve with Roasted Asparagus

Suggestions and Methods

• Don’t Crowd the Pan. That is the cardinal rule for all roasted greens, whether or not we’re speaking about Oven Roasted Potatoes, Roasted Tomatoes, or mixed Roasted Vegetables.
• Use Sufficient Oil. The spear wants a lightweight coating on all sides. If there isn’t sufficient, the spears’ tender ideas (the most effective half!) will burn. Roasting is without doubt one of the healthiest methods to cook dinner asparagus, so don’t fear about utilizing olive oil; it’s important to creating it style scrumptious.
• Don’t Overcook. When you overcook asparagus, it would develop into mushy, and it could burn. It occurs extra rapidly than you’d anticipate.
• Use a Fork to Check for Doneness. One of the simplest ways to inform if asparagus is completed and to maintain it from changing into soggy is to pierce it with a fork. As quickly because the fork can pierce the stalks simply, the asparagus is completed.
• Get Inventive. Have enjoyable with the seasoning concepts above. When doubtful, make Bacon Wrapped Asparagus.