Air Fryer Asparagus is perfectly crispy, without needing a ton of oil and fat! In just under 10 minutes, you will have this awesome dish on the table.
Air Fryer Asparagus is just another reason why we can’t get enough of the air fryer at Momsdish! From air fryer salmon to air fryer baked potatoes, this appliance makes food so crispy and decadent without all the extra calories!
During the insanity of the week, the air fryer is an absolute savior. It makes this asparagus taste like it was roasted in the oven slowly and with loads of olive oil! Instead, it is ready to eat in less time than it takes to do the dishes. Gotta love the convenience…
Ingredients for Air Fryer Asparagus
Air Fryer Asparagus only requires three ingredients — asparagus, parmesan and garlic parsley salt! The latter makes a perfect dish, but here are a couple of variations you can make to switch things up:
- Bacon with asparagus. Slice up a couple of strips of bacon and add them directly into the air fryer alongside the asparagus. The bacon will cook up wonderfully! In fact, bacon is one of the BEST things to make in the air fryer.
- A sprinkle of lemon juice. A spritz of lemon juice brings this dish alive. Lemon-y asparagus is a summertime classic.
- Seasoning salt. If you have a favorite seasoning salt you can’t get enough of, sprinkle it on! Just be mindful of not adding too much seasoning salt on top of parmesan, which is salty in and of itself.
- Dash of pepper. Like a little spice? Add a dash of freshly ground pepper.
- Smoked paprika. Something about the way asparagus and smoked paprika tastes together is irresistible!
How to Make Asparagus In The Air Fryer
- Trim off the ends. Rinse your asparagus first and trim/snap off the ends.
- Season generously. Liberally season your asparagus with parsley salt and olive oil.
- Make it cheesy. After placing the asparagus in the air fryer basket (make sure to lay spears in an even layer), grate parmesan all over the top.
- Air fry! Set your air fryer to 400 ℉ and cook the asparagus for 7 minutes.
How to Trim Asparagus
Here’s all you need to know about successfully trimming asparagus:
- Rinse your asparagus under cool water.
- Trim the spears by cutting off the tough, woody bottom-half. You can also do this by snapping the woody part off with your hand — it should break off naturally.
- Toss the ends and season your spears!
How to Store Air Fryer Asparagus
Store your air fryer asparagus in an airtight container. It will last in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze your asparagus and simply reheat it again in the air fryer to return it to its original crispiness.
Air Fryer Recipes
- Air Fryer Chicken Legs (Crispy & Juicy): These chicken legs are juicy and fall-off-the-bone delicious.
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts Recipe: Make these perfectly crispy brussels without the hassle of turning the oven on.
- Air Fryer Korean Chicken Thighs: Korean chicken thighs are both sweet and savory — YUM!
- Crispy Air Fryer Cod (15 minutes): Fried fish is so tasty, but it is so fattening. The air fryer version is just as delicious and guilt-free.
- 15-Minute Air Fryer French Fries: While you are at it, whip up some quick air fryer fries to pair with your cod to make a healthy take on fish and chips!
- Korean Air Fryer Pork Ribs (Easy): These little morsels will be gone quicker than you can air fry them!
- Air Fryer Potato Chips Recipe: Crispy and crunchy, you’ll think twice before buying a bag from the store ever again.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lb asparagus
- 1 tbsp garlic parsley salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cut off the ends of asparagus. Line them up in one layer inside your air fryer.
- Sprinkle them with oil, garlic parsley salt and parmesan.
- Air fry asparagus at 400F for 7 minutes or until they are golden brown. Optional sprinkle asparagus with a tiny bit more of parmesan.
should i put the air fryer in bake mode or air crisp mode?
I typically use bake mode for everything.
My asparagus turned out perfectly seasoned and just the right balance between crisp and tender using my convection oven sat at 400F for 7 minutes. Thank you.
Hi Tom, Now you have me craving asparagus! Sounds like yours came out perfect! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Natalya, flavor was great but found that using my Ninja double drawer air fryer, 400 on air fry for 7 minutes was not enough for medium thick asparagus. Had to put it in for an additional 5 minutes and they were perfect. Wonder if each air fryer brand cooks slightly different. Thank you
Hi Rich, I do think that they all cook differently and all asparagus is so different in thickness. Glad you got it figured out. Its one of our favorite sides 🙂
So tasty - thank you!!!
(Btw, "(adjsut to taste)" needs to be adjusted in the recipe - can't help it as I write training materials for a living:)
Thanks again for the great and easy recipe!
Hey dear, thanks for catching that. My fingers have a language of their own when they start typing. lol
Love love new ways to use my air fryer ty for this yummy recipe.
Hi Manda, I am thrilled that you have a recipe that you love! Thank you for your feedback. Enjoy it, dear!!
Perfect 🥰
Hi Ashley, I am thrilled to hear that! Thank you for your feedback. Enjoy!
So I'm new to air frying so what setting on air fryer do i use for fresh asparagus do I use air fryer setting, bake,roast,broil help me out please
Hi Patty, you would use the air-fry setting Set your air fryer to 400 ℉ and cook the asparagus for 7 minutes. Thank you for reaching out!
Made this tonight for my family and is a little on the salty side, so may want to cut salt in half. Other than that, delicious! We added smoked paprika and was amazing!! Making again for sure!
Hi Kim, Thank you for sharing your feedback. You are definitely welcome to cut down on as much salt that suits you. I love the added paprika! Enjoy!
The flavor Is amazing, but the tips were over cooked. Every other way I cook thin asparagus is fine. Could it be that thin asparagus won't work in an air fryer?
