Oven Roasted Asparagus

Fun fact…Asparagus grows wild across the Midwest, and growing up in Iowa, every spring my whole family would gather at my grandparents house for an asparagus “hunting” day. Then we would have a huge feast for dinner. I have loved asparagus since I was little! As an adult I still love it, but my favorite way to cook it is in the oven for about 10-12 minutes.

Oven roasting is the perfect method for cooking fresh asparagus. It is so easy, only requiring 3 ingredients, a sheet pan, and 10 minutes. It also leaves the spears crisp-tender, which is the perfect texture, exactly how it should be. Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese or lemon over the top and you have a stand-out side dish.

Tips for Trimming Asparagus

You always want to make sure you trim the woody hard stem end from your fresh asparagus. You will never be able to chew thru it and you don’t want your guests politely chewing for 10 minutes!

Hold a single spear with both hands, one hand near the thick stem end and the other just below the flowery tip. Gently bend it until it snaps. The spear naturally breaks right at the spot where the tough, woody end meets the tender part you want to eat. Toss the woody end and keep the rest.

Now line that piece up with the rest of the bundle, using the flower end for lining everything up. Cut the rest of the asparagus at the point where the pre trimmed piece ends. Voila- you’re left with tender, yummy asparagus, ready to cook!

How to Roast Asparagus in the Oven

Start by preheating your oven to 400°F. Grab a large sheet pan that will allow your asparagus enough room to roast. If you overcrowd the pan the asparagus will steam instead of roast. Rather use 2 pans then crowd it all onto one pan.

Place all your trimmed asparagus on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. With clean hands toss the asparagus so it is coated in the oil. Place in the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes.

At the end you can zest a little lemon over top or sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan.

Oven Roasted Asparagus for Dinner

This beautiful side dish can really sit alongside almost any dinner menu. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Grilled Filet Mignon, Oven Roasted Asparagus, and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Ambrosia Salad
2. Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Oven Roasted Asparagus, and Herbed Roasted Potatoes (all made in the oven, too easy!)
3. Ham Balls, Baked Potatoes, and Roasted Asparagus
4. Grilled Pork Burgers, Oven Roasted Asparagus, and Parmesan Fries

This recipe is also a staple on our Easter dinner menu. It just screams SPRING and adds beautiful color to the menu!

Picking wild Asparagus In Iowa

Asparagus grows wild in the Midwest especially in Iowa, where I grew up. When I was little, in the Spring, my entire family would gather at my grandparents house and we would have an asparagus hunting day.

Everyone would put on their grubby clothes, tie their hair up in bandanas and pack a pocket knife to cut down the wild spears. We would spend the afternoon trekking thru the ditches and along railroad tracks of Iowa looking for asparagus to harvest. At the end of the day we would be loaded with more asparagus than one family could possibly eat in a week!

After coming home we would do a quick tick check and then move on to preparing our feast from the afternoon spoils. My grandpa would grill farm fresh T-Bone steaks and my grandma would prepare all the asparagus you could ever want to eat. After the weekend everyone would be sent home with their own bundle of wild asparagus.

I still think about those days every time I eat asparagus… or a T-Bone steak! And I try to take my kids back to Iowa to “hunt” asparagus in the Spring! Above is a picture of Kyle with one of our hauls…

More Fresh Veggie Side dishes

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Oven Roasted Asparagus is perfectly cooked fresh asparagus. By roasting the asparagus in the oven you end up with crisp tender spears. Exactly what you want! Add a little parmesan cheese or lemon zest to dress it up!!

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes minutes

Servings: 5 people

Author: Susie Weinrich

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 bunch fresh asparagus
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ large pinch of kosher salt
• ▢ *Optional- parmesan cheese or lemon zest

Instructions

 

Prep

• Preheat the oven to 400℉
• Trim the hard ends from the asparagus and discard.

  Mom's Tip: An easy way to do this is grab the thicker end of the asparagus, then grab right below the flower end and bend the asparagus until it snaps. That is the exact split between the tender end and the woody end. Now line up all the asparagus and cut the same amount of woody end from the other spears.
  1 bunch fresh asparagus
• Place the asparagus on a large sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Using clean hands, toss the asparagus to coat with the oil.
  1 tablespoon olive oil
• Sprinkle with kosher salt.
  large pinch of kosher salt

Roasting

• Bake for 10-12 minutes, shaking the pan half way thru to rotate the asparagus.
• Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
• Optional– sprinkle with lemon zest or parmesan cheese.

Recipe Tips and Notes:

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This is a recipe for fresh asparagus – do not use frozen asparagus in this recipe.

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