Perfect Roasted Asparagus
Learn how to make perfectly roasted asparagus with this simple recipe! It's a fantastic springtime side dish. Plus, find asparagus tips and seasoning ideas!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 10, 2025
It’s asparagus season, and I can’t get enough of it. Roasting asparagus brings out its best flavor and texture, and yields asparagus that’s perfectly tender, not mushy. The tips get lightly and irresistibly crispy in the oven, and the flavor is more concentrated than it would be if steamed or sautéed.
Roasted asparagus is the perfect springtime side dish, whether for brunch or dinner. It’s simple to throw together while your main dish cooks on the stove and cooks quickly (about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus spears).
For these photos, I decked out my asparagus with lemon, mint, red pepper flakes and the lightest shaving of Parmesan. You can keep your roasted asparagus as simple as you’d like.
The flavor of roasted asparagus is so versatile that it complements almost any meal. I’ve included the basic recipe below, along with ideas for changing up the seasonings to suit your dinner.
How to Select Asparagus
Look for vibrant green, firm, plump asparagus. I generally prefer thinner asparagus spears, which are available earlier in the season, but any size can be delicious if it’s fresh. If your asparagus looks fibrous and dehydrated, limp or mushy, it will not yield tasty results.
How to Store Asparagus
Asparagus deteriorates quickly and is best consumed within a few days. At a minimum, remove the rubber band that holds the bunch together when you get home because the stalks will start to rot without some breathing room (this is true for all vegetables and fresh herbs that come with rubber bands).
To extend its life for several days, keep your asparagus hydrated by treating it like a bouquet of flowers. Place the asparagus upright in a heavy-bottomed jar or drinking glass, then fill it with a couple of inches of water. Cover the top with a plastic bag or plastic wrap to retain maximum freshness, and store it in the refrigerator. Change out the water daily.
How to Prep Asparagus
The ends of asparagus can be unpleasantly tough and woody. To remove those parts, sharply bend the asparagus near the base.
The asparagus will snap in the right place. This would be a fun dinnertime project for kids.
How to Roast Asparagus
Roasting asparagus is super easy and quick! Make sure your asparagus is patted dry to prevent it from turning mushy or soggy in the oven. Then toss your prepared asparagus with a light drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. I like to do this on a large sheet pan (affiliate link) lined with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
Roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the perfect temperature for achieving crisp-tender asparagus that’s lightly caramelized along the edges. This is my preferred temperature for most roasted vegetable recipes, and it yields ideal results for asparagus.
You’ll know it’s done when the asparagus is easily pierced through by a fork, which will vary depending on the thickness of your asparagus. Pencil-thin asparagus, like the kind shown here, will be done in as little as 10 minutes. Thicker asparagus will need between 15 to 20 minutes. You’ll find all of these details in the recipe below.
Watch How to Roast Asparagus
How to Season Asparagus
Here are some ideas for flavors that will complement your roasted asparagus. Keep it simple by choosing just one or two, or go all-out, as I did with lemon, Parmesan, fresh herbs and red pepper flakes.
- Lemon zest, lemon wedges or a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice
- Sprinkle of finely grated Parmesan cheese
- Small handful of fresh mint or parsley, finely chopped
- Light sprinkle of red pepper flakes
- Pat or two of butter
- Light drizzle of balsamic reduction or thick balsamic vinegar
- Toasted sliced almonds
Extra asparagus? Here are some recipes that will use it up:
- Baked Asparagus Frittata
- Extra Vegetable Fried Rice
- Green Goddess Tortellini Salad
- Spring Pea and Asparagus Risotto
- Spring Pea and Asparagus Pasta
Looking for more simple roasted vegetable side dishes? Try these:
- Perfect Roasted Broccoli
- Perfect Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Perfect Roasted Carrots
- Perfect Roasted Green Beans
- Roasted Cauliflower (Four Ways!)
Please let me know how your roasted asparagus turns out in the comments. I’m looking forward to hearing how you serve it.
Perfect Roasted Asparagus
Learn how to make perfectly roasted asparagus here! This roasted asparagus recipe is a fantastic springtime side dish that everyone will love. You can season it however you’d like. You’ll find my seasoning suggestions below. Recipe yields 2 large or 4 modest side servings.
Ingredients
Basic roasted asparagus
- 1 large bunch (about 1 pound) fresh asparagus
- 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
My seasonings (use one or all, like I did)
- Zest and juice of ½ medium lemon, preferably organic
- Lemon wedges, from the remaining ½ lemon
- Sprinkle of finely grated Parmesan cheese
- Small handful of fresh mint or parsley, finely chopped
- Light sprinkle of red pepper flakes
Other options
- Pat or two of butter
- Light drizzle of balsamic reduction or thick balsamic vinegar
- Toasted sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus (if you sharply bend the asparagus near the base, it will snap in the right place). Discard the ends.
