This four ingredient Easy Parmesan Roasted Asparagus would be great with your Easter dinner. With seasonal asparagus, fresh grated parmesan cheese, olive oil and sea salt you can have this side dish ready in under 20 minutes.

Asparagus is just about everywhere right now and at a great price to boot! I tend to cook with asparagus often in the springtime simply because it’s available, affordable and versatile. However, I don’t have many recipes here on the Blog. I do have a fresh and delicious Lemon & Asparagus Risotto recipe along with a few more dishes like this Sun Dried Tomato & Asparagus Chicken. Both great dishes to take advantage of with seasonal asparagus popping up everywhere right now.

So I recently put together this super easy and tasty parmesan roasted asparagus and I thought it was downright delicious. A perfect side dish to serve on Easter Sunday along with your light lunch or a bigger dinner.

Ingredients

• Fresh asparagus – I used thick asparagus spears as pictured below. If using wild or thinner asparagus, adjust cooking time accordingly.
• Parmesan cheese – Freshly grated parmesan cheese works best for this recipe.
• Olive oil – This recipe uses extra virgin olive oil, but light olive oil would also work.
• Sea salt – I like to use coarse sea salt but regular fine table salt will be fine.

REMEMBER, the full recipe and instructions can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven – Preheat oven to 400 degrees f/205 degrees c. Have ready a large baking sheet.
2. Prepare asparagus – Trim the ends off the asparagus. Arrange asparagus on the baking sheet. Drizzle over olive oil and sprinkle over sea salt. Bake for about 5 minutes.
3. Add parmesan cheese – Remove from oven and evenly sprinkle over the parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
4. Serve – This dish is best served immediately out of the oven.

Recipe Notes

• Don’t over bake – If you like your asparagus to have a crunch, make sure to get it out of the oven before it goes too soft for best results.
• Choose fresh asparagus – just stating the obvious here, but make sure the asparagus you choose is vibrant and fresh. Yes, you can use thinner spears, but thicker spears will work best for this recipe.
• Pat dry the asparagus – after you wash the asparagus spears, give them a quick pat dry to get out any extra moisture.

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How To Store Fresh Asparagus

I know it’s frustrating when you buy a bunch of fresh asparagus, get it home and forget about it till days later. Then it’s gone brown and soft and you have to toss out. Sad! Follow these handy tips to keep it fresh longer!

• Store it vertical in the fridge – yes I know you’re thinking, really? It does work. So choose a tall container to keep your asparagus
• Trim the ends – trim the bottom of the asparagus just about an inch or so. Pour a small amount of water in the bottom of your tall container. Just about an inch of water. Place the asparagus in container with the spears at the top. Place in the fridge.
• Don’t clean before storing – only wash the asparagus prior to cooking. Washing before storing will add moisture and reduce the freshness. Asparagus stored this way could last up to 5 days.

Variations You Can Make To This Parmesan Dish

• Melted butter – you can omit the olive oil and use melted butter if you like a flavour change.
• Crushed garlic – I chose to omit garlic for this recipe, but by all means, add a few cloves of crushed garlic for that garlicky flavour.
• Lemon juice and zest – You can add a few tablespoons of lemon juice and about 1 tablespoon of lemon zest to add a bit of zing!
• Panko bread crumbs – if you’d like a crisper topping, mix the parmesan cheese with about 1/3 cup of panko crumbs. Add this mixture exactly as you would if it were just the parmesan cheese.
• Black pepper – if you’re a fan, add cracked black pepper fresh out of the oven.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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