Air Fryer Asparagus

Name: Air Fryer Asparagus
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 11 min
Ingredients: 1 lb asparagus; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper; 2 teaspoons olive oil

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By Linley Hanson

5 from 5 votes

Published 2/27/2022

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Air fryer asparagus is crisp, flavorful, and easy to make. It will take you less than 15 minutes to make delicious air fryer asparagus and you won’t regret it.

Air Fryer Asparagus

It is no secret that we love asparagus here on Fit Foodie Finds. We have roasted asparagus, bacon wrapped asparagus, grilled asparagus and more! The newest addition to our asparagus catalog is air fryer asparagus. It is crisp, flavorful, and so easy to make.

why air fryer asparagus?

Air fryer asparagus leaves you with crispy asparagus every time.

You free up space on the stove top and your oven by using your air fryer.

It is the perfect side dish to so many meals.

Featured Ingredients

The ingredient list for this air fryer asparagus recipe is very short!

Asparagus: the star of the show is obviously asparagus for this recipe. We highly recommend using thicker asparagus spears for this recipe. We found that thinner asparagus spears would burn easily and cook inconsistently.

Lemon juice: a little lemon juice brightens up the asparagus. It’s so delicious.

Olive oil: to cook anything in the air fryer you need a little bit of oil. We chose olive oil because we love the flavor. Feel free to use whatever oil you would like.

Salt & pepper: we kept things simple for the seasoning for this asparagus recipe. A little salt and pepper did the trick.

here’s a tip

If you use too much olive oil in this recipe you will end up with over-crisped asparagus. We highly recommend using the suggested amount of oil and no more.

How to Remove Woody Ends of Asparagus

Pretty much the only thing you need to do in order to prepare the asparagus for air frying is remove the ends. The end of asparagus is tough to chew, so by cutting off about 1 inch of the end, it’s easier to eat and digest!

To do this, you can either use a sharp knife, pair of scissors, or…just snap them off with your fingers (learned this one from my mom!). Any of these methods work.

How to Make Air Fryer Asparagus

The key to making air fryer asparagus is to make sure you don’t overcook the asparagus. Nobody likes burnt asparagus.

Prep the asparagus. Rinse the asparagus and remove the woody ends of the asparagus. We recommend cutting the asparagus in half so that it fits into the air fryer better. Cutting the asparagus in half also helps the asparagus cook more evenly.
Air fry the asparagus. Place the asparagus in the air fryer and drizzle with olive oil. Cook the asparagus for 3 minutes at 400ºF and then toss the asparagus and cook it for another 3 minutes. If the asparagus is done, remove it from the air fryer. If you would like it cooked longer, cook it for 1 minute increments until it reaches your desired crispiness.

Please Note: We cooked our asparagus so it still had some crunch, but not crisped like a dehydrated vegetable (sometimes that can happen when cooking asparagus in the air fryer).

Best

Air Fryer

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Air Fryer Asparagus FAQ

Should I blanch asparagus before frying?

There is no need to blanch asparagus before air frying it.

How long do you reheat asparagus in air fryer?

I would only reheat asparagus in the air fryer for 3 minutes at 350ºF.

What other spices can I use in this recipe?

You can really add a ton of flavor to this recipe by tossing the asparagus with everything bagel seasoning, za’atar seasoning, homemade ranch seasoning, or just a simple sprinkle of red pepper flakes for heat.

How do I store cooked asparagus?

Store cooked asparagus in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Got Leftover Asparagus?

If you have left over air fryer asparagus use it in one of these delicious asparagus recipes.

Asparagus Salad

Shrimp Scampi With Asparagus

Asparagus and Mushroom Egg Cups

5 from 5 votes

Air Fryer Asparagus

Air fryer asparagus turns out crisp and flavorful every time. It makes the perfect easy side dish for any day of the week.

By: Linley Hanson

Prep: 5

Cook: 6

Total: 11

Servings:

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Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF.
Meanwhile, remove the ends of each asparagus spear by gently bending the end of each spear until it breaks. You can also use a sharp knife.
Cut each asparagus in half and place both halves into a large bowl.
Add the fresh lemon juice, salt, cracked pepper, and olive oil to the asparagus and toss all the ingredients together until the asparagus is coated in all of the ingredients.
Place 1/2 of the asparagus into the air fryer. It is ok if the asparagus overlaps.
Cook the asparagus for 3 minutes, shake the air fryer basket to toss the asparagus and then cook the asparagus for another 3 minutes.
Asparagus should be cooked, but not charred.
Remove the asparagus from the air fryer and enjoy with your favorite main dish.

Tips & Notes

Be sure you half the asparagus. Remember, it’s ok to layer your asparagus in the air fryer as long as you remember to shake the asparagus halfway through.