Jazz up your meals with air fryer frozen asparagus! Ready in minutes, you can air fry frozen asparagus simply seasoned, or kick things up a notch for a special meal.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Spring or winter, with air fryer frozen asparagus you can enjoy it any season! Not only is the preparation quick and easy, but this dish also packs a nutritional punch. Packed with vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as dietary fiber and folate, this healthy veggie complements most meals.
Why Air Fry Frozen Asparagus?
Not only do air fryers provide a quick and efficient way to cook your favorite foods, but they also make preparing healthier meals much simpler. You have forced convection air cooking food faster than conventional roasting, baking, or frying, with less mess, less oils, and with similar results!
Frozen asparagus in air fryer comes out as spectacular as roasting, without heating up the entire kitchen when turning on a large oven.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Why Air Fry Frozen Asparagus?
- Air Fryer Frozen Asparagus Ingredients
- How to Cook Frozen Asparagus In Air Fryer
- Serving Suggestions
- Related Recipes
- Substitutions and Variations
- Equipment
- Storage and Reheating
- Tips for Success
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Food Safety
- Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
- Connect with Smells Like Delish!
- 📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Frozen Asparagus Ingredients
You will find frozen asparagus affordably priced year round, even when fresh asparagus is not in season! If you have fresh herbs available, use some of them also!
- Frozen Asparagus Spears - Get the spears and keep them frozen, do not defrost.
- Olive oil - to lightly brush on the frozen asparagus spears. Gives you that same 'oven roast' crispy outside.
- Asiago - fresh grated Asiago cheese (or even Parmesan).
- Salt - medium coarse sea salt to taste
- Pepper - go for fresh ground pepper whenever possible.
- Lemon - lemon wedges for garnish and squeezing.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Cook Frozen Asparagus In Air Fryer
In this blog post, I’ll show you why cooking frozen asparagus in an air fryer is one of the best methods to use in order to achieve restaurant-quality results quickly, efficiently, and above all else - deliciously!
Start with Frozen Asparagus Spears
- Remove the frozen asparagus spears from the package and lay out on a plate or cutting board. Do not defrost!
Prepare Frozen Asparagus for Air Fryer
- Using a basting brush, or an oil sprayer, lightly coat the frozen asparagus spears with oil.
Air Fry Frozen Asparagus
- Turn the heat setting to 390F and the timer to 5 minutes and slide the air fryer basket of frozen asparagus into the air fryer.
Jazz Up Air Fryer Frozen Asparagus with Asiago
- Open the air fryer basket and add season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Sprinkle the grated Asiago cheese and air fry for a final 3 minutes.
- Transfer the asparagus using a pancake turner to a platter, and garnish with wedges of lemon. Serve immediately while hot.
What is the best way to eat asparagus?
Asparagus can be seasoned with a variety of additional spices and herbs also! Next time you make frozen asparagus in air fryer, sprinkle on a little of one of the following flavors after brushing with olive oil:
- Spices: smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, cumin, allspice, curry, ginger, pepper, paprika, cayenne, mustard.
- Herbs: rosemary, basil, dill, marjoram, Mediterranean oregano, thyme, cilantro, basil, sage, bay leaf, oregano, parsley, savory, tarragon.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavors along side some Pan Grilled Steakhouse Pork Chops and a bright, cheerful Italian Tomato Salad, and some hot rolls for a perfect quick weeknight meal.
Some additional main dish recipes air fried frozen asparagus goes well with are:
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Related Recipes
Substitutions and Variations
Asparagus is so versatile, and cooks so quickly that you can roast it with seafood, crisp it up as fries, or serve it as savory appetizers. See our recipe suggestions below for more ideas and substitutions for air fryer asparagus recipes.
- Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Asparagus - Try our Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Asparagus bundles if you want to get fancier, or serve as appetizer bundles.
- Air Fryer Salmon and Asparagus - Roasting Salmon with Asparagus just got easier. Our Air Fryer Salmon and Asparagus recipe is ready in just 15 minutes!
- Air Fryer Asparagus Fries - If you love our Air Fryer Zucchini Sticks, try a similar version with our Air Fryer Asparagus Fries! The slightly crunch asparagus coated and air fried is amazing!
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite air fryers for testing and creating recipes for Smells Like Delish.
- Nuwave Brio Air Fryer - Rotisserie - Grill - This 15 quart countertop Smart Oven has three slide in trays, that all can be used at the same time. You can air fry rotisserie chickens, an SO mush more!
- Nuwave Air Fryer 15 quart - This large family size basket air fryer has room to air fry enough for a large family!
- Gourmia Digital Air Fryer 6 quart - This basket style air fryer will handle four frozen waffles in the air fryer.
- Ninja Foodie Pro Air Fryer - Folds up out of the way on your counter.
- Nuwave Air Fryer 3 quart - This compact basket air fryer is perfect for singles or a small family of 2 or 3. You can air fry two frozen waffles in 4 minutes.
- Oil Sprayer - This is a perfect sprayer for spritzing a light coating of oil on vegetables, meats, and other prepared frozen foods before air frying. The tiny amount of oil ensures you get as amazing results as deep frying and roasting, with a fraction of the calories and splatter!
Storage and Reheating
- Store leftover air fryer asparagus in a covered container for up to three days.
- Reheat with simple microwaving, or pop back in the air fryer for 2 to 4 minutes at 350F.
Tips for Success
- Do not defrost the frozen asparagus spears.
- For a nice 'roasted' look, lightly brush the frozen asparagus spears with olive oil
- Add any shredded cheese to the final two minutes of cooking so that it does not harden from the heat.
- If using garlic to season your asparagus, wait until the last 3 minutes so that the garlic slivers or powder don't turn bitter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can cook asparagus in air fryer fresh or frozen. Frozen asparagus in air fryer will require slightly more time than fresh. Air fry fresh asparagus just like frozen, but air fry for only 7 minutes at 390F.
Yes! Frozen food in the air fryer comes out crispy and cooks more quickly than in an oven. You can cook everything, from frozen meat, frozen meals, to frozen snacks and appetizers!
No, for crispy spears, go straight from the freezer to the air fryer basket.
Yes, and if out of season fresh asparagus has been in cold storage for a long time, frozen asparagus will have retained even more vitamins!
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
Connect with Smells Like Delish!
📖 Recipe
Air Fry Frozen Asparagus
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz asparagus frozen whole spears
- 1 teaspoon olive oil or spritz from an oil sprayer
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper fresh ground
- 3 tablespoon Asiago cheese freshly grated
- ½ lemon sliced into wedges
Instructions
- Remove the frozen asparagus spears from the package and lay out on a plate or cutting board. Do not defrost!8 oz asparagus
- Using a basting brush, or an oil sprayer, lightly coat the frozen asparagus spears with oil.1 teaspoon olive oil
- Turn the heat setting to 390F and the timer to 5 minutes and slide the air fryer basket of frozen asparagus into the air fryer.
- Open the air fryer basket and add season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Sprinkle the grated Asiago cheese and air fry for a final 3 minutes.sea salt, black pepper, 3 tablespoon Asiago cheese
- Transfer the asparagus using a pancake turner to a platter, and garnish with wedges of lemon. Serve immediately while hot.½ lemon
Notes
- Do not defrost the frozen asparagus spears.
- For a nice 'roasted' look, lightly brush the frozen asparagus spears with olive oil
- Add any shredded cheese to the final two minutes of cooking so that it does not harden from the heat.
- If using garlic to season your asparagus, wait until the last 3 minutes so that the garlic slivers or powder don't turn bitter.
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