Air Fryer Thick Asparagus Spears are truly delicious – once you’ve air fried them, I doubt you’ll go back! The air fryer is able to cook the asparagus from all angles at the same time so you get a perfectly even cook and those beautiful caramelised bits on all sides with minimal effort.
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I’ve honestly said almost everything I need to say about this asparagus in the first paragraph! I’ve been very impressed with the air fried asparagus, especially these which are very thick stemmed. They cook through nicely without drying out and don’t need any preboiling or steaming.
With just a little bit of oil and salt, I love them served simply, you really don’t need to do much more, especially with fresh and in-season asparagus.
How to Serve
Asparagus is a really great accompaniment to many dishes, especially in spring. You can serve it hot or cold although I really am a hot girlie. It’s as good on the side of grilled meats, served with eggs for breakfast or on a veggie platter.
Try some of these recipe combo ideas:
- Dip into runny yolk poached eggs on slices of buttered sourdough toast with crispy bacon rashers. Add some smashed avocado for extra luxury.
- Serve with thick pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes and a creamy mushroom and oregano sauce.
- Pair with air fried cod loin fillets, roasted whole baby potatoes, steamed mangetout and a fresh salad with garlic butter sauce.
I’m a big fan of a cheeky drizzle with a balsamic glaze/reduction and you’ll see this is what I did with my fish dish.
Ingredients
Asparagus
I should be clear that we’re talking about green asparagus in this post. You can also use these instructions to cook the slightly nuttier and sweeter purple asparagus although this is quite hard to come by in the UK. But white asparagus is a bit of a different beast.
By it’s very nature, asparagus can be picked when it’s young, skinny and extra tender. This is usually sold as “fine asparagus”. This will need a different cooking approach to the thicker asparagus that this recipe is for.
Thick is the term I’ve used for the spears I’ve used which were 19g-29g (⅔oz-1oz). But they are just sold without the thick label – I’ve just used it to distinguish from the skinny stuff. You can buy seriously thick asparagus that’s 2 or 3 times thicker but I’m not a fan of this so I generally avoid.
You can also buy “asparagus tips” in all thickness and colours. This means that the woody end of the spears has already been cut off. This is usually around a third of the total length.
Tips are usually more expensive as they’ve been pre-prepared. But I find that the ends are often a bit gnarly and need slicing anyway. So I don’t see the point of paying a premium. If these are what you find you have, just beware that you can skip the snapping/slicing step in the recipe. Although you may still need to give them a little trim.
Oil
I’ve used a neutral vegetable oil in this recipe although you can use a stronger flavoured oil like olive oil if this works with the other flavours in your dish. Or you can use melted butter – this is actually pretty delicious in most circumstances.
Although you could reduce the amount of oil I’ve used slightly, I would caution you to skip this step. Like many vegetables when they’re roasted, skipping using oil entirely usually results in the veg from becoming dry rather than roasting and charring nicely.
Seasoning
Again I’ve kept things very simple by just using sea salt flakes. If you plan to use free running salt instead, make sure to reduce the amount as it is stronger when measured by volume.
You can add any other seasonings you wish. A little paprika and/or garlic salt often goes a long way. You can also introduce a little citrus. Mixing lemon zest with the oil before adding to the asparagus can impart a lot of flavour. Lemon juice is better added after the fact.
Allergen Information
This recipe is free from egg, dairy, gluten and nuts.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How Long to Air Fry Asparagus Spears
The thick asparagus spears cooked to perfection in 10 minutes. But I did take the rare step of reducing the temperature by 20c/30f midway through cooking.
I try to avoid this where possible for simplicity’s sake but after several tests, I found this to be the perfect method to get some nice colouring on the asparagus but a tender inside without burning the delicate tips.
How to Air Fry Thick Asparagus From Frozen
Don’t! Asparagus is a vegetable that really doesn’t hold up well to being frozen. You can of course but then it is much better used in a soup or stew type application as it doesn’t retain it’s texture.
