Need a delicious but easy vegetable to go with dinner tonight? This lemon garlic asparagus recipe is packed with flavor!
When Gabe planted a large patch of asparagus two years ago, I had no idea how amazing it would be to be able to harvest a fresh bunch of asparagus every other day, and find new ways to cook it.
I didn’t grow up eating asparagus. In fact, when I was twelve, we bought an established homestead from an Amishman, and one of the first things my dad did was plow the asparagus patch under. So sad in retrospect. 😅
Today, well I guess my taste buds have changed as an adult (I bet you can relate), and as far as kids are concerned, they didn’t start off liking it. In fact, my son didn’t eat asparagus for a couple years because it literally made him gag.
Then one day he tried it again, and it has gradually become one of his preferred vegetables. So if it’s hard to get your kids to eat their vegetables – there’s hope!
I had no idea I would become such an asparagus apologist, but here we are. I’ll always stand by keeping it simple, and simple roasted asparagus is still one of my favorites. But there’s also a place for dressing it up, like with creamy asparagus soup, and then there’s this lemon garlic asparagus recipe that’s a little dressed up, but still incredibly simple.
It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s full of flavor.
Lemon Garlic Asparagus Recipe
A few things to know about this recipe:
- Fresh may be best, but you can absolutely use frozen asparagus – and it’s really good! The trick to using frozen vegetables is to lay them out on a cookie sheet with no seasoning. Put them in the oven while it preheats, and let them thaw while the ice/water evaporates. Shake the pan after 5 minutes or so to let the underside evaporate as well. Once they’re dry to touch, take them out to season and toss them in oil like you would fresh asparagus.
- The lemon aroma permeates the asparagus around it. So spread your lemon slices out on top, but don’t worry about them touching every single piece.
- Fresh garlic is always best, but we’re busy people here, so feel free to use garlic from a jar.
- Parchment paper isn’t a must, but it does make clean up easier, and your asparagus is pretty much guaranteed not to stick if you use it. Parchment paper is the best. Seriously.
- To prep asparagus for roasting, pick each piece up by both ends, and bend until it snaps apart. It will naturally break where the stalk becomes tender enough to each.
Lemon Garlic Asparagus Recipe
Roasted asparagus with garlic, lemon, salt, and a pepper.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425º
- Break woody end of stem off of asparagus – just bend until it naturally breaks
- Arrange on a parchment-lined (or greased) baking tray
- Drizzle asparagus with olive oil, and toss
- Mince 2 cloves of garlic, and sprinkle over asparagus, along with salt and pepper
- Slice lemon into about 1/8 inch thick slices and arrange over asparagus
- Place baking tray in the middle of preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes or so, until they’ve browned to your liking – it’ll vary depending on how thick your asparagus stems are
- Remove from oven, squeeze some of the lemon juice from the lemon slices over your asparagus, and toss again
- Serve hot.
- Enjoy!
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