Asparagus in the Oven Is the Crispy, Easy Side Dish You Deserve

We can’t get enough of asparagus this time of year! We’ve been eating asparagus every which way — sautéed, blanched, grilled, even raw. But one of our favorite easy ways to prepare asparagus is in the oven. It’s a foolproof, hands-off method that requires just a couple minutes of prep, and rewards you with crispy-tipped, tender asparagus every single time. Grab a rimmed baking sheet, a cutting board, and a sturdy chef’s knife – here’s how to do it.

One of the benefits to roasting asparagus, as opposed to cooking it on the stove, is that this method is totally hands-off. You can slide a tray of asparagus into the oven then go about your cooking business.

It also gives you a lot of control. Maybe you like your asparagus well done, tender and getting a little crisped-up on the ends. Or maybe you like your asparagus barely-cooked. It’s easy to get exactly the texture you want without accidentally overdoing it, as I often do when blanching it or even steaming it in the microwave.

Last but not least, this is a great way to prepare asparagus for a crowd. It’s easy to scale up the recipe and cook a large quantity at the same time.

Nope! There’s no need to soak asparagus before cooking.

Knowing how long to cook the asparagus (more on that below!) is helpful, but the easiest way to know when asparagus is done is knowing the visual cues to look for. These are the telltale signs that roasted asparagus is done:

• bright green coloring
• light browning or char on the tips
• stalks are crisp-tender

You can cut asparagus in a few different ways:

• Trim asparagus (snap a first piece of asparagus and use it as a guide to trim the others in the bunch).
• Cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces if you don’t prefer the long, lean stems.
• Use a vegetable peeler to shave the asparagus.

Just 10 to 15 minutes is all you need to cook asparagus in the oven.

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