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Asparagus is one of my favorite side dishes, but I stayed away from making them at home because I was afraid I’d mess them up. Little did I know sauteed asparagus was one of the easiest recipes you could make. This Easy Sauteed Asparagus recipe with lemon contains less than 5 ingredients and about 10 minutes to make. In this post, I share how to make asparagus in a pan and give tips for main dishes to have this keto-friendly side dish with.
How do you prepare asparagus for sauteeing?
Before you attempt to sautee or cook your asparagus, it’s important to trim off the hard ends. The hard ends are not edible.
There are two ways to trim your asparagus. The first method is to trim the hard ends off with cooking shears.
The second method is to trim your asparagus with your hands. I prefer this method.
To trim your asparagus with your hands, you simply hold the top part of the asparagus with one hand and use the other hand to bend the hard end. The asparagus will snap naturally, leaving only the part that is edible.
How do you sautee asparagus?
Sauteeing asparagus is no different than sauteeing other vegetables like onions. You simply heat butter or another cooking fat in a skillet and add your asparagus.
I use tongs to mix them occasionally and stop cooking them when they are bright green and tender. After sauteeing, I remove them from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste.
What are good add-ins to this recipe?
This sauteed asparagus recipe is meant to be super easy. In some ways, I’d describe it as a starter recipe of sorts.
If you want to add other things to the asparagus here are some variations and add-ins:
Add Bacon Fat & Bacon Crumbles
In place of sauteeing your asparagus in butter, you can cook them in bacon fat. Simply cook 3-4 slices of bacon in a pan then set the bacon aside.
Sautee the asparagus in the bacon fat and top the finished asparagus with the bacon crumbles.
Add Grated Parmesan
Another way to elevate this recipe is to finish the asparagus with grated parmesan. After sauteeing, you simply add 2-3 tbsp of grated parmesan and toss the cooked asparagus in the cheese.
Since parmesan is slightly salty, you should toss the asparagus in the cheese then decide if you need to add extra salt and pepper.
What are good main dishes to pair asparagus this with?
Every great keto side dish needs a main dish to go with it! Here are some drool-worthy options:
The Ultimate Surf and Turf (Steak and Shrimp) Recipe
Easy Beef Top Sirloin Steak recipe with Ranch Dressing Mix
Seared Scallops & Cauliflower Rice Risotto
Keto Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops Recipe w/ Creamy Herb & Mushroom Sauce
Easy Sauteed Asparagus Recipe with Lemon
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1 lb Asparagus, trimmed
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/2 Lemon
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the salted butter in a skillet
- Add the garlic and asparagus. Sautee until the asparagus are bright green (~5 minutes). Remove from heat
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice
- Add salt and pepper to taste
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
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