Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound asparagus
- 1–2 teaspoons olive oil
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1–2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
- butter to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Wash asparagus and trim woody stems.
- Place prepared asparagus in rimmed baking pan.
- Drizzle olive oil over asparagus. With tongs or a fork, roll the asparagus around in the oil so it’s lightly coated.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste (you can always add more after so go lightly here).
- Bake for 8-15 minutes or until the asparagus reaches the desired tenderness.
- Remove from the oven, add a little butter if desired, and drizzle with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
We recommending using organic ingredients when possible, but asparagus is one of EWG’s Clean 15 produce items so conventional asparagus is a good choice if you’re trying to make your food dollars stretch.
To trim the woody stems try breaking the ends of the asparagus vs. cutting them off. The asparagus will naturally break where the stem is tender vs. woody.
If you’re just making a pound of asparagus, a toaster oven works perfectly for this recipe. Toaster ovens do cook a little faster, so watch your cook times.
Thicker stalks of asparagus take longer to cook. That’s one of the reasons for such a wide range of cooking times for this recipe. I’ve found thin stalks take 8-12 minutes, and thicker stalks take 12-15 minutes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Salads & Sides
