This air fryer asparagus recipe is one of the most easy, delicious, and best ways to cook asparagus. This entire vegetarian side dish can be made in under 10 minutes with minimal ingredients. You’ll love how the cheesy lemony crust balances out the earthiness of the asparagus. It’ll be your new go-to easy side dish for Spring!
Table of Contents
Asparagus is one of my all time favorite vegetables. Not only is it super quick and easy to prepare but it tastes delicious with barely any work at all!
When I got my Air Fryer, I was literally shocked that crispy asparagus could be even more easy to prepare -- in under 10 minutes!
I love this combination of garlic, lemon and parmesan. It's bright, crunchy, cheesy, and salty and tastes just like Spring!
And as long as you stick to the method, temperature, and timing, you could switch out the spices for whatever suites you!
It's the perfect quick and easy side dish that pairs well with practically anything.
So let's get to it because I know you're going to love it!
Ingredients
- asparagus
- olive oil
- salt
- garlic powder
- parmesan
- lemon
How to cook Asparagus in Air Fryer
Making air fryer asparagus is super easy and quick!
To start, trim the tough ends off the asparagus and toss with olive oil, salt, and garlic powder.
Then place the seasoned asparagus in the air fryer basket and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese.
If your air fryer requires it, preheat it to 400 degrees -- If it doesn't, then program the air fryer for 7 minutes and cook at 400 degrees.
Once the cooking time is complete, remove the air fryer basket and place the asparagus on a platter. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon on top then add the remaining parmesan cheese.
Serve immediately or at room temp.
How to Clean & Prepare
Cleaning asparagus to prepare it for cooking is quite simple.
The quickest, easiest way is to rinse the asparagus with cool water to remove any grime.
For more of a heavy duty cleaning, fill up a bowl with water and a few drops of white vinegar and let it soak for a minute. Then wash it off with cold to room-temp water. You won't be able to taste the vinegar so don't worry!
After it's been rinsed, dry the asparagus with either kitchen towels or paper towels and set it aside.
How to Store Asparagus
The easiest way to store asparagus is to first clean using the steps above then simply wrap it in paper towels and loosely cover it in a plastic bag. Then place it in the veggie drawer of your fridge until you're ready to use.
If you're trying to make it last as long as possible, you should fill up a large jar with 1 inch of water then place the asparagus, woody-side-down, into the jar. Loosely cover the top with a plastic bag and place in your fridge.
How to Trim & Cut Asparagus
When preparing asparagus, it's important to know where to cut it.
Ideally, you'll cut the bottom few inches off to remove the woody-like texture at the bottom of each stalk.
My favorite way to know where to trim it is to simply grab one stalk and bend it towards the bottom.
The woody part will naturally break away from the tender part, leaving a visible break between the two textures.
After you snap one piece, simply line the rest of the asparagus up by the tips and use the snapped asparagus as a guide as to where to cut the others.
Which Air Fryer Do I recommend?
After learning as much as I could about air fryers, I got this GoWise 5.8 quart Air Fryer and am obsessed! I should also say that if you order from Amazon using these links or images, I get a small kickback which helps me run this blog!
Not only is it one is it the best sellers on amazon, but it's also affordable, fit my needs, and it looks pretty on my countertop!
I got the 5.8 quart in white because it’s the perfect size for me and my family. It is large enough to cook large portions without crowding things. To be honest, anything smaller would have been kind of pointless to me.
It also doesn't require a preheat and has a lot more control when it comes to temperatures and cooking options. I also loved that it came with a whole entire cookbook and temperature manual for various foods!
What to pair it with
If I were making this dish for lunch, I would pair it with this smoked mozzarella pasta salad, this air fryer grilled cheese, with this red cabbage soup.
For dinner, I'd make these white cheddar macaroni and cheese or this creamy pesto cavatappi mac and cheese!
If you'd like to see another one of my most popular asparagus recipes, check out this roasted brussel sprouts with asparagus!
Want another tasty air fryer recipe? Try these Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes!
Save it for later
Click one of the pretty pinterest images below to save this recipe for later!
And please feel free to follow me on pinterest for tons of easy, tasty, and cheesy recipes and meal-time inspiration!
Recipe:
Recipe
Crispy Air Fryer Asparagus with Parmesan and Lemon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon parmesan divided
- ½ lemon juiced
Instructions
- Trim the tough ends off of the asparagus and toss with olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. Place the seasoned asparagus in the air fryer basket and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese.
- If needed, preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees. Then program the air fryer for 7 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Once the cooking time is complete, plate the asparagus and top with the juice from half a lemon and the remaining parmesan cheese. Serve immediately or at room temperature.
