Asparagus is a polarizing vegetable. You either like it or you joke about how it’s gross because it makes your pee smell. There doesn’t seem to be an in between, honestly. But the thing is, you actually can convert asparagus haters with this oven-roasted asparagus recipe.

The reason I think people don’t like it is because if you don’t cook asparagus right, it has a funny texture. It’s not soft enough to chew and the parts that are soft enough can have a slimy-ish texture with a soft inside and a hard exterior.

The secret to this oven-roasted asparagus recipe is to steam it quickly first to soften it, then roast it in the oven to take away any bitterness. If you skip one of the two steps, you’ll end up with either a vegetable that’s tough or one that’s bitter. And that means lots of leftovers for the compost bin.

If you make it this way, you’ll have everyone looking for more.

Oven-Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Oven-Roasted Asparagus Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

How To Make Oven-Roasted Asparagus:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

Wash the asparagus.

Break off the ends at the natural break.

That’s the fun part about asparagus. It will just snap off near the end you want to discard. You don’t have to worry about getting out a knife and cutting board and chopping it.

Put an inch of water in a large pot. Put a steamer basket at the bottom of the pot. Add the asparagus on top.

Cover the pot, put it on the stove on high for about 6 to 7 minutes to steam it.

Remove the asparagus from the pot and place it along a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle with the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt (reserve the remaining 1/4 teaspoon), pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

Roast the asparagus for 10 minutes, flip, then roast another five minutes.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining salt, and give it a toss.

Serve warm.

How do you store leftovers?

If you have any leftover Oven-Roasted Asparagus, put it in an air tight container. You can store it that way in the fridge for five to seven days.

How can you reheat leftover Oven-Roasted Asparagus?

The best way to reheat leftover Oven-Roasted Asparagus is to heat a pan on the stove, toss in the leftover asparagus, and heat it through. If you want, you can add a tiny bit of oil to the pan, but you don’t need to.

If you have a lot of leftovers, you can pre-heat the oven to 350 F and heat the leftover asparagus on a sheet pan for about 15 minutes until it’s warm.

Either of these methods is a lot better than microwaving any leftovers, which we wouldn’t suggest. Microwaving leftover asparagus can leave it really soft, and no one wants that.

What goes with Oven-Roasted Asparagus?

Oven-Roasted Asparagus is a really delicious side dish. But, your entire meal can’t be asparagus. You need something to eat with it. Chicken, steak, or fish are the perfect mains for asparagus.

• Slow Cooker Ginger Marmalade Chicken
• Grilled Shrimp Kabobs
• Cheesy Bacon And Mushroom Chicken

Would this be considered Weight Watchers Roasted Asparagus?

If you’re following Weight Watchers, this ends up being 4 Weight Watchers Freestyle Points for the entire batch. This is four servings total, so about 1 point per serving.

Asparagus is a ZeroPoint Food, which is great. The points are coming from the olive oil and the Parmesan cheese. You could, technically, omit those if you were really worried about WW Points, but the recipe wouldn’t taste as good without them.

And with people already making faces at asparagus, you want to include all the ingredients so it’s family-friendly and makes everyone happy.

Would this be considered keto-friendly?

Asparagus is a keto-friendly food. According to the app we use, this is only 1 gram of carbs per serving. That’s fantastic. So go ahead and enjoy this Oven-Roasted Asparagus.

But, be sure to double check the carbs with whatever you use to calculate carbs. You don’t want to throw your whole day off based on the app we use.

When is asparagus season?

Asparagus season starts in February and runs through June. Peak asparagus season is in April, so that’s when you’ll see a dip in price in grocery stores.

So, during the month of April, get your asparagus on. Make all the asparagus recipes you’ve dreamed of because asparagus (at least in our stores) is half the price in April that it is in December.

How do you know if asparagus is ripe?

Asparagus is be firm when its ripe. If you pick up a bunch and the asparagus spears are floppy, that’s past it’s prime and won’t taste good when you cook it.

Asparagus is green when it’s ripe. If it’s starting to brown or yellow, it’s not ripe.

Also, look at the top of the asparagus stalk. The “point” should be really tight. If you notice the “leaves” are starting to separate from the “stalk,” the asparagus is getting old and you don’t want to buy it.

How do you store asparagus?

This is my favorite new tip.

Fill a glass of water and put the entire asparagus bunch in it. Then, put the entire cup in the fridge. The asparagus will “drink” the water and will last longer than if you just throw the asparagus in the crisper drawer in your fridge.

If you need the asparagus to last a lot longer, you can put an air tight bag around the asparagus and cup and keep it in the fridge that way.

Do you have to break off the bottom of asparagus?

The bottom of asparagus does not taste very good. It has been described all over cooking pages as “woody,” but honestly, I don’t know what that is supposed to mean as far as a flavor goes. It just tastes gross. Leave it at that.

Asparagus will easily snap near the end. Discard the part that snaps off.

Not every piece of asparagus will snap in the same spot, so your asparagus will be various lengths. That’s fine. Better that than a woody taste.

Want more asparagus recipes?

We love asparagus and make it a bunch of different ways. Check out a few of our other asparagus recipes:

• Asparagus Carbonara
• Asparagus Pesto

More Oven-Roasted Vegetable Recipes:

Once you roast asparagus, you’ll realize that roasting veggies is such a great way to prepare them. You save space on your countertop and they always come out better than boiling or steaming them.

For some other ideas, check out our favorites:

• Oven-Roasted Carrots
• Roasted Panko Parmesan Broccoli
• Simple Roast Vegetables