This easy recipe for Oven Roasted Asparagus is a fantastic healthy side dish that goes with just about everything. Low calorie, low carb, keto friendly, and absolutely delicious!
Thinking back to my childhood, I question how I (like most kids) hated vegetables. Roasted vegetables are my absolute favorite now, with roasted asparagus being right at the top with roasted broccoli. Green is my favorite color!
Asparagus is a fantastic vegetable that’s low in calories, low carb, and high in important nutrients. Roasting it brings out the best flavor and it’s so easy to do with just a few simple ingredients and 20 minutes of your time. You end up with an impressive side dish perfect for any weeknight dinner, or 100% appropriate for a dinner party.
Aside from the taste, I love how only a baking sheet is needed for this recipe – you just mix everything on there without the need to dirty up extra bowls. Side dish win!
How To Roast Asparagus
Recipes like this with few items and fresh produce, rely on using the absolute best ingredients for optimal results. (Scroll to the bottom for the detailed written recipe, if you prefer!)
- Buy fresh asparagus. Fresh asparagus has no smell and is bright green in color. It will start to smell like fish once it goes bad.
- Snap off the gray, woody ends. You simply take the end of each asparagus spear between your thumb and forefinger, then bend until it naturally breaks. You can certainly do several or the entire batch at once with a sharp knife, but I prefer the other method to make sure you’re only snapping off the woody, bitter part and none of the fresh asparagus. It’s super easy and almost fun!
- Place the spears on a rimmed baking sheet (that’s been lightly coated with nonstick spray), and top them with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat all over.
- Arrange them so they’re in a single layer, then sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. You can omit this, if you prefer, or sprinkle even extra!
- Roast in a hot oven until just tender, but still al dente. Then drizzle with a little lemon juice!
- Serve immediately, since they cool off pretty fast.
How Long To Roast Asparagus?
- High heat is best for roasted vegetables. I always bake my oven roasted asparagus at 425 degrees F.
- No matter what the size of your asparagus, the method is the same, but the cooking time will differ. You also want to consider if your oven runs hot or not.
- For thick stalks, you’ll want to check them at about 12 minutes, and for thin asparagus stalks, 8 minutes. You want them to be tender, but al dente with a little bite left to them, and not at all mushy.
What to Serve with Oven Roasted Asparagus
This roasted asparagus recipe is so simple and can be enjoyed on its own or as a side dish. Sometimes I’ll even roast up a double batch and cut them into pieces so I have extra to put in other dishes like salads, pastas, quiche, or on an open faced sandwich. So versatile!
Roasted asparagus is so simple and delicious and pairs wonderfully with many dishes. Some of my top picks include honey garlic glazed salmon, fish piccata, baked chicken breast, and skillet steak.
More Asparagus Recipes To Try
- Creamy Asparagus Soup (sublime!)
- Roasted Asparagus Open Faced Sandwich (with homemade pesto and ricotta. Amazing.)
- Asparagus Muenster Melt (with tomatoes and prosciutto. Mouth watering!)
- Baked Cod Sheet Pan Dinner (beautiful, healthy, and delicious!)
- Pork Stir Fry with Asparagus (Szechuan-style. So good!)
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Oven Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 bunch fresh asparagus , rough woody ends snapped off
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (not table salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice , optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Toss the asparagus with the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper; arrange on the baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with the Parmesan.
- Bake until just tender, 12-15 minutes depending on their thickness. (For very thin asparagus, start checking at 8 minutes.)
- Drizzle with fresh lemon juice, if using, just before serving.
Nutrition
Other Notes
My husband and I ate more asparagus than we’ve ever eaten before when prepared this way. The seasonings really enhance the asparagus. I omitted the cheese and added lemon at the end.
So delicious! I couldn’t stop eating it!
I loved this!
Just before I read this post I washed my asparagus and now I have the perfect recipe for them! Thank you xx