Leftovers – Storage & Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for several days if well covered or stored in an air tight container.
They’ll reheat in just a couple of minutes in a preheated air fryer. This is my preferred and recommended way of reheating asparagus no matter how it was cooked in the first place.
Common Air Fryer Questions – A Brief Guide to Air Frying
- What exactly is an air fryer?
- What are the benefits of using an air fryer?
- Are all air fryers the same?
- Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
- Do air fryers need to be pre-heated?
- What is the best temperature to air fry at?
- What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
- Can food be cooked from frozen in an air fryer?
- Can I reheat food in an air fryer?
- Are air fryer liners a good idea?
The Air Fried Feast Community
Come on over to Facebook and join my community discussing all things air fryer. Get involved in sharing your experiences and trials, help out others and find out what wonderful things everyone is cooking in their air fryers!
What Exactly is an Air Fryer?
Very simply, an air fryer is a small convection (fan) oven. The benefit is that the hot air is circulated all around the food being cooked which speeds up the cooking time and cooks the food more evenly.
What are the Benefits of Using an Air Fryer?
Size, time and energy usage. Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller quantities. Heating up a space that the food just fits into requires less energy and means that the heat source is much closer to the food. Combining these two things can speed up the cooking time.
Are all air fryers the same?
Nope! The term air fryer is now used very broadly. I consider there to be 4 main types:
Basket Air Fryers
These are what I would consider to be the most common, especially in the UK. A boxy type unit has a pull out drawer/basket. Food isn’t usually visible whilst cooking.
Some larger models have two drawers so different items can be cooked at different temperatures or for different times.
This is the type that you’ll see in the images in this recipe. I mostly use a Cosori Lite 3.8L (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal. It isn’t an overly expensive or fancy model.
I’ve also recommended to several friends and family the model with a slightly larger basket. This is the Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501) with a 4.7 litre basket. The unit is no larger than the 3.8 litre model on the outside but does have a larger internal basket capacity. I’ve since bought this version to use for some recipes where my smaller model was just too small. I’ll always note this in the recipe.
Rotary Air Fryers
Round air fryers with a paddle in the centre that rotates to move the food. This is the type I used for years – the most common is a Tefal Actifry.
Rotary types are not usually good for recipes where the food is breaded, glazed, likely to break up or in a tray/container. They do however make the best chips and roasted veg.
My 2 in 1 version like the one I’ve linked also has a rotating tray for things that could be broken up by a paddle, but the height clearance with the lid isn’t deep enough to use it to cook some items like sausage rolls. I’ve now actually retired by Actifry in favour of having my two basket type fryers.
Mini Oven Air Fryers
These usually have a glass door, shelves and overall are really quite large. You can cook quite a decent quantity of food in them so are best if regularly cooking for multiple people. They often come with extra features like a rotisserie spit or kebab skewers.
Multicookers with Air Fryer Functions
Some like Ninja 11 in 1 and some of the earlier versions with a few less functions, have an air fryer option. They mostly operate the same as a basket fryer but the basket drops in the top rather than sliding in like a drawer.
Some electric pressure cookers like Instant Pots can also air fry when used with a specific lid.
Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
As much as I do love air frying, the honest answer to this is no. And the more detailed answer is that it will always depend on what you’re cooking, how much of it you’re cooking and what type and size of air fryer you have.
Once you need to cook in more than 2 batches, it often makes more sense to use an oven. If you already have the oven on to cook other items, it may make more sense to throw one more item in rather than using an additional appliance.
I don’t think either method is often necessarily better than the other. The important point to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the finished product.
Do Air Fryers Need to Be Pre-Heated?
The answer to this is rather annoying – it depends. It depends entirely on your model and type of air fryer. The best advice I can offer is to check your manual and follow their guidance. My Cosori models have a preheat function. I press a button and it heats at 205c/400f for 4 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of whether you are supposed to pre-heat or not, if you are cooking in batches, it is quite likely that anything after the first batch will cook a little quicker because of the retained heat. It is best to check on them before the cooking time is completed.