- Place the asparagus on the sheet and drizzle with 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil, just enough to lightly coat the asparagus. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the asparagus, and toss until the spears are lightly coated in oil. Arrange the spears in a single layer on the pan.
- Bake just until the base of the asparagus is easily pierced through by a fork. Very thin asparagus, like the kind shown here, will take as little as 9 to 12 minutes, whereas thicker asparagus will need 15 to 20 minutes.
- Transfer the roasted asparagus to a serving platter and season however you’d like. You could keep it simple with a squeeze of lemon juice, or a sprinkle of Parmesan, or add a pat of butter or drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
- Roasted asparagus is best served when it’s fresh out of the oven, but it will keep at room temperature for up to 1 hour or up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator (gently reheat before serving).
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Don’t add Parmesan or butter.
Make it nut free: Don’t add almonds.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Very delicious asparagus!!! I used basil infused olive oil, sea salt & added a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome, Janis!
Wonderful recipe. I am reaching out to you as well – I had purchased 2 of your ” Love Real Food” cookbooks on Amazon during the black Friday deals. The deal was purchase 2 , get one free! Well I only received 2 today. It is so difficult to reach customer service with Amazon, do you have any suggestions? I was planning to give as Christmas gifts!
Why did you put this out I hated it I wish I hadn’t tried if you like it you have problems. Bleck. It tasted like cockroaches.
How often have you eaten cockroaches, Bob?? What a disgisting comment to make.
What a bizarre comment!! Clearly you’re a person without good taste and no tact. Lots of great reviews here prove you wrong.
Thank you Kate! Our asparagus turned out great. Very quick and simple recipe.
I’m transporting this asparagus.
Can it be served cold or at room temp…have you tried to make ahead?
Day before? JP
This is best served right away, sorry!
So so good! Based on your suggestion we did mint and preserved lemon. It was amazing! I will always prepare asparagus that way from now on. I can’t wait for more spring crop! Thank you.
Just used this recipe and the asparagus tasted excellent! Very customize-able but I definitely think the lemon is a must!
Agree! The lemon is perfect. I appreciate your review, Kristin.
since times are tuff I used some fake crab sauteed it. poured over angel hair pasta. But your asparagus was incredible and easy ….so good you could snack on it, That’s how I will make it from now on. Thanks..p.s way better than steaming
In one of your recipes, you mentioned your preference for a specific THICK basalmic vinegar. What was the name? Thank you . Sue
Hi Sue! It’s Napa Valley Naturals balsamic vinegar (the 25-star variety). Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find it in stores lately. I’m hoping it comes back soon! Another option would be balsamic reduction, which you can buy or make yourself by gently simmering down a runny balsamic vinegar.
Trader Joe’s makes a great balsamic glaze.
So simple and easy! I’m learning more recipes in college and this is one of my favorite sides :)
Thank you so much for this simple but delectable recipe! It was perfect with my salmon and what a presentation! Please keep them coming! i love fresh vegetables and need to know how to store them as well ad prepare them!
Thank you again!
I have adapted this recipe a bit. My wife and I enjoy crunchier
asparagus, so I shop for small diameter asparagus. I roll the asaparagus around in a small amount of olive oil and a generous amount of fajita mix on a darker tinted baking sheet. Then I broil them on high for 5-6 minutes, or until the tops are crunchy.
This is my first time commenting on your site, just know that Cookie + Kate is my goto recipe site for our family meals. Keep up the good work!
I
Very nice recipe, just what I was looking for. :)
Great recipe and super easy!
Thank you, Toni!
I’m about to make dinner. I’m using this recipe! Looks great Kate. Can’t wait to try it!
Hope your asparagus turned out great, Flicka!
Oh so delicious! Perfect side dish for any meal. I really never knew how to cook asparagus to make it taste delicious… But I must say this recipe did the trick! My husband loved it and so did I. We simply used the olive oil ….sprinkled it with sea salt and sprinkled on some Parmesan cheese .
Did not find the temperature to set oven for roasting asparagus.
Hi Sara, see step 1!
The most perfect roasted asparagus recipe! I only added the lemon juice and red pepper flakes and it was the perfect pairing with some BBQ steak.
Thanks for this. I was searching for recipes having grown my own plants last year.
Best wishes
Tina
I really enjoy this recipe, I am it every weak and change up the toppings, sometimes I just have them with oil, salt and pepper and they are delicious!
That’s wonderful, Evangelia! Thanks for sharing. I love that you change it up.
Absolutely fabulous, my family loved it with just a sprinkle of lemon, good recipe.
That’s great, Misty! Thank you for your review.
Fabulous recipe! So delicious…I followed recipe exactly with just olive oil, pepper, and used coarse sea salt and yum…I used propellant free olive oil spray…thanks so much for a great recipe!
You’re welcome, Brenda! Thank you for your review.
Thank you for the recipe, I am preparing my wife’s favorite meal. She works at a hospital and most times it is very challenging. Easter Sunday I will have a special dinner ready for her.
