Sautéed Asparagus Recipe with Garlic and Parmesan
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Sautéed Asparagus is a quick and easy side dish recipe. The asparagus spears are fresh and flavorful and will be ready to eat in only 10 minutes.
This sautéed asparagus is cooked crisp-tender and hits all the right notes — a little garlicky, a little cheesy, and completely irresistible. With salty Parmesan and those dark, blistered spots from high-heat cooking, it’s packed with flavor and looks exactly like spring on a plate.
It’s quick enough for a busy weeknight, but pretty and tasty enough for a special occasion, too. Asparagus is at its best in the spring when the stalks are small and tender, and sautéing brings out so much depth. Everyone needs more asparagus in their lives — and this is the way to do it.
Key ingredients
- Asparagus – You’ll want to snap or cut off the tough, woody ends.
- Garlic – I use three cloves because I love its robust flavor.
- Parmesan cheese – use your vegetable peeler to shave strips off a block of Parmesan. It’s delicious!
Tips for sautéed asparagus
The best way to prepare asparagus is to snap off the tough ends. This method takes a little more time but ensures that you remove the woody part.
If you’re in a hurry, you can pile the asparagus together and cut all the ends at once.
How to buy asparagus
Springtime is always the best time to buy asparagus, but no matter when you’re buying it, make sure to look for smaller stalks. Thick asparagus can be quite woody and hard to chew, so the thinner the better.
Also, look at the spears’ tops. Don’t buy them if they’ve started to wilt or look slimy.
What to serve with sauteed asparagus
My preference is usually a simply prepared protein like my baked pork chops or honey garlic chicken and a big green salad.
If you’re feeling extra hungry, these smoky roast potatoes are delicious!
Store and reheat
Store: If you have leftover skillet asparagus, you can store it and enjoy it again tomorrow. Place it in a sealed container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.
Reheat: You can serve it cold over a salad or warm it up briefly in a pan on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing cooked asparagus, as it becomes overly soft. If you are ok with that, you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Sauteed Asparagus Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lb asparagus (tough ends cut or snapped off)
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese (shaved with a vegetable peeler)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Once it’s hot, add the oil and asparagus. Using tongs, toss the asparagus so that it cooks evenly. (Make sure the asparagus is completely dry before adding it to the pan to avoid any oil splatters)2 lb asparagus, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- After 3 minutes, add the garlic to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes more, then remove the pan from the heat. You'll know when it is cooked when it turns bright green and bends slightly when you pick up a piece.3 cloves garlic
- Add the parmesan to the pan and toss the asparagus so it’s coated in the cheese. Serve right away.1 ounce Parmesan cheese
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Delicious, easy, and impressive 😉😁
Glad to find a new method of making asparagus as I have not had luck getting them just right regardless of how I made them. This recipe works with a couple alterations. First, I used my vegetable peeler to peel off the outer layer of the last 4 or so inches of the stalk. Though this takes time, it helped out tremendously in the end. Secondly, because 2 pounds of asparagus is difficult to fit in a 12 inch skillet, the asparagus must be moved rapidly and continuously so all of the vegetables come in contact with the heat. Also, I found the cooking time was double or triple the stated time and I had to reduce the heat down to medium to keep the pan from burning as all the oil was completely used up in the stated cooking time and the vegetables were still hard. I even had to resort to putting a cover on the pan in the last minutes of cook time, heat on medium, to get them to cook through.
I didn’t have block parmesan but I did have some good quality parm that i had previously grated. That worked well and I added a squeeze of lemon juice.
All that said, this was the best method of cooking asparagus and this is now my go to recipe.
Just don’t think you’re going to have perfectly cooked asparagus in the 5 or so minutes as the recipe states. Time may be cut down if you had a huge commercial sized skillet, maybe 14 to 16 inches in diameter, or if you only cooked one pound instead of the two listed.
And finally, this has got to be the buggiest website ever. While trying to post a review, it shut down and lost my whole review. I had to type it on notepad and copy and paste before it would shut down again.
I do appreciate the recipe as it works as a great starting point to asparagus perfection.
Delicious I added fresh lemon juice and served with gluten free chicken. I’d like to try your pork chop recipe.
Easy and Delicious!
Cooked exactly like the recipe called for and we all loved the asparagus with the garlic and the parmigiana cheese. ??
Hot oil flew out of the skillet on “high heat” (per the recipe) as I put the asparagus in.I am suffering major burns on two hands. Who posts a recipe with high heat and adding oil and a vegetable? This is utterly careless.
It sounds like the asparagus was wet when you put it into the pan. It’s the water, not the vegetable, that will cause the oil to spit. I’m sorry that happened to you. I’ve had oil burns before from a similar experience and know that it’s not fun at all. I’ve made a note in the recipe to make sure that others know to dry the asparagus before adding it to the pan.
So good if I was the last person on earth thats what I would make
Thank you for a delicious twist on a classic. So simple, yet so flavorful! I added the cheese in the serving dish to avoid it sticking to the pan. Wonderful!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
Since my wife passed on I am having to learn to cook for myself. I like your baked pork chop recipe and the sauteed asparagus, but what about timing? Do I start the chops and do the asparagus while the chops are cooking? How long can either plate wait for the other without spoiling?
I’m really sorry to hear about your loss.
The pork chops and this recipe go really well together. I would get the pork chops in the oven first and then start the asparagus. They should be both done around the same time. If either need to sit at room temperature for a bit they’ll be just fine. 🙂
I’m so happy to hear the recipe was a hit!
Asparagus is SO good isn’t it? I’m always so happy for spring when I start to see it pop up at the grocery store again!