This Parmesan roasted asparagus is ready to eat in just 15 minutes, cooked in the oven at 425F for 5-10 minutes. Large asparagus spears roast well, but any size will work. Any type of hard, dry cheese can be used, including Parmesan, Asiago, or Pecorino.
The recipe uses 1 pound of asparagus, which is a typical bundle from the grocery store. It serves 2-4 people, depending on much roasted asparagus each person wants. A single serving would be 4-5 spears.
Jump to:
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, to taste or up to ¼ tsp
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper, to taste or red pepper flakes, or aleppo pepper
- 1-2 ounce Parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉
- Trim dry ends off the asparagus. No need to snap - just cut until the bottom end doesn't look dry. Add to a rimmed baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Top asparagus with grated Parmesan cheese (but don't mix - you want it on top).
- Roast asparagus at 425℉ for 5-10 minutes. Thin spears will cook faster, larger spears take longer. Larger spears are usually fork-tender in my oven after 8 minutes. When is it done cooking? The spears should be tender-crisp: easily pierced with a fork, but not mushy. You can also grab a spear in the middle with a tongs or fork, it should bend slightly, but not go limp. You should be able to still snap it in half (or come close).
Notes
Parmesan & other cheeses
- Use Parmesan, Asiago, or Pecorino cheese
- Freshly grated, fine or large, has a great flavor and smooth texture
- Kraft canned Parmesan cheese has a different texture (kind of grainy, like on top of garlic bread) - use it if that's the texture you like
Asparagus spears
- Large spears cook in 8-10 minutes, small spears are done in 4-6
- Purple asparagus will lose most (or all) of the purple color after roasting, turning green
Nutrition
Nutrition is calculated using 1 ounce of cheese and 100% of the olive oil, across 4 servings. If you double the cheese add another 27 calories per serving.Nutrition
Asparagus: size & quality
When asparagus is in season, it has a great texture and flavor. The spears will range from small to large, which doesn't indicate a higher or lower quality as long as the spears aren't pencil thin.
I like using larger spears for making Parmesan roasted asparagus. The thicker spears hold up the high heat better and have a little more wiggle room on cooking time before they are overcooked.
So what does matter when choosing fresh asparagus?
The first thing everyone tells you is to look for the freshest asparagus you can find. The spears should be rigid and not at all limp, and the ends should not look too dried out. Ideally the ends aren't dried out at all, but that's really hard to find by the time they get to the store or sometimes even the farmers market.
Fresh asparagus has a better flavor and texture. After harvest, the sugars start converting into lignin, a compound that causes the spears to be woody or stringy. This continues throughout storage, so the sooner your eat the asparagus, the better.
However, even if you get really fresh asparagus, you can end up with some woodiness. The weather can affect it - most commonly very early in the season when the weather is cool. As asparagus grows, the spears develop lignin to keep them tall and upright. The longer they take to grow, the more lignin they develop.
Storing & trimming asparagus
The best way to store asparagus is in a jar with an inch of water, in the fridge. This helps keep the spears from drying out and maintain their crisp texture longer.
Don't cut the ends off until you are ready to use them. Even if you're stored them in water, the ends might still look dry.
The claim that snapping spears naturally breaks them at the perfect point has been debunked. It ends up wasting a lot of useful flesh. Instead, cut an inch (or less) off the bottom. If the bottoms look moist and fresh, they are ready to use. If they still look dry, cut off a little more.
Green vs purple asparagus
Purple asparagus is usually sweeter than green asparagus and the spears are usually bigger on average. It just has to do with the genetics of the plant. I've been really happy with the purple asparagus growing in my garden.
The purple color is only on the outside. The center is still bright, grassy green. As it cooks, purple asparagus loses its color and turns green. So you only want to roast purple asparagus if you just like its taste or texture better.
Roasting asparagus
Roasting typically implies setting your oven to a higher level of heat, usually 400F or above, while the term 'baking' is most often used to refer to lower levels of heat like 350F.
Using a higher heat for Parmesan roasted asparagus browns the spears, crisps up the tips, and melts the Parmesan cheese.
How do you know when the asparagus is done cooking?
The spears will bend slightly when lifted up, but still be firm enough that you could snap them (or come close to it). A fork will piece through them, but you should still have a little resistance - it shouldn't feel mushy.
Overcooked asparagus will be extremely limp and mushy. Think of perfectly cooked green beans compared to overcooked mushy ones.
Cook time in the oven
Roasting asparagus doesn't take very long. In a 400-425F oven, thin spears are done in about 4-6 minutes, and thick spears are done in about 8-10 minutes.
If the spears have to cook longer, they cheese might turn more brown but shouldn't burn, which makes this Parmesan roasted asparagus such an easy side dish.
Parmesan
The type of cheese, how much you use, and how finely it's grated is all up to you. Roasting asparagus with Parmesan is extremely flexible.
Type of cheese
Most types of hard cheeses work well for this recipe, including asiago and pecorino. They melt easily when roasted in the oven, but don't turn stringy or gooey like mozzarella or some other soft cheeses.
I prefer the flavor and texture of freshly grated Parmesan over the Kraft version in a green jar. However, the Kraft version does have it's own unique texture, that admittedly, can be tasty. So it's up to you! I'm not here to force you into bougie-ness.
If you do want to be a little fancy, try a peppercorn Asiago or a garlic and herb flavored Parmesan. Most grocery stores sell wedges of flavored hard-cheeses, for anywhere from $6-$12.
Amount of cheese
This recipe calls for 1-2 ounces of cheese for a pound of asparagus. That's on the lighter side - enough to flavor the roasted asparagus, but not enough to make it feel super cheesy. Add more cheese as you see fit!
Large or finely grated
Lastly, you can use any type of grating for the Parmesan. It can be larger grated string-like pieces from a regular cheese grater or even super-finely grated on a zester.
If you pull out a zester, you could also grate a small clove of garlic or lemon zest to add to the olive oil when you toss the spears around in the baking tray.
More asparagus recipes & resources
If you enjoy roasting asparagus, try one of these recipes from other food bloggers.
- "Everything" roasted asparagus from Gimme Some Oven
- Parmesan roasted asparagus with prosciutto from Katya at Little Broken or prosciutto-wrapped asparagus from Fifteen Spatulas
- Use roasted asparagus to make soup with this recipe from Nutmeg Nanny
- Roasted asparagus toast with Hollandaise from Hummingbird High
Asparagus can be eaten raw, or cooked pretty much any way you want... roasted, grilled, steamed, boiled... Learn how to cook asparagus with 50 recipes across 10 cooking methods.
If you're wondering what else is currently in season, check out my calendars to see what produce is in season each month (and coming up soon).
Leave a Reply