Microwave asparagus is the fastest and easiest way to cook this delectable vegetable. It's ready in just a few minutes, and it comes out perfectly cooked!
Asparagus is probably one of those vegetables that one either really likes or really doesn't. I happen to love it! I even like it in its canned form. But when fresh and in season, it's a true delicacy.
Making microwave asparagus is so easy, that I often default to this cooking method. Roasted asparagus is wonderful, but it requires heating up the oven. Microwave cooking is perfect for summer - quick, easy, and doesn't heat up your kitchen.
The ingredients you'll need
The very basic recipe has just one ingredient - asparagus. Once the asparagus is cooked, you can dress it however you like. So depending on what you'll do with it, other ingredients might include melted butter, olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and perhaps onion powder.
How to cook asparagus in the microwave
It truly couldn't be easier! The detailed steps are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview:
Your first step is to wash and trim the asparagus. Depending on how big your microwave-safe bowl is, you might need to trim quite a lot of the ends, or you could also chop each spear in half to avoid waste.
The next step is to place the spears in a large microwave-safe bowl, add a tablespoon of water, and cover the bowl with a microwave-safe plate.
Now let's get cooking! Microwave on high until the vegetable is tender-crisp. Depending on how thick the spears are, this should take around 3 minutes.
Now carefully remove the bowl from the microwave using oven mitts. And be even more careful when removing the lid - hot steam will escape.
That's it! Now dress the asparagus. The next section contains a few ideas.
How to use microwave asparagus
If you've used young, fresh, in-season asparagus, all it needs is a light sprinkle of kosher salt to be delicious. But if you want to be a bit more elaborate, here are a few more ideas:
1. Drizzle it with melted butter and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Make a quick dressing of olive oil (1 tablespoon), white wine vinegar (1 tablespoon), a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder, and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (to help emulsify the dressing). Whisk the dressing and then drizzle it over the asparagus.
3. Chop the asparagus and use it in this tasty asparagus salad.
4. Serve it with Hollandaise sauce.
What main dishes go with microwave asparagus?
Anything goes! Truly, this is such a versatile side dish. I do like to serve it with rich meat-based dishes since I feel it nicely balances them out. So I often serve it with one of the following:
What to do with leftovers?
Leftovers keep reasonably well in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. I like to chop them and add them cold to salads - they make a very nice addition to this arugula salad and also to this avocado chicken salad.
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Microwave Asparagus
INGREDIENTS
- 1 bunch fresh asparagus
Optional ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
INSTRUCTIONS
- Wash the asparagus spears. Trim the ends. You can either trim enough of the ends so that the spears fit into your microwave-safe bowl, o, after trimming just the ends, cut them in half (or even chop them).
- Place the trimmed spears in a microwave-safe bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water.
- Cover with a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.
- Use oven mitts to remove the bowl from the microwave, and be careful when removing the lid - hot steam will escape.
- Transfer the asparagus to a serving plate. Sprinkle with kosher salt and serve. Or season with melted butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Serve immediately.
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NOTES
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 