Gimme Some Oven

Roasted Asparagus

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

All of my best tips for how to roast asparagus, plus ideas for roasted asparagus seasonings, sauces and more!

Roasted Asparagus

‘Tis the season for one of my favorite springtime dishes — roasted asparagus! ♡

We make roasted asparagus as often as possible in our house while it is in season. And love serving it as a healthy side dish, or chopping it up and adding it to everything from pastas to salads, soups, risottos, frittatas, grain bowls, and more.

Most of the time, I love keeping my roasted asparagus super-basic and make it simply with olive oil, salt and pepper. But I have included lots of options below for extra seasonings and sauces that you are welcome to add too. Plus, tips for how to select the best fresh asparagus at the store, how to trim off those pesky tough ends, and how to store roasted asparagus if you happen to have leftovers (lol, we never do in our house).

Alright, let’s make some roasted asparagus, friends!

Fresh Asparagus Spears

Oven Roasted Asparagus Ingredients:

To make basic roasted asparagus, you will need four simple ingredients:

  • Fresh Asparagus: In general, you want to look for fresh asparagus at the store that is brightly colored (not faded), with plump and green stalks (not wilty), and with the ends tightly closed (not loose). Asparagus spears can range in thickness, so there’s no right or wrong answer when choosing thick or thin asparagus — it’s whichever you prefer (and whichever is available)! The important thing is just that the tough ends be trimmed off before roasting. To know where to trim, just bend the bottom half of an asparagus stalk until it naturally snaps in two. You can use this spot as a guide, and then use a knife to chop off the rest of the bunch around the same spot.
  • Olive oil: Or your preferred cooking oil.
  • Fine sea salt: To bring out all of that delicious asparagus flavor.
  • Freshly-cracked black pepper: For seasoning.

How To Roast Asparagus

How To Make Roasted Asparagus:

Alright, let’s talk about how to roast asparagus in the oven! My favorite method is simply to…

  1. Heat oven. Heat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Prepare asparagus.  Arrange the asparagus on the baking sheet in an even layer. Drizzle evenly with the olive oil, then briefly toss the asparagus so that it is evenly coated in the oil. Sprinkle evenly with a few generous pinches of salt and pepper.
  3. Roast.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the asparagus reach your desired level of tenderness. (Cook time will vary depending on the thickness of your asparagus spears.)
  4. Serve. Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed. Then serve immediately and enjoy! Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Oven Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Possible Variations:

There are countless ways that you can season your roasted asparagus, if you would like! For example, feel free to…

  • Add dry seasoning: The sky’s really the limit when it comes to dry seasoning blends that you can use with roasted asparagus, so feel free to get creative! I’m especially partial to tossing mine with a teaspoon or two of Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, Ranch seasoning, or — my favorite — roasted asparagus with everything bagel seasoning.
  • Add lemon juice: I also love drizzling on some freshly-squeezed lemon juice just before serving.
  • Add Parmesan: Feel free to sprinkle on freshly-grated Parmesan either before or after roasting your asparagus.
  • Add balsamic vinegar: You can also toss the asparagus in a tablespoon of balsamic before baking. Or reduce the balsamic to form a balsamic glaze, and drizzle it on the roasted asparagus just before serving.
  • Add a finishing sauce: Any number of sauces would also be delicious drizzled on the asparagus just before serving, such as hollandaise, honey mustard, romesco, or even just browned butter.
  • Wrap it in prosciutto: To make little prosciutto-wrapped asparagus bundles, simply wrap 3 to 5 asparagus spears in a thin layer of prosciutto. Place the bundles on your baking sheet and bake for an extra 1-2 minutes, until the asparagus reaches your desired level of doneness.

Easy Roasted Asparagus Recipe

More Favorite Roasted Vegetable Recipes:

Looking for more ways to roast veggies? Here are a few of my favorite roasted vegetables recipes:

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Roasted Asparagus

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 4 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 15 mins
  • Yield: 2-4 servings 1x

Description

My go-to method for classic roasted asparagus.  See suggestions above for extra seasonings and sauces that you can add too!


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Heat oven. Heat oven to 425°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Prepare asparagus.  Arrange the asparagus on the baking sheet in an even layer.  Drizzle evenly with the olive oil, then briefly toss the asparagus so that it is evenly coated in the oil.  Sprinkle evenly with a few generous pinches of salt and pepper.
  3. Roast.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the asparagus reach your desired level of tenderness.  (Cook time will vary depending on the thickness of your asparagus spears.)
  4. Serve.  Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.  Then serve immediately and enjoy!


Notes

Storage instructions: Cooked roasted asparagus can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.  (To freeze roasted asparagus, I recommend doing an initial freeze for 1-2 hours on the baking sheet itself, with the asparagus spread out in an even layer so that it does not freeze in one large clump.  Then you can remove the frozen asparagus and bundle it into a freezer bag or storage container and freeze until ready to use.)

Share this Post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

16 comments on “Roasted Asparagus”

  1. Love this! We eat roasted asparagus all the time…it is my absolute favorite veggie! I like all of your seasoning ideas…honey sounds interesting – I will have to give that one a try! I love your shots of the asparagus. Looks so spring filled and fun, so glad the weather matches lately! (PS we made your enchiladas recipe last night…so good!)

  2. This is great because I just bought some asparagus at the store! I have had it steamed, but there is a fine line between when it is just right to when it gets mushy and nasty. I will definitely be trying this; I have roasted many vegetables, but never thought to roast asparagus!

  3. By far, the best way to enjoy asparagus! I love visiting the farmers market when Spring arrives and buying up freshly grown asparagus, but this is my favorite way to eat it.

  4. I just bought some asparagus the other day. I brushed it with olive oil, salt, and pepper and put it in the grill pan for 10 min. Very yummy!

  5. Hi Ali,

    Hot tip: roast the asparagus until you have some charred parts then then (now, stay with me…) arrange grapefruit segments over top and with a vegetable peeler, shave some parmesean shards on top. then, drizzle it lightly with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. it is TO DIE FOR!!

    you need to supreme the grapefruit and you can even drizzle some of the grapefruit juice over the whole thing. this sounds so odd but it is my #1 favourite way to have asparagus. i first had it like this at Vancouver’s Bin941 and i promise you’ll get hooked!!

  6. I love Asparagus, but surprisingly I have never eaten it this way! Sounds wonderful!

  7. The photos alone made me want to cook this! Truly an awesome recipe and great tips too. This will become a regular in my house from now on.
    Thank you.

  8. We made this last night and added a few orphan yellow summer squash slices to the mix, tender, colorful and fresh tasting veggies!

  9. Can you roast asparagus using vegetable oil instead of olive oil?

  10. Asparagus roasting recipe was simple and quick. I ate more than I thought I would and it was first time ever eating asparagus . I would like for you to post other ways to prepare this green veggie. Thanks again Ali!






  11. Roasted asparagus is one of my favorite weeknight sides! We’ll have to try your recipe soon!

    Paige
    https://thehappyflammily.com

  12. My fave lately is basically tuis exact method sans salt but with olive oil, lots of fresh cracked pepper and soy sauce. A drizzle of both, spun a bit with rings to distribute evenly and sometimes a bit of shredded parm on top, or not. A little squeeze of lemon after to brighten is nice but not necessarily needed. Always a lovely side.






  13. Enjoyed this very much, although tried it in a toaster oven so it took a bit more time! but I liked that it retained crunchiness. Added some balsamic vinegar on your suggestion – so yum!

  14. Made this recipe many times and occasionally toss in some toasted slivered almonds. So tasty.






  15. Love all the recipes they are so easy to follow.
    Thank you!