What is the best temperature to Air Fry at?
It will always depend on what you are cooking and from what state. All of my air fryer recipes don’t use temperatures above 200c/390f because many of the most common fryers in the UK don’t go above this. Mine goes to 230c/450f and I use this temperature a lot but it is no help for me to share recipes which many people can’t use.
What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
Not all air fryers have different settings like this. When they do it usually relates to the fan speed. The default setting to use will always be “air fry” so unless something else is specifically stated in the recipe, always use the air fry option.
There are other air fryers that have an additional heating element which cooks from underneath rather than just the top. Just as with the other settings, unless you are using a recipe which states to use a second heating element, stick with just using the top down air fry option.
Of course if and when you become more confident with air frying, using recipes and the settings of your air fryer, you can start adapting them to suit.
Can Food Be Cooked From Frozen In An Air Fryer?
Absolutely! To cook from frozen you usually will need to reduce the cooking temperature and increase the time to make sure your food is cooked right through to the middle.
It is best to check my individual recipes for cooking from frozen advice as some items are a little different. And there are occasionally exceptions to the rule.
Can I Reheat Food In An Air Fryer?
Yes. As a general rule I reheat food for roughly 1/3 of the original cooking time at the same temperature. Or at 10 degrees lower for half the time for larger items.
Are Air Fryer Liners a Good Idea?
Unless otherwise stated, I do not use liners when air frying. Basket and rotary type air fryers are designed to be used without liners. Mini oven types will generally require some kind of tray like with a regular large oven although most come with crisper racks to use.
There are many air fryer liners available including quite thick silicone ones. These will affect the cooking times and possibly temperatures of your cooking/baking. I also don’t like how cooking juices are prevented from dripping through the basket rack. This can stop food from crisping all the way around.
When I do want to collect the juices, I mostly use some foil, or occasionally a foil tray which can be washed and reused.
If you do prefer to use them, once you have got a feel for how they affect your cooking and baking, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe accordingly.
More Air Fryer Recipes
All my recipes with instructions for how to cook or bake them in the air fryer can be found in my Air Fryer Recipe Index.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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The Recipe
Air Fryer Thick Asparagus Spears Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g Thick Asparagus Spears - see notes
- 1 tbsp Oil - see notes
- ½ tsp Sea Salt Flakes - see notes
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires pre-heating, start this setting now.
- Thoroughly dry 300g Asparagus Spears.
- Trim the woody ends from each spear. You should be able to feel where it stops being very hard – cut there. I use a knife but you can just snap them.Note: I like to do this with each spear individually to minimise waste.
- Drizzle over 1 tbsp Oil and ½ tsp Sea Salt Flakes.
- Toss to thoroughly coat the spears.
- Place the asparagus into the air fryer basket. Leave a little space between each so the air can circulate.
- Cook for 5 minutes at 200c/390f.
- Cook for a further 5 minutes at 180c/360f.
- Serve when the asparagus has a little colour and the stems are tender with just a little bit of bite.
Notes
- Asparagus – 300g of asparagus gave me 13 thick spears weighing around between 19g and 29g each. After the woody end was removed, I was left with 200g of asparagus.
- Oil – Choose your oil to match your flavouring. For example use garlic, salt and rosemary with olive oil or for a more neutral flavour, sea salt and black pepper with vegetable oil.
- Seasoning/Salt – Choose any seasoning mix, spices or dried/fresh herbs. Make sure that salt is included in the mix. You can also add a little citrus juice.
- I used vegetable oil with just sea salt flakes.
- The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a Cosori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
- Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
- For this recipe, I can just fit 13 thick spears in the basket at a time. This gives plenty of room to allow air to circulate.
- As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
- Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
Cat says
Well this was delicious! I’ll be air frying all of my asparagus from now on!
Dave says
I can’t believe I haven’t done this before! What a great way to cook asparagus, we loved it.
Karen says
I usually roast asparagus in the oven, but using the air fryer is even easier. I added some lemon zest for extra flavour.