What is the healthiest way to eat asparagus?

There's no wrong way to eat asparagus. Some say cooking it reduces some nutrients yet brings out other ones. Either way, you’re adding a side to your meal that will give you the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants you need. You can even eat it raw by shredding it on salads or pasta dishes, but one of the best ways is to steam it in your microwave gently. You spend less time cooking, have greater control of texture, and don’t use as many dishes.

How long does it take to microwave asparagus?

Generally, it should take between 3 and 5 minutes to cook your asparagus in the microwave. If you have a bunch of thin stalks, you may even want to set the timer for 2 minutes so you don’t overcook them. Thicker stalks of asparagus may need up to 5 minutes to cook thoroughly.

Is it better to boil or steam asparagus?

Steaming your asparagus will help keep those good nutrients locked into each bite. When you boil asparagus, many of the nutrients go into the water which you wind up dumping out most of the time, right? Steaming your asparagus is the way to go, and by doing it in the microwave, you cut down on cook time and dishwashing too!

How To Microwave Asparagus (With Video) (With Video)

Name: How To Microwave Asparagus
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 bunch of asparagus (roughly 1 pound or 450 grams); 1 tablespoon water; 1 small lemon, sliced; 2 cloves of garlic, minced; 1 tablespoon avocado oil; 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Large cream plate with cooked asparagus and lemon slices.

How To Microwave Asparagus

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Author: Rae Aflatooni
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings 1x
Diet: Vegan

Description

Tender asparagus is a healthy and delicious side dish. Cooking it in the microwave is an easy way to take raw asparagus and cook it to perfection for any meal in a pinch. Here’s how you can use your microwave oven to get that asparagus ready for dinner tonight!

Ingredients

Scale

1 bunch of asparagus (roughly 1 pound or 450 grams)
1 tablespoon water
1 small lemon, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

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Instructions

Wash the asparagus well. (No need to dry them afterward. A little water is a benefit.)
Cut the bottoms of the asparagus spears off. You can do this with a knife by cutting off the woody part at the end. (This usually entails cutting off about 2 inches (or 5 centimeters.))
Lay the prepped asparagus out on a microwave-safe dinner plate. (A microwave-safe bowl, microwave-safe baking dish, or another microwave-safe dish will work too.)

(For a different method, you can use your hands. Hold the bottom of the asparagus spear in your right hand between your thumb and index finger. Then hold the top half in your left hand. Bend the asparagus stalk until the woody ends break off. (It will naturally break the woody part off this way.) Repeat this until all the asparagus has been processed.)
Add a tablespoon of water to the plate, lemon slices, and minced garlic. Then cover it with an upside-down dinner plate.
Place in the microwave and cook for about 3-minutes. For very thin asparagus, cooking it for 2-minutes might be more appropriate. Whereas, for thicker asparagus, cooking it for closer to 5-minutes may be necessary.

(If your desired softness isn’t reached after this allotted cooking time, continue cooking asparagus in 30-second to 1-minute increments.)
Use oven mitts! Remove the cooked asparagus from the microwave.
Remove the top plate, being careful to avoid the hot steam underneath.
Drizzle avocado oil over the asparagus and sprinkle the salt and pepper on top.

Equipment

himalayan salt

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Lemon Press

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Notes

Storage Tips

If you have any of your microwave-steamed leftover asparagus, it will be wonderful for lunch or to repurpose in your cooking tomorrow night. Thankfully, asparagus keeps well when you put it in an airtight container.

Store in the fridge:

Store leftover asparagus in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.

Store in the freezer:

Since asparagus has such a high water content, the texture will not be ideal if you freeze it. So, I recommend making only what you can feasibly eat in a few days’ time.

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 5 Minutes
Category: Side Dish
Method: Microwave

Keywords: easy side dish

Find it online: https://raepublic.com/how-to-microwave-asparagus/