Oven Roasted Asparagus
A sweet brown sugar glaze takes this Oven Roasted Asparagus recipe to the next level. This is a delicious side dish that everyone (kids included!) will love.
Why We Love Oven Roasted Asparagus
Asparagus can be a tad intimidating to kids. It’s green. And spiny-looking. And it’s got a lot of syllables. But this nutritious asparagus recipe might pleasantly surprise your kids, when they find that the sweetness and mild green-bean-like crunch of asparagus is tasty and easy to love.
This asparagus recipe has a sweet flavor that’s naturally appealing to kids. And because it’s so quick to make, it’s also a side that’s doable for you, even when you have little ones in your midst.
Asparagus is super healthy for kids, and a welcome change of pace from the usual carrots and peas on their dinner plates. It has tons of Vitamin K and folate, plus fiber and even a few grams of protein, which is a little unusual for a veggie!
Ingredients:
- asparagus– look for firm stalks with closed, compact tips
- butter
- brown sugar– maple syrup or balsamic vinegar work great too!
- sea salt
- black pepper
How to Roast Asparagus
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Trim the ends off your asparagus. Snap one in half- it will naturally break where the stalk gets tough. Use that one as a guide for trimming the rest of the asparagus. Arrange the asparagus on your baking sheet.
- Melt the butter. Whisk in the brown sugar and drizzle over your asparagus. Season with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 10-12 minutes or until crisp tender.
How Do You Know When Asparagus is Done Baking?
It’s really easy to overcook asparagus! You’ll know if you do: it gets mushy and turns a not-too-attractive olive-drab color.
The best way to cook asparagus is quickly and at a high temperature. As soon as the color of the asparagus turns uniformly vibrant green, it’s your cue to take them out of the oven. This Oven Roasted Asparagus recipe enhances the natural sweetness of fresh asparagus, while leaving the texture a little crisp, and the color bright and appetizing.
More Vegetable Side Dish Ideas:
- Spiced Honey Glazed Carrots
- Parmesan Roasted Cabbage
- Honey Bacon Brussels Sprouts
- Honey Roasted Butternut Squash
- Savory Roasted Cauliflower
Oven Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus
- 3 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Cut the tough ends off asparagus, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Drizzle over asparagus and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the asparagus is crisp tender. Serve warm.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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My kids ate asparagus for the first time yesterday. 2 out of 3 didn’t like it, but for the one who did it was a major victory.
I made mine by spreading the asparagus out on a pan, drizzling it with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and roasting it for 10 min. It was delicious. I also made a cashew curry mayo to go with it for the grown ups which was also a hit.
Amy-
We eat Asparagus weekly if we can! Our favorite way is to put them in a ziplock bag, add a drizzle of olive oil, a shake of garlic salt and a shake of lemon pepper and then grill them. In the winter I do the same thing, except I just roast them in the oven at 450 for 7-8 minutes (turn them once). They are so delicious!
I LOVE asparagus!!! But what I don’t love, is the “Asparagus PEE smell” that comes immediately after eating it! HA HA! Have you ever noticed that? LOL! I know it’s a gross, and maybe inappropriate comment, but I sure wish there was a way to avoid that after eating asparagus! 🙂
We LOVE asparagus so much that I purchased 7 lbs last week when it was on sale for $1.49/lb. We always cook ours the same way: drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice (approx. 1 lemon per lb), sprinkle with pepper, salt and crushed red pepped. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes, turning once. DELICIOUS!
My kids LOVE asparagus. I steam it, broil it or grill it. They can’t get enough. We are lucky that we can get it at the farmer’s market.
We get asparagus for as little as two months of the year, so it’s well worth capitalizing on it when it shows up, which is someplace from around the finish of April into June. How to cook asparagus in a variety of tasty dishes where you can serve this seasonal vegetable as blanched, griddled, roasted or as a raw.
Great idea. We managed to get our boys to eat asparagus by calling it dragon tails!!!
This is a GREAT idea, thanks for sharing!
My kids actually ate their asparagus for the first time when I made this recipe, and said it was good!
I’m so happy to hear this Stephanie! My kids love asparagus this way, too.