Air Fryer Asparagus

This air fryer asparagus recipe is perfect if you're looking for a super quick and fuss-free way to prepare tender asparagus that is crisp and delicious. All you need is a few simple ingredients, your air fryer, and less than 10 minutes!

If you love asparagus and want to know how to prepare it in your air fryer, you’ve come to the right place! This air fryer asparagus recipe is super simple and very easy to follow.

The asparagus always turns out perfectly tender while still being crisp and tasty. Using my air fryer to cook asparagus has quickly become one of my favorite methods whenever I don’t want to spend much time or effort cooking perfectly roasted asparagus!

Ingredients

To make this air fryer asparagus, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Asparagus: Just buy regular asparagus for this recipe. Thicker spears tend to come out more crisp than very thin asparagus spears. But feel free to buy what you like most!
• Extra virgin olive oil: You’ll also need extra virgin olive oil for this recipe. It makes the asparagus taste really delicious, so don’t skip it!
• Salt and pepper: I usually don’t list salt and pepper as ingredients since you probably have them in your kitchen already. But as they are super important to make air-fried asparagus taste good, I just wanted to mention them.
• Lemon: I always recommend serving roasted asparagus with lemon wedges. Fresh lemon juice goes really well with asparagus, so make sure to use some.
• Parmesan (optional): Freshly grated parmesan cheese is another favorite ingredient to add some extra flavor and make asparagus taste extra good. Even without parmesan, it tastes really delicious. But if you have some parmesan cheese on hand feel free to use it.

How to cook asparagus in the air fryer

Preparing asparagus in the air fryer is super simple! Just follow these steps:

1. Preheat: Preheat the air fryer to 400 °F (200 °C).
2. Prep and season: Trim off the tough ends of the asparagus spears. Then place the asparagus in a bowl and add olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss until the asparagus spears are evenly covered.
3. Air fry: Place the asparagus in the air fryer basket. Then air fry the asparagus for 6-10 minutes until tender.
4. Serve: Drizzle some lemon juice over the asparagus and serve with grated parmesan cheese if wished. Enjoy!

Tips & Notes

Here are a few quick notes to read through before trying this air fryer asparagus recipe.

• Don’t use the snap method to trim asparagus as the asparagus doesn’t always break where the tough end begins. Instead, trim off one or two inches where the green part starts to turn white. The snap method usually wastes a lot of the asparagus spear, so just use a knife to trim the asparagus spears.
• Make sure the asparagus spears don’t overlap too much in the air fryer basket. You want them to be roasted evenly so they cook at the same time.
• Adjust the cooking time. Thin asparagus spears are usually done in 6 minutes while thick spears can take 10 minutes until they are tender. So make sure to check on the asparagus while in the air fryer and air fry as long as needed.

Variations

Simple asparagus with just olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice tastes really great! But if you want to try something new, then feel free to check out the following ideas.

• Garlic powder: Garlic and asparagus are a super delicious combination. But fresh garlic burns very quickly in the air fryer, so I’d recommend using garlic powder if you want some of that delicious garlicky flavor.
• Parmesan cheese: I already mentioned garnishing the asparagus with freshly grated parmesan cheese after cooking. Another option is adding the parmesan cheese shortly before the asparagus is done. Asparagus baked with parmesan cheese actually tastes really delicious!
• Dried herbs: Another option is using dried herbs. You can use herbs like rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Or use a delicious herb mix like Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence.
• Spices: Another option is adding spices, like paprika powder or chili flakes. I usually like asparagus without a lot of extra seasonings, but it’s definitely a fun way to switch things up!

How to serve air fryer asparagus

There are a lot of different ways to serve roasted asparagus. Here are some of my favorite ways to combine air fryer asparagus.

• Roasted potatoes: If you’re only making one or two servings of asparagus, there should be some extra space to make roasted potatoes in your air fryer. You can cut them into dices, season them, and roast them at the same temperature. They will take about 10 minutes.
• Side salad: I also love to prepare a delicious side salad. I always use whatever vegetables I have in my refrigerator and use a dressing that’s similar to the one in my balsamic lentil salad recipe or a simple dressing with lemon juice, olive oil, and red chili flakes. It’s really good and goes well with asparagus.
• Chicken thighs: I also love to roast chicken thighs whenever I make roasted asparagus. Just season them with paprika powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Then air fry them for about 25 minutes at 400 °F or bake them in the oven.
• Salmon: Another delicious option is pan-seared or air fryer salmon. It goes really well with asparagus that’s covered in lemon juice and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Frequently Asked Questions

More simple and delicious side dishes

If you want more side dish recipes, feel free to check out the following. They are all super tasty and very easy to prepare.

• Batata Harra (Spicy Potatoes)
• Turkish White Bean Salad
• Dill Potato Salad
• German Apple Carrot Salad
• Fried Potatoes and Onions