10 Easy Asparagus Recipes

A favorite easy asparagus recipe? Baked! Here the tender stalks are baked in a hot oven until tender, but still beautifully green. Then they're spritzed with lemon, and the finishing touch: melted Parmesan cheese. It’s the perfect way to eat asparagus. Even better, it’s a side dish that’s easy enough to whip up while you’re in the midst of cooking a main dish!

Creamy, savory, crunchy, and zingy: this asparagus risotto is truly sublime. Roast up some asparagus with lemon at the same time that you’re stirring up a creamy Parmesan risotto on the stove. Then throw the tender bright green asparagus into the risotto, right along with the lemon. You’ll wish the pot would never end.

Want a salad that’s as tasty as it is versatile? Enter: asparagus salad! It’s got savory sauteed asparagus, cooked up in a hot pan for a few minutes then spritzed with lemon. Add that to a bed of greens and sprinkle with peppery radishes and salty feta cheese. A Dijon mustard dressing tops it off. Even better: you can serve as a side dish, or add cooked quinoa and make it a main dish salad. 

Here’s a genius way to cook asparagus to charred and tender without even preheating your oven. Yes, it’s our new favorite way to make it: Broiled Asparagus! Just throw it in the broiler with a few lemon wheels, and it comes out just like roasted asparagus…but even better. 

Turns out grilled asparagus might be the most delicious way to cook it! It’s easy and requires only a few ingredients. It comes out incredible: tender and charred, with a hint of smoke. Spritz it with lemon juice, and it’s a fresh and healthy side dish you won’t be able to stop eating! It's perfect to throw on the grill while you're grilling a main dish.

Here's a tasty way to eat asparagus as part of a main dish dinner: combine it with pasta! This easy pasta recipe takes just 7 ingredients and about 20 minutes to make. The asparagus is combined with lemon, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese to make a pasta dish that tastes greater than the sum of its parts. Add a green salad and it's a healthy dinner! Also try: Vegan Pasta Primavera

Have you ever tried raw shaved asparagus? The flavor of asparagus raw and shaved is unlike anything you'd imagine: it's not bitter at all! Instead the flavor is lightly sweet and the crunch is refreshing. Here it's shaved with a vegetable peeler and then combined with olive oil, lemon juice and Parmesan into a salad that's incredibly flavorful.

Here’s a simple way to get a side dish on the table…fast: sauteed asparagus! When you’re trying to get dinner on the table, you don’t want to get stuck on a side dish. Here’s an easy side dish that requires little prep and almost no thought. Bright green asparagus is sauteed simply with olive oil and lemon, and we've got a list of flavor adders to amp it up!

Another great way to add asparagus to a main dish recipe: throw it in a frittata! This easy frittata recipe stars bright bursts of roasted cherry tomatoes along with fresh shaved asparagus. Many asparagus frittata recipes use the vegetable cooked: but shaving it and using it raw brings a sweet, fresh flavor. Top with feta cheese and it's perfect for brunch, lunch or a simple dinner.

Want a quick and healthy way to cook asparagus? Try steamed asparagus. Steaming is healthier than most ways since you don’t need to use as much fat! If you do it correctly, it comes out bright green and crisp tender: perfect with a zing of lemon. And it takes only 10 minutes!

Also try: How to Boil Asparagus or How to Blanch Asparagus