Asparagus is a popular vegetable that you can enjoy as a side dish. Air-fried asparagus is a fantastic treat to accompany with steak, roast chicken, or fish. The crispy texture is excellent, and more so when roasted. You can consider adding your favorite spices like garlic, lemon pepper, and others of your choice for more flavor. There are several ways of cooking asparagus in an air fryer; stick around and learn more.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin cooking oil/ avocado/ coconut oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Prepare asparagus. Trim the asparagus to remove the dry, hard ends of the spears. If having large spears, you may still consider peeling off the tough skin on the lower portion.
- Season the asparagus. Dip the asparagus in olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper and later place them into the air fryer.
- Cook the asparagus. Start by heating the air fryer to 400 degrees F. Later, roast the asparagus for 7 minutes, but if they are thick, you need more time. Shake and turn the asparagus halfway through cooking.
- Serve the dish. Place the asparagus into a serving platter and add seasoning like garlic powder if you like them. Now, enjoy your side dish.
- Store cooked asparagus. You should store the vegetables in an air-tight container in the fridge row 1-2 days. When ready to eat, reheat the air fryer at 400 degrees for 2-3 minutes, to make the asparagus crispy.
- Cooking frozen asparagus in an air fryer. Frozen asparagus requires extra few minutes. First, cook the veggies for 3-4 minutes to open up and season them. Later, air fry them for additional 5-8 minutes.
Air Fryer Asparagus Fries With Breadcrumbs
For this recipe, we coat the asparagus with panko bread crumbs. The result is crispy, yummy vegetable fries that you will enjoy eating.
Ingredients
- One large egg
- One teaspoon honey
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 12 asparagus spears, trimmed
- ¼ cup stone-ground mustard
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- One pinch of cayenne pepper (Optional)
Procedure
- Prepare the stalks by cutting or snapping off the hard ends, about 1 inch up the stem, and discard those pieces. Wash and dry the asparagus.
- Warm up the air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Mix the egg and honey in a long, narrow dish and beat together. Again, mix panko and parmesan cheese in a separate bowl. Coat each asparagus stalk with the egg mixture and roll it in panko mix.
- Place six stalks in the air fryer to cook to desired brownness, 4 to 6 minutes after they are ready, cook the other six asparagus spears.
- Mix mustard, yogurt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and serve dipping source with asparagus veggies.
Air Fryer Asparagus Fries with Basil Lemon Aioli (Keto, Paleo)
The addition of paleo, keto, and lemon makes the fries friendly to the kids. You can use the veggies as a snack, appetizer, or side dish.
Ingredients
- 32 stalks asparagus trimmed to about 6” or to fit your air fryer
- ½ cup almond meal
- Two tablespoons coconut flour
- One spoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- One large egg
- Two teaspoons water
- Avocado oil or olive oil pump spray
For lemon basil aioli, dipping sauce
- Three tablespoons fresh basil about one large handful of leaves
- One teaspoon minced garlic
- One egg yolk
- Two spoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup avocado oil
Procedure
- Clean the stalk and trim to fit your air fryer tray.
- First, mix almond meal, coconut flour, garlic salt, and pepper in a shallow dish
- and the egg with water in another container.
- Toss the asparagus one by one into an egg wash and then coat with almond flour mixture.
- Place few stalks on a tray of the air fryer. You may cook more than one batch
if the stalks are many.
- Apply a light mist of avocado oil spray on the asparagus.
- Insert the tray into the air fryer and set the machine for 8 minutes at 400 F degrees.
- Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce by adding basil, garlic, yolks, lemon juice, and salt in a small blender, pulse to mix.
- Switch on the blender and gently pour in avocado oil. Blend the mixture for approximately a minute.
- To serve, drizzle eight spears with two tablespoons of sauce.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Cooking Asparagus
When using an air fryer for cooking asparagus, observe the following tips;
- Avoid overcooking the asparagus, as it continues to cook for a few minutes after you remove it from heat. Be keen while cooking to prevent it from becoming soggy.
- Take it out from heat before it’s almost ready.
- You can still prevent overcooking by shocking the asparagus in an ice bath. Then, when you remove the veggies from heat, pour them in a bowl of ice-cold water.
- Avoid cooking overstayed asparagus as they are less delicious than fresh. In addition, stalks that look ridged or dry have lost their flavor.
- Trim the veggies efficiently. Only snap off the stalk end; it will easily break if it’s fresh.
- Wash the asparagus thoroughly. To get rid of sand, soak the veggies in cold water for a few minutes. Later rinse them in clean running water.
- It’s best to shock cooked asparagus in a bowl of ice water, this helps prevent overcooking, and the stalk remains crunchy.
- When storing the stalks, wrap the bottom end with a damp kitchen towel and place them in the salad drawer. You can also store them in a jug of cold water to keep the stalks fresh. But, don’t keep them for more than two days.
- While cooking, you can combine your asparagus with any of the following flavors; hard cheese, eggs, lemon, mint, mushrooms, oilfish, oranges, peas, potatoes, shellfish, and whitefish.
Check this too: Air Fryer How to & Troubleshooting Guide
Conclusion
Asparagus is a delicious snack that you can enjoy over the weekend. You can have it as a side dish, appetizer or eat it on its own. There are diverse ways that you can cook asparagus in an air fryer and have different flavors. For example, you cook asparagus fries with basil lemon, coat with panko bread, add spices like garlic and more. However, remember always to avoid overcooking the veggies by observing the tips mentioned above.