This Air Fryer Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese is the best side dish to go with just about any main meal! Learn how to cook this in just 10 minutes flat.
Making this dish is so fast that you really won’t even have much time to leave the kitchen. Make sure your main dish is almost ready when you pop these in, as dinner is going to be complete in a flash.
This is an easy recipe that you can pair with any of your favorite dinners.
🧄Why This Recipe Works
- Easy Prep – This is wash, cut, and place in Air Fryer with a little salt and pepper. If you use the white asparagus, you’ll need to slice them. This whole process is under two minutes and is perfect for those busy weeknights.
- Simple Ingredients – Although the white asparagus isn’t found everywhere, it is often at your grocery store. You may just not see it, as your eyes are not trained for it. The green variety is available all year, though.
- Delicious Side Dish – Since asparagus is often served as a side dish on special occasions like Easter and Mother’s Day, you know it is a great “go-to” vegetable to have for virtually any meal.
- Quick Cook Time – This is the recipe that you make when you are just minutes away from sitting down at the table. It is that fast.
- Versatile Seasoning – If you aren’t a fan of Parmesan cheese, that is ok. Try something else. Toss it with a little bit of your favorite seasoning.
🥬 Ingredients
One more reason to love cooking with your air fryer is that you barely need any ingredients to make such tasty food. This healthy asparagus recipe only requires four ingredients! Let’s take a look:
Asparagus – Use ½ pound of fresh asparagus. You can always make more if you are serving more than two people, but you may need to work in batches.
Grated Parmesan Cheese – This is so tasty when topped with freshly grated Parmesan.
Salt & Pepper – Add a little bit of salt and pepper depending on your taste buds.
🥄 Why Make These in the Air Fryer vs Oven
There are a few reasons why this just makes sense.
- It is so much faster. The Air Fryer heats up in 3-4 minutes, where the oven can take almost twice that long.
- Cooking time in the air fryer is just a fraction of the oven. It only takes six minutes in the Air Fryer vs 15-20 minutes in the oven.
- It doesn’t heat up the entire house. Think of hot, sticky summer months when just the thought of turning on the oven makes you sweat. The Air Fryer doesn’t do that. The house will stay cool and you can cook your family favorites all summer long.
- Cleanup is much easier. My Air Fryer tray is small and easy to clean. When I roast in the oven, it always takes some elbow grease to clean the sheet pan. I don’t have to worry about that with the Air Fryer.
🥣 White vs Green Asparagus
White asparagus is a bit more delicate than the traditional green variety you find in the grocery store.
It is sweet with just a hint of bitterness. You might taste that the green has a more “grassy” flavor to it, but you won’t find that in the white variety.
Since white asparagus tends to be much larger, it is best to not use the bottom bit of it as it is hard and tough to eat.
We often slice them at a sharp angle and combine them with green asparagus like we did here.
🍽️ Instructions
There are just a few quick steps to the best side dish out there!
Step One: Clean the asparagus and chop off an inch of the bottom. That is usually hard and woody, so it is easier just to remove it.
If you use white asparagus (not necessary), then clean and slice them to similar thickness of the green asparagus so they cook at the same rate.
Step Two: In a bowl, spray the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the asparagus on an Air Fryer tray or in a basket.
Leave a bit of space between them to allow the air to flow.
Step Three: Heat the Air Fryer to 390 degrees and cook for 6 minutes.
Step Four: Remove and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese right away. Allow it to melt all around the asparagus.
If it doesn’t melt, pop back in the Air Fryer and it will melt in about one minute or less.
TIP: Do not put Parmesan Cheese on asparagus and walk away when it is in the Air Fryer. When I suggest that, I really do mean to stand right there for 20-60 seconds to allow the cheese to melt.
🍲 Meal Prep Instructions
The easiest way to meal prep this one is to clean the asparagus and trim the ends ahead of time. If you are using the white variety, clean and slice them so they are ready to go.
These recipes are so quick and easy but there are always ways to shave a minute or two to help your night go that much smoother!
Recipe FAQs
Asparagus is a low calorie and nutrient rich vegetable that will fuel your body and satisfy! You will find roasted asparagus is a great way to cook it up.
The red berries that the asparagus plant produces is toxic. You run into the same thing with rhubarb, there is part of the plant that is safe, and part that isn’t.
With any produce you want to wash and prep your asparagus. Remove the woody portion.
You will find if asparagus is not prepped properly you can run into a chewy texture. All you need to do is use a peeler to peel the areas of the stalk that has a harder skin.
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Air Fryer Asparagus
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ lb Asparagus white or green
- Olive Oil Spray
- 2 tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Trim the ends off of the asparagus and put into a bowl. If using the white asparagus, trim, slice and put into a bowl. Spray the asparagus with olive oil spray and mix with hands. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Lay out the asparagus on the Air Fryer tray or basket. Cook at 390 degrees for six minutes or until toasted.
- Remove the asparagus and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.
- Put back in warm Air Fryer for 20-60 seconds and allow to melt all over the asparagus. Remove and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
perfectly cooked asparagus