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Love asparagus? Then you’ll adore these easy asparagus recipes. Each one is full of flavor and ultra-fresh. Whether you want to roast asparagus, cook it on the grill, or add it to a pasta dish – you’ll find the perfect recipe here.
The Best Asparagus Recipes
As Spring approaches, my thoughts turn to all the beautiful fresh produce that comes along with it – especially fresh, jade-green asparagus spears! This robust, yet delicately flavored vegetable is a springtime favorite. Asparagus is so easy to cook with and can be made in lots of easy and super-tasty recipes. Perfection!
What is Asparagus?
Asparagus is a perennial vegetable that grows back every year. You only need to plant it once, then as long as you tend your asparagus patch you’ll find yourself harvesting spears each season. Asparagus grows best in temperate climates and can come in a few different colors. The most common variety produces green spears like the ones you’ll find at the grocery store. However, asparagus can also be white, pink, and purple.
Easy Asparagus Recipes to Try
Are you excited to start whipping up all of your asparagus favorites? Me too! I hope that as you look through this list, you’ll find inspiration for new and different ways to enjoy this delicious veggie.
Do you know how to grill asparagus? Before you get started on that summertime grilling magic, take a look at this quick tutorial for grilling up a simple side dish, too! All you need are salt, pepper, olive oil, and a little bit of Parmesan cheese.
Salt, pepper, and a little olive oil are all you need to turn fresh asparagus spears into sweet, browned perfection! Topped with lemony, creamy, buttery hollandaise sauce, they’re a timeless favorite that complements any meal. I could devour them all right off the pan!
This asparagus bacon recipe is roasted with three kinds of melty cheese and topped with crispy bacon. It’s a quick side dish that pairs with any entree!
If you like bacon-wrapped green beans, you are sure to adore bacon-wrapped asparagus! The sharp and savory glaze made with balsamic vinegar is the ultimate contrast with mild asparagus and sweet, smoky bacon.
This recipe is perfect for using very thin asparagus spears, and the savory results work beautifully for lunch, dinner, brunch, appetizers… you name it! Frozen puff pastry makes an easy, buttery base for the cheesy tart.
Delicate thin asparagus are bundled up in crispy phyllo pastry here, along with crumbles of tangy feta. Garnished with cracked black pepper and served with homemade honey mustard sauce, they are a simple, but complex appetizer you won’t be able to resist!
This recipe is literally a winning chicken dinner! Each chicken breast is seasoned to perfection, stuffed with mozzarella and tender asparagus, and seared in a cast-iron skillet before baking until done. The entire cooking process only takes about 30 minutes, meaning you can make this fancy little dish any night of the week!
Onions and fresh asparagus are sautéed to bring out their flavors, and then simmered in veggie broth until tender. From there, sumptuous heavy cream and a bright splash of lemon get puréed in for a satisfying soup that’s light, savory, creamy, and lush. Yum!
Lemon and garlic go beautifully with asparagus. Lemon and garlic go beautifully with salmon. So when you put them together… I think you see where I’m going with this! And this fresh combination gets even better when you add parsley, thyme, olive oil, and black pepper, and cook everything to perfection on a sheet pan. So easy!
This Oven Baked Salmon Recipe makes tender, flaky salmon in a delicious lemon garlic butter sauce. Roasted with asparagus spears, this easy dinner idea is packed with flavor and comes together in just one pan.
You know those pilaf-style dishes that are so delicious, but have so many steps (looking at you, kedgeree) that you just hardly ever have the time to make them? Well, this easy couscous is full of subtlety and studded with a rainbow of colors and textures, from the golden raisins to the fresh asparagus – but it’s also incredibly easy to make! Just simmer the veggies, stir in the couscous and raisins, and five minutes later, you’ve got a bowl full of AMAZING.
It doesn’t get much simpler (or yummier) than the sweet balsamic pasta sauce in this quick dish! Balsamic vinegar is heated with a little brown sugar and a touch of butter for a shiny, flavorful dressing-like sauce that’s sheer perfection on crisp-tender asparagus, juicy cherry tomatoes, and warm penne pasta. Garnish with Parmesan, and you’ve got a fabulous pasta bowl!
The base of this easy egg dish is so simple! Eggs, flour, cheese and herbs – that’s all you need! From there, lay spear after spear of delectable asparagus right in there, and bake until the eggs are fluffy and the asparagus are perfectly tender. It’s the breakfast (or lunch, or dinner!) of your dreams!
When making asparagus recipes, cutting the asparagus is just as important as your cooking method. This is because the base of the stem is usually tough and inedible.
You can use a sharp knife to trim off the ends. Usually, the bottom two inches are tough, while the remaining portion is tender. I recommend cutting the asparagus there, so you don’t accidentally cut off portions of the asparagus that are tender and edible. If, during your meal, you realize that some of the stalks still have a little bit of the tough end attached, just cut those off and leave them on the plate as you would a shrimp tail.
Should You Peel It?
Do you need to peel your asparagus? While some cooks recommend this, I have never found it necessary. Asparagus tends to cook up beautifully without peeling, so I say leave the peel alone and enjoy more asparagus!
Should You Soak Asparagus Before Cooking?
You do not have to soak fresh asparagus before cooking, but it can be helpful for removing any dirt or grit from the stalks. Just let them sit for a few minutes in a bowl of water, to loosen the dirt. Then rinse them under cool running water.
What’s the Best Way to Store Asparagus?
Okay, this definitely makes asparagus the spring-iest vegetable out there – to store, you need to trim the ends and place them in a glass of water, like flowers in a vase! From there, cover the tops loosely with a bag (a zip-top bag works well for this) and store in the fridge. Use as soon as possible; when the tips of the asparagus loosen and begin to “bloom” or wilt, the asparagus is no longer fresh.
So many great choices. I liked the stuffed chicken breasts best.
Thank YOU! I hope you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
Thank you for the great tips! These recipes are so tasty, but my favorite is the frittata!
That’s great! I hope you’ll enjoy them! Thank YOU! 🙂
All these look really amazing! I wish I could try all!
Thank YOU! Please enjoy! 🙂
I can’t wait to give these asparagus ideas a try!
I hope you’ll enjoy them! Thank YOU! 🙂
I love it! Asparagus is one of my favorite recipes, but I’ve gotten tired of the ways I’ve been cooking it.
I hope you’ll enjoy these! Thank YOU! 🙂
I always have extra asparagus around and was getting tired of plain steamed asparagus, this is my new go-to list! THANK YOU!
That’s great to hear! I hope you’ll enjoy these! Thank YOU! 🙂
I have always wanted to add more asparagus into our diet, and now I can with these delicious recipe ideas!!! Love all of these simple recipes.
That’s wonderful! I hope you’ll enjoy these recipes! Thank YOU! 🙂
I’ve made a few of thee and they are delicious. I can never have too many asparagus recipes!
I’m very happy you enjoyed them!! Thank you so much! 🙂