I look forward to trying more of your recipes!!
Hi Shelly, if the asparagus is very thin, the cook time may need to be adjusted slightly. I appreciate your feedback. I hope you find many recipes you absolutely love on Momsdish.com Thank you for being a part of the momsdish community.
I was looking for a way to make asparagus in the air fryer since I finally invested in one. I used this recipe and haven't made asparagus different! Sometimes I tweak with my own ideas on seasonings depending the meal but they come out perfectly cook every time!
Hi Kara, I am so glad that you found a recipe that you love!! Thank you for your feedback. Enjoy!
We love this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Paige, I am so glad to hear that! Thank you for sharing your feedback. Enjoy!
I made this today. It was just a tad too salty for me but I’ll just know to adjust it next time. I used very skinny asparagus and it came out just right using the time/temp indicated in the recipe. I have some leftover and plan to chop them up tomorrow and add them to a French omelette with some fresh parsley and a little extra grated parmesan. I’ll definitely make this again!
Do you preheat air fryer?
Hi Genevieve, I am glad to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Have a great day!
Amazing recipe!! Made this last night and it was perfect!!!!
Hi Maria! I am so glad to hear that! Thank you for the feedback. Enjoy!
asparagus ib air fryer turned out terrible. my sparagus were pretty slim may have caused them to become hard and chewy rather than desired result. had to toss them.
Hi Jim- ah, that may be the case. Asparagus thats on the thinner side does have a tendency to overcook regardless of the cooking method! I'm sorry you had to toss it all, if you decide to try again with thicker asparagus I hope you love the end result!
Looks good
Just got a air fryer
This helps thanks 👍
Hello Linda, congrats on getting an air fryer! You will love it. Enjoy the asparagus!
This was only the second recipe I've made in my new air fryer. Worked great, but way too salty for our taste and I cut garlic salt way back. Will make again, with even less salt and I'm sure it will be great.
Hi Cathy- thank you for trying our recipe! I'm glad you will give it another go, and yes- please do adjust the seasonings to taste! It's one of those things where everyone has a difference preference so we always recommend adjusting to taste. 😀
Thank you so much for this recipe sister friend! Made it for my husband and I tonight and it is outstanding! Just an FYI for anybody who has the air fryer oven like I do, I just prepared it as you suggested and then put it on the racks, there’s two racks that come in the air fryer oven. And cooked it how you said. Then we eat it over toast. Outstanding! Thank you so much!
Thank you for the sweet comment, Amy! I'm happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed the asparagus.
Will this come out the same in a nuwave bravo xl air fryer oven?
Hey Rachel, I would think so but I have never use it before. Most air fryers work very similar.
If I add the bacon, do I still cook for the 7 minutes? Also, would I still need to use the oil or at least, cut back on it a little? Don't want it to be too oily/greasy.
Hi Michael - Thanks for the question. Would your plan be to wrap the asparagus stalks in bacon? If so, air fry the stalks at 360F instead for about 10-15 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked to your liking. Hope this helps!
Not sure why but I followed your directions and the asparagus was mush. I'll try 4 minutes next time.
Hi Sean - Sorry this didn't turn out like you hoped. Perhaps your air fryer runs a bit hotter or your stalks were extra thin? Let me know if I can help in any way!
Made it today - so good and crunchy!
Glad you enjoyed it, Sherrie!
So good I made it three times last month! My go-to recipe for asparagus!! Branched out tonight and used some lemon infused olive oil. Oh my that was also good!
Hi Ron- thanks for the feedback, I so agree- this recipe is the easiest! Lemon infused oil sounds great!
Question:
does the air fryer need to be preheated?
It does not! Simply turn it onto 400F and air fry for 7 minutes and you'll be golden, Sandi. Enjoy. 🙂
The best and easiest way to fix asparagus! My husband even had seconds, which he never does!
Hi Deb- Thanks for the feedback, so glad your family enjoyed it!
I made this basic recipe tonight, but used a couple of sprays of avocado oil as the entire amount of oil, cut out the salt completely, and added two slices of bacon cut into 1 inch slices. This created one of the best tasting asparagus dishes that I have ever had. Outstanding recipe.
Thanks for the feedback, Doug! The addition of bacon sounds delicious.
I’m posting again to tell you how wonderful this recipe is. I have been perusing your other recipes and will be trying the air fryer zucchini chips. I think this recipe looks amazing. I think you should try this same recipe with sliced portobello mushroom slices. They are wonderful.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Teresa! There are so many great air fryer recipes to try here. I hope you enjoy!
This is, by far, the best asparagus recipe I have ever tried. My husband and I loved it so much. Thank you.
Thank you, Teresa! So glad you enjoyed!!
Bake or broil?
Hi Graham - This recipe is actually made in the air fryer. Hope this helps!
This turned out amazing and I can't believe how easy it was! Will make these asparagus every week from now on =)
Yay! That's great, Lindsey. Such a simple way to get a serving of veggies on the table. Happy New Year!
Um, I am convinced that the asparagus and air fryer were made for each other after this meal. I snacked on half a bunch of asparagus straight out of the air fryer. Delicious.
Haha! So much same over here, Tia. So glad you liked the recipe. It's so crazy how good the texture turns out! Thanks for the kind words.
Do you preheat the air fryer? For how long?
Hey Sonia, I personally don't preheat an Air Fryer. It works great just like that. Enjoy the recipe 🙂
Good to know. Always specify in the recipe whether to preheat or not; it changes the cook time significantly.