how long to cook asparagus in air fryer

Try asparagus in the air fryer this week. Tender and sprinkled with parmesan cheese, it's the perfect vegetable side dish.

Asparagus in the air fryer is a great side dish with any meal. Add a bit of parmesan and seasonings and even your kids will love it. Easy air fryer recipes are the best. (affiliate links present)

This is my far my favorite vegetables, next to artichokes. They must be fresh with thinner stems for me to buy.

When I find them at the store I buy bunches and make this!

Air fryer asparagus

If you love air fryer recipes too, here are some resources to start with:

THIS is my Favorite Air Fryer!
You can find more Air fryer recipes here, we have Ninja Foodi recipes as well; bookmark them both!
- This is the best air fryer cookbook. Remember to always preheat air fryer for best results.
Here's a printable air fryer cook times chart here for your fridge.
- It has temp. and times for making the best frozen foods for air fryer too.
Then join our Facebook page where you can share and find more ideas you'll love. We have a Foodi social media group as well.

I will say this is my favorite vegetable ever. Love when summertime arrives and the bunches not only look better, but get a lot cheaper too.

Let's talk about this vegetable shall we?

What is the healthiest way to eat asparagus?

Asparagus in the air fryer is on the top of the list. Why? Because boiling will kill most of the great nutrients. Using hot air to soften each piece maintains the nutritious qualities while giving it a light crisp.

How do I cook asparagus?

You can saute it in a pan on the stovetop with a bit of olive oil or water. Some like to steam it in a pressure cooker, but I like using my air fryer.

What are the benefits of eating asparagus?

It is a low calorie food with fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, and K. To maintain all of them and not lose them in the cooking process, do not submerge in water.

Can you eat the tips of asparagus?

Heck yes, that is our favorite part. I cut a few inches off the ends and then cook. Choose thinner pieces because thick stalks aren't as flavorful and are hard to get tender.

Here's how we made them to perfection at our house recently.

Asparagus Air Fryer

You can see the bunch I chose here. If all the store has are very thick stalks I will pass.

There is no great way to cook those so they taste fantastic. You don't want skinny, but on the thinner side like you see here is perfect.

I find that when it is really truly in season, all the bunches look like this.
Once you get closer to the winter months they get thicker and thicker, and more and more expensive.
There's a small timeframe (for us anyway) when they're a great price and the perfect size.

Yes I love the tops so much that I discard the last few inches. That is totally up to you but I'm picky when it comes to making perfect air fryer vegetables you could say.

When using your air fryer you'll need to have olive oil on hand. It will not only help the seasonings stick to it, but it will help soften and then crisp the outsides just a bit.

This isn't breaded, or a food you want to become really crispy like air fryer zucchini chips. Rather you just want to soften it, and give it a bit of texture on the outside with a tiny bit of crispness.

After rinsing you'll want to dry the outsides off so the oil sticks.
Paper towels will work wonders for this.
Then lay them on a plate or cutting board and add the seasonings you normally would when cooking this superfood.

Parmesan at the entire is totally optional but a must in our house.

Here are quick step by step directions but I also have a printable recipe card below:

Time needed:7 minutes.

Asparagus in the air fryer

Prepare
Rinse and cut ends off asparagus. Lay on paper towels and fold over to remove as much water on outside as possible. Lay on cutting board or on a plate. Drizzle olive oil on top and rub on so they're coated.
Cook

Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees F for 5 minutes. Sprinkle on all seasonings and lay in air fryer basket in a single layer. Try to avoid overlapping pieces. Close drawer and cook for a total of 7 minutes.

Use tongs to move around at minute 3. At minute 6 or when they are tender, sprinkle on parmesan cheese and air fry for 1 more minute to melt.

The seasonings for air fryer roasted asparagus are listed below but of course use what you love.

You can also always wait and just sprinkle salt, garlic powder, and pepper on them at the end once you serve them.

If you just have an Instant Pot with a CrispLid you could use that. The basket is rather small though so you'd probably need to cut each piece in half to fit.

Asparagus in Air Fryer

Bunch of fresh asparagus
Knife
Paper towels
Olive oil or avocado oil
Seasonings you love
- salt and pepper at least
Shredded parmesan cheese is delicious to add at the end

With all air fryer recipes you want to make sure everything is in one layer. This ensures every piece gets hot air circulating around each piece equally.

Add this to your weekly meal plan with a protein and enjoy! Some of our favorite easy air fryer recipes to pair with air fried asparagus are:

Marinated chicken in air fryer is great, teriyaki is our favorite to use. This is easy to make gluten free with your own marinade.

Our air fryer chicken thighs with our dry rub, or just salt and pepper on top is great. Serve it with these veggies and air fryer cornbread for a great meal.

Try our air fryer steak bites. They have a TON of flavor to them and really quick to throw together.

If you love asparagus give this a whirl. There's a printable recipe card below as well as nutritional information.

That will vary depending on the weight of your bunch, but ever so slightly.

Asparagus in the Air Fryer

Try asparagus in the air fryer this week. Tender and sprinkled with parmesan cheese, it's the perfect vegetable side dish.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword air fryer, asparagus, parmesan

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 69 kcal

1 bunch asparagus rinsed, ends cut off
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon pepper Mrs. Dash
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3 tbsp parmesan optional

Rinse and cut ends off asparagus. Lay on paper towels and fold over to remove as much water on outside as possible.
Lay on cutting board or on a plate. Drizzle olive oil on top and rub on so they're coated.
Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees F for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle all seasonings on asparagus and lay in air fryer basket. Try to avoid overlapping pieces.
Close drawer and cook for a total of 7 minutes, use tongs to move around at minute 3.
At minute 6 or when they are tender, sprinkle on parmesan cheese and air fry for 1 more minute to melt.

Nutrition Facts

Asparagus in the Air Fryer

Amount Per Serving (2 oz)

Calories 69 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g 8%

Saturated Fat 1g 6%

Cholesterol 3mg 1%

Sodium 353mg 15%

Potassium 227mg 6%

Carbohydrates 5g 2%

Fiber 2g 8%

Sugar 2g 2%

Protein 4g 8%

Vitamin A 880IU 18%

Vitamin C 6mg 7%

Calcium 71mg 7%

Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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