First you saw those beautiful bright green asparagus spears at the market, and absolutely had to buy them because… SPRING! Now you’re frantically googling how to cook asparagus because they turned out soggy and weird the last time you tried. What went wrong, you wonder? What cooking method should you try this time? And how can you make asparagus that actually tastes amazing?
First of all, rest assured: You absolutely made the right move snatching up fresh asparagus while it’s in season—this is one of those seasonal veggie treasures that really shines when the weather gets warmer. “While asparagus is available year-round, it’s best bought in season during the springtime,” Alexis deBoschnek, a Catskills-based cooking pro and author of To the Last Bite, tells SELF. During asparagus season, you’re more likely to find stalks that are more fresh, flavorful, and tender (as opposed to tough and woody).
Something else to know about the bounty of asparagus you just brought home: Your body will thank you for it. While you’re probably buying asparagus mostly because you’re trying to cook up some bomb-tasting veggies that are in season, there are also other notable asparagus benefits worth briefly touching on—such as the fact that it’s, like, extremely good for you.
Along with containing micronutrients like vitamins A, C, and K, one cup of raw asparagus has nearly three grams of fiber, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It’s packed with a kind of fiber called prebiotics—naturally occurring fibers that help promote the growth of good bacteria in your gut and are linked to good digestive health, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Okay, but enough talk about asparagus nutrition! It's time to get into the nuts and bolts of how to cook asparagus so you can make the most of your haul. Here are all the asparagus cooking tips you need to get the most out of this veg—and make it official that spring has sprung in the most delicious way, baby.
It helps when cooking asparagus to bring home the freshest bunch in the first place, of course, so look for stalks with tips that are tightly packed and not at all soft or wet. These are good indicators of freshness, deBoschnek says. This way you’ll not only get the best flavor and texture, but also a longer shelf life before you’re ready to cook it.
By the way, as for whether to select a bundle of thinner or thicker spears, there are a lot of opinions out there and it’s largely a matter of preference. Slimmer asparagus stalks have a more delicate texture and quicker cooking time, while thicker stalks take longer and have a meatier, heartier texture (medium-thick spears are somewhere in the middle). You might also find that it depends on the dish you’re making. “The medium is my favorite when I want it to be the star of the show,” Kristina Ramos, chief chef educator at the New York sustainability nonprofit Chefs for Impact, tells SELF. Meanwhile, “A thicker asparagus cut into smaller rounds is great for a salad or pasta-type dish,” Ramos explains, “and thinner spears are great as a side dish or on its own.”
Asparagus is perishable, so unless you plan on eating it ASAP after bringing it home, you definitely want to refrigerate it. “After a few days, it can get soft and have an unpleasant odor,” Karishma Pradhan, a recipe developer, cooking instructor, and founder of the Home Cooking Collective based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, tells SELF.
As soon as you get back from the store, it’s chill time. But don’t just stuff that bunch in the fridge; you’ll retain max freshness and flavor by taking a few minutes to prep your spears for storage.
Start by removing the tough, woody ends at the bottom of the asparagus spears—they’re not something you want to eat. “Hold the asparagus stalk in the middle and the end and snap,” deBoschnek says. “The rough end will easily snap off, leaving you with a clean asparagus stalk.” You can also just cut off the thicker, woodier bottom couple inches of the stalk (the parts that aren’t green) with a sharp knife.
From there, place the bunch in a jar filled with about an inch of cold water, just like you would with flowers, Pradhan says. Loosely cover the bunch with a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator, where it should stay fresh for up to five days.
One thing you definitely don’t want to do is wash asparagus before storing it—the added moisture will cause the spears to get slimy. When you’re ready to cook, just give them a quick rinse under cool running water and pat them dry with a kitchen towel, as Pradhan recommends.
Just like a sunny spring day, asparagus is pretty easygoing. As long as you have the basic cooking techniques down, it’ll pretty much taste good no matter how you make it.
“The joy of asparagus is that it can easily be made using almost any cooking technique: blanching, roasting, grilled, raw, seared, or even fried,” deBoschnek says. So the best way to make it is all about what you enjoy the most, in terms of flavor and texture.
If considering all of those culinary possibilities at once feels a little overwhelming, try sautéing it first. This popular method is easy and quick—and it enhances the veggie’s natural deliciousness to the point where you might end up devouring the entire pan in one go, according to Ramos.
Got a little more time on your hands? Try baked asparagus or roasted asparagus, which concentrates the veggie’s inherent sweetness. Gwynn Galvin, a Montvale, New Jersey–based professional recipe developer and food stylist, tells SELF that her own basic oven-roasting method has proved to be “foolproof.” (More on what that looks like in a minute.)
Again, there are so many great ways to cook asparagus. But generally speaking, once you have your washed and trimmed spears ready to go, it takes just a few minutes, a couple of simple ingredients, and, of course, a heat source to take your asparagus from raw to beautifully cooked.
Let’s begin with how to sauté asparagus. Ramos starts by slicing asparagus spears in one-inch pieces heating a splash of olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Next, you add the asparagus pieces to the hot pan and sprinkle with about a teaspoon of salt per pound of asparagus. “Toss for two to three minutes until the skin is bright green and there’s still some bite to it,” Ramos says. You don’t want to sauté them for so long they lose all their firmness. (More on that below!)
For the most basic finishing, season with a flaky salt and pepper to taste. Or, for a simple but dynamite final touch, try a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a shower of grated Parmesan cheese, Kiele-Jael Stanton, a certified health-supportive chef based in Austin, tells SELF. “It brightens the flavor,” she says.
If you go the oven-roasted route, try Galvin’s method. On a baking sheet, toss the trimmed spears with enough olive oil to coat and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Then roast the asparagus in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes. That will give the veggie a sweet, roasted depth of flavor and hearty-yet-tender texture. (While you can keep it quite simple when it comes to asparagus seasoning, feel free to get a little fancy too—may we also recommend this roasted asparagus recipe with balsamic orange drizzle? It’s kiss-your-fingers delicious.)
Soggy asparagus is usually the result of overcooking. “No matter what preparation you opt for, asparagus doesn’t need to be cooked for long,” deBoschnek says. “It makes it mushy and depletes the delicate flavor.”
Avoiding that fate can be as easy as paying attention to the cook time on asparagus recipes—as well as watching the clock, especially if you’re a total newbie. Another way to ward off mushy spears is to choose thicker stalks to begin with—since the skinnier the stalks, the easier it is to overcook them. In general, higher temps and quicker cooking time are key to a crisp texture. “If you cook low and slow, the inside will overcook before the outside has a chance to get to your desired color,” Ramos says. And be especially mindful with thinner stalks.
Speaking of desired color, once you get a feel for what counts as perfectly cooked asparagus versus overcooked asparagus, you can often tell if asparagus is ready to eat just by looking at it. The color should be bright green, says Ramos, like fresh grass or tree leaves. If your asparagus has veered into military fatigues, or worse, 1970s avocado territory, you’ve gone too far.
An ice bath can give you some extra insurance against sogginess if you’re making steamed or boiled asparagus, says Ramos. (As for how long to steam asparagus, it depends on the thickness of the spears—but most recipes land in the range of three to six minutes.) As soon as the spears are done cooking, drain them and plunge them straight into a bowl of ice-filled water for a minute to stop the cooking ASAP and preserve that bright green color.
