Asparagus is one of our favorite veggies to roast! My easy method guarantees roasted asparagus that’s perfectly tender and tastes amazing.
This tender roasted asparagus recipe is a favorite for a reason! It’s incredibly quick and easy to make, and the result is a healthy and delicious side dish that goes well with so many things. I’ve included all my best tips below, covering everything from choosing the freshest asparagus to prepping and cooking it just right.
We love enjoying this roasted asparagus just as it is, but it’s also fantastic in other dishes. Try it in an asparagus omelette, make asparagus crostini for an easy appetizer, or serve it for breakfast with steak and eggs!
Key Ingredients
- Asparagus: Look for spears that are vibrant green with tightly closed, compact tips. A hint of purple on the tips is a welcome sign, too! Avoid asparagus that appears dull, yellowed, or has open flowering tips, as these are telltale signs of age. Beyond color, texture plays an important role. Give the stalks a gentle squeeze – they should feel firm and snap easily when bent. Limp or bendy asparagus is past its prime.
- Seasonings and Oil: I love olive oil or avocado oil for roasting vegetables. I keep the seasonings simple with salt and pepper but feel free to use your favorite blends, such as seasoned salt, Cajun seasoning, or other spice blends. If you love garlic, see our garlic asparagus recipe!
How to Make Roasted Asparagus
I am such a fan of roasting asparagus. Here’s how I do it. The first thing to check is how thick your asparagus stems are. If you have skinny stems, you do not need to peel them! Simply trim the ends, and you are ready to season and roast.
If you have thicker asparagus, the stems may be a bit more woody (meaning they won’t become as tender in the oven). To get around this, grab a vegetable peeler and peel away the outer layer of the asparagus stems. Then, trim them about an inch from the bottom. You can also bend the stems and see where they snap. The asparagus should naturally break where the woody part begins.
You can season your asparagus however you like, but we are keeping it super simple with salt, pepper, and olive oil for this recipe.
A hot oven is essential for achieving that tender-crisp texture. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and roast the asparagus for 15 to 25 minutes. Keep a close eye on thinner stalks, which cook more quickly than thicker ones.
To test for doneness, pierce an asparagus spear with a fork—it should be tender with a slight resistance. And that’s it! Roasted asparagus is ready to be enjoyed as a simple side or incorporated into your favorite recipes.
Perfect Roasted Asparagus
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
I love this easy method for perfectly roasted asparagus. Depending on the thickness of your asparagus, it will take between 15 and 25 minutes to bake. We try to buy thinner asparagus when we can find it. If you can only find asparagus with thick, woody stems, we recommend using a vegetable peeler to peel away the thick outer peel of the stalks.
You Will Need
1 pound fresh asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
2For thick asparagus, bend a stalk until it snaps naturally. This shows you where the woody part ends. Trim the rest of your asparagus to roughly the same length. Then, use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer layer from each stalk, helping ensure tender results.
3For thin asparagus, trim about 1/2 inch from the ends. There is no need to peel.
4Place the asparagus on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the asparagus in a single layer on the baking sheet to ensure even cooking.
5Roast until the tips begin to brown and the stalks are tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Keep in mind that thicker asparagus will take longer to cook.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing raw asparagus: Wrap the ends in a damp paper towel and store it upright in the refrigerator.
- Storing roasted asparagus: Leftover roasted asparagus can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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We enjoyed a lot, thank you! Asaparagus can be difficult but this helped us. Sliced lengthwise the bottom half of each thicker stalk.
Just have a question- they always say snap off asparagus ends as they are tough? This seems like a waste ? Did you you do this in this receipe?
Thank you
Hi Alice, It depends. I usually cut about an inch from the bottom, but if your asparagus is thin and young (like from a farmers market), you can probably cut away less. The thicker asparagus can be more woody at the bottom, which is why many recommend removing it. You can save the discarded stems ends, though! We use them in stocks and to make soup, like our asparagus soup.
Making this tomorrow, looks delicious.
This sounds good for cold weather. In warmer weather, I grill mine on a sheet of aluminum foil with the grill flame on low. I brush the asparagus with an olive oil mixture containing my favorite spices — salt, Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb, ground rosemary and dill. I turn the asparagus once to brown on both sides. Best part – clean up is a snap. Just throw away the foil and the grill is clean and ready to go again!
I add some grated cheese to this at the end as well. Heaven!
oh, great idea!
This is how I love my asparagus.
I adore roasted asparagus. Tastes like spring to me.