Air Fryer Asparagus

Air Fryer Asparagus is a fast, healthy, side dish recipe that comes together in just 10 minutes. This is the perfect vegetable to serve with just about any meat dish.

overhead photo of air fryer asparagus in the basket of an air fryer - 3

Asparagus is one of my very favorite vegetables. It is so easy to prepare, and it takes very little seasoning or effort to turn it into a fantastic side dish. In this Air Fryer Asparagus recipe, we are taking this versatile vegetable and making it even easier. Free up your oven by making this fast side right on the countertop in your air fryer .

How to Cook Asparagus in Air Fryer

This is just a brief overview of this fast recipe. For all the times, temperatures, and measurements, make sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe.

Preheat your air fryer.
Prepare the asparagus. While the air fryer is preheating, wash and trim the asparagus. Read more on this below.
Season the asparagus. Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Add half the asparagus. Spray it with cooking spray, and then sprinkle it with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt. Continue with the other half of the asparagus.
Cook the asparagus. Close up the air fryer and cook the asparagus for three minutes. Toss the asparagus and cook for three more minutes. Please see my note below on when cooking times will vary.

My Favorite Air Fryer

Varying Cooking Times for Asparagus

You will notice when you shop for asparagus that it will vary a great deal in thickness. The asparagus you see here is unusually thin. It took only about 4 minutes to cook. On the other hand, I’ve had much thicker asparagus that takes closer to 8 minutes. You will want to change the cooking time based on how thick it is, keeping in mind that 6 minutes is perfect for the average asparagus spear.

Picking out Asparagus

There are a few things to look for when you are shopping for asparagus at the grocery store or farmer’s market.

Look for a bunch that has relatively the same thickness of asparagus – it will be easier for it to all cook evenly.
Pick a bunch in which all of the stems look thick and plump. If they have wrinkles or dimples in the skin, skip that one.
Grab an asparagus bunch that has tight buds at the top and tops that are fresh looking and not wilted.

Storing Fresh Asparagus

If you are making this later in the week and need to store your asparagus, you will want to follow these steps:

Cut off the bottom of the asparagus – about 1/2 an inch.
Place the whole bunch in a glass of water.
Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to make this delicious air fryer asparagus recipe.

a bunch of asparagus on a cutting board with a small amount cut off the bottoms - 5

Prepping Asparagus

When it is time to make your asparagus in the air fryer, take the asparagus stalks out of the refrigerator and give it a quick rinse. Now you want to snap off the rough woody ends. If you bend the asparagus as seen below, it will tell you exactly where it should be snapped off. Once you snap one, you can line it up with the rest of the asparagus, and cut the rest of the bottoms.

woman holding asparagus and snapping the bottom part of the stem off - 6

woman using a knife to cut off the woody bottoms of asparagus - 7

Seasonings

You will notice that I went really light with the seasonings in this recipe. I love the taste of asparagus, so I think that it needs very little, and I love the garlic salt on these.

That being said, there are so many ideas that you could go with to change this up. Here are a few of my own seasoning blends that I think would be delicious with these. Just keep in mind that you want to go easy with them.

Everything Bagel Seasoning
Cajun Seasoning
Italian Seasoning
Grill Seasoning

Or, you can go with the peanut butter to asparagus’ jelly and just squeeze some fresh lemon juice on them after they come out of the air fryer. That would also be delicious.

Variations

In addition to the different seasonings listed above, you could change up this recipe in a number of different ways.

Add cheese: Like with my roasted green beans, these would be fantastic with a little sprinkling of finely grated Parmesan cheese at the end just before serving.
Use fresh herbs: Asparagus are a delightful summer side dish. Grab some fresh herbs from your garden to garnish these at the end. Parsley, basil or even fresh dill would be delicious on these.
Toss in some lemon: Like with my oven roasted asparagus, lemon zest and asparagus go together perfectly. Zest a little over these after they are done cooking.

asparagus in the basket of an air fryer, partially in the cosori air fryer - 8

Leftovers

Leftover asparagus can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. These are delicious cold, but you could also use your air fryer to reheat them. I also love chopping up cooked asparagus, and tossing it in a salad. That would be a perfect way to use up leftovers of this delicious recipe.

No, these cook perfectly in the air fryer without the added step of blanching.

Asparagus is done when it is fork tender. In other words, when you can easily spear the asparagus with a fork, it is done. This, however, is a matter of preference. Some like their asparagus with a little more bite to it than others.

This is an indication that it was cooked too long. Next time shave a minute or two off the cooking time.

I have had two, and I really love this one from Cosori: Air Fryer . And you can see all of my air fryer recipes here: Air Fryer Recipes .

overhead of air fryer asparagus, cooked, on a platter with lemon slices - 9

Other Great Ways to Make Asparagus

Oven Roasted Asparagus
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

If you make this air fryer asparagus recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I love hearing from you!

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Ingredients

15 ounces asparagus (one bunch)
cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions

Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees.
Spray the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray. Add half of the asparagus and spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt over them. Repeat with the second half of the asparagus.
Cook the asparagus in the air fryer for 3 minutes. Toss and continue cooking for 3 more minutes. (Thin asparagus will take less time, thicker asparagus will take longer.)
Check to ensure that the asparagus is tender. If not, add an additional minute of cooking. Otherwise, enjoy!

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