You’re welcome, Peter! Thank you for your review.
I made per the instructions and it was magnificently delicious.
Looks delicious and so simple. Thanks kate.
I used your basic four seasonings, it tasted so good. I’m an older gentleman and I’ve been eating better the last couple years so this will be a new addition to my side dishes. I don’t any cook books but I wanted to let you know your appreciated. Great roasted asparagus. Best reguards
Hi Kate,
I’ve bought your cookbook and have been making your recipes for years. I’ve been able to print them and put them in my recipe booklet. It seems that they are no longer printable. What has changed?
Thanks,
Jan
Hi Jan, I’m currently working to resolve the printer function issue. It’t not working right now, but hope to have it fixed soon!
Thanks for letting me know, Kate! I love your recipes! You are very talented. ~Jan
If you don’t want to heat your house up with the oven I have also done this in a skillet on medium heat turning as necessary browning as you like. Add the minced garlic towards the end of browning.
Thank you for sharing, Lee! I’m glad that method works well for you.
OMG FANTASTIC. Can’t take a picture I ate it all.
Thank you.
I love to hear that! Thank you for sharing, Diane.
Very tasty! I Like the options that are offered.
Love this on recipe! Super easy & I made it in my countertop convection/bake/rosterrie oven my son got me for days when it’s too hot here @loz!
SO flavorful! Followed the cook time and temp to a T and topped with parmesan and lemon. Deeeelicious!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Hilary!
Delicious. My first try, so I was a little light with the mint, Parmesan, lemon and chili flakes. I definitely would go with the small handful of mint as you recommended vs the tablespoon I added.
If we can’t serve it for about an hour, how would you recommend handling that? Keep platter with cooked asparagus warm at ?? Degrees in the oven? Or reheat at ?? Degrees for ?? Minutes?
Hi, I don’t recommend keep it warm as it will still cook. I know some don’t mind it on the cooler side.
The best simple pairing I’ve found (besides [different, separate recipe] topping with ground hazelnut butter) is topping roasted asparagus with white pepper (which has a different flavor profile than black) and sea salt. Ahhh, Spring!
I’m glad you liked it, Jo! I appreciate your review.
simple and perfect for our side dish tonight. Thanks! The lemon makes it.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Courtney! Thank you for your review.
This recipe was awesome thank u… I sprinkled with Italian seasonings as well :-)
Hi Kate,
I have not tried this recipe yet though will soon. I just wanted to pop on to say THANK YOU for all the work you put into sharing REALLY DELICIOUS recipes. I have so many on rotation and anytime i want to impress friends or family with something delicious I go straight to this site and whatever i choose always turns out well! It’s a great feeling to know I can trust what you post will end up tasting fantastic and I don’t end up wasting expensive ingredients as can often happen on other sites I have tried. Keep up the GREAT work we appreciate it!! :D
I love asparagus. I prepare with a vegetable peeler at base of stalks. I lay the spears in a frying pan. I cover them with boiling water and simmer until cooked to correct firmness.
I then remove to a plate with tongs. Tip out the water and heat oil olive. Then spears are then reheated in same pan with salt and pepper. Turn with tongs and serve. Alternatively the spears can be cooked on a griddle pan to give charred flavour. Easy. No need to heat oven. Good quick results to eat hot or cold.
I’m glad you loved it, Tonia! I appreciate your review.
can you blanche and freeze raw asparagus?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say from experience, Gerry. Sorry!
I finally made asparagus that wasn’t mushy or wilted! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Heather! Thank you for your review.
VERY GOOD
I’m delighted you enjoyed it, Joseph!
Yummy!
I’m glad you loved it, Kimberley!
I love asparagus and Brussel sprouts! Always looking for easy ways to make them healthier and tastier so thank you for sharing your kitchen with us!!!
Made this with lemon juice and zest at the end and it was excellent.
I roasted with garlic salt before and after the oven, it was delicious and very crispy! Next time I wont use as much oil, I got a little excited with my drizzling!
This is the first time I’ve roasted asparagus. It’s much better than boiling! I topped mine with butter and toasted sesame seeds.
Thank you for sharing!
This looks great, I grow a lot of asparagus and find if you store it in water it keeps growing, the flowers open and it gets tough, I fully wrap mine in foil and store in the salad drawer
Thank you for some great seasoning ideas. We have roasted asparagus this way but we add a clove of crushed garlic prior to tossing and roasting. Can’t wait to try these ideas.
Kate. This was so easy and so good. I haven’t purchased asparagus in soooo long. I omitted the salt and at the end I squeezed lemon juice on them. Wow! My husband and I were so happy with them. Going to go comment on another recipe that I made today. Yum!
I’m glad you loved it, Rosario! Thank you for your review.
Love this recipe! I like to add a little maple syrup in and, about halfway through cooking so they don’t burn, pecans and/or walnuts. Yum!
Great to hear, Kurt!