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Become a Better Cook in 4 days!
Perfect Pan-Seared Steak - A Family Feast

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Perfect Asparagus - A Family Feast

Perfect Asparagus

★★★★★ 5 /5
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Home Side Dish

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How to cook Perfect Asparagus. Learn this simple technique for cooking vegetables.

I grew up not liking very many kinds of vegetables.  I came from a large family with six kids and money was tight, so we ate mostly frozen or canned vegetables since they were the most economical – but they weren’t always very flavorful.  I discovered my love for vegetables – and asparagus in particular – once I was older and cooking for myself with fresh produce.

This recipe for Perfect Asparagus is really all about technique.  Although we’re sharing our recipe for cooking asparagus to tender perfection, this technique can really be used for many other kinds of vegetables such as green beans or pea pods.

The trick to cooking vegetables is simple – don’t overcook them!  Otherwise they get mushy, they lose their flavor, they lose their vibrant color, and most critically – they lose their nutrients!

This recipe uses an ‘ice bath’ to ‘shock’ your vegetables so that they stay crisp and tender.  An ice bath is simply a bowl full of ice water into which you plunge (or shock) your cooked vegetables so that the cooking process immediately stops and prevents your vegetables from getting overcooked and mushy.  Here are the simple steps:

Prepare your asparagus by rinsing them and snapping off the hard ends.  Asparagus will naturally break right where the hard, tough ends and the tender stalk meet.  Discard the ends (or better yet, compost them!).

How To Cook Perfect Asparagus 1

Prepare your ice bath (or in more simple terms, fill a large bowl full of ice water).  Set aside.

How To Cook Perfect Asparagus 2

Bring a large pot of water to a strong boil.

How To Cook Perfect Asparagus 3

Toss in your entire bunch of asparagus.

How To Cook Perfect Asparagus 4

Your water should come back up to a boil again fairly quickly.  Here’s the important step: Cook the asparagus in the boiling water for exactly 2 minutes.  Please time this to avoid over-cooking!!   (Note: We cooked average-sized asparagus for this recipe.  If you are cooking very thin asparagus stalks, your cooking time could be as little as 1 minute once the water comes back to a boil.  If your asparagus stalks are particularly thick, your cooking time could be 2½ to 3 minutes – but please, no more than 3 minutes!)

Turn off the heat under the pot, and with tongs, quickly remove the asparagus from the hot water and plunge into the ice bath.

How To Cook Perfect Asparagus 5

See how bright green the asparagus stalks still are?  The ice bath is stopping the cooking process and preventing the stalks from cooking any further.  Additionally, the asparagus will be perfectly tender (and not mushy!) for eating.

How To Cook Perfect Asparagus 6

Allow the asparagus spears to cool for 1 to 2 minutes, then drain well.

How to cook Perfect Asparagus. Learn this simple technique for cooking vegetables.

Serve as is, or with a drizzle of our Favorite Vinaigrette.

We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!

recipe
Perfect Asparagus - A Family Feast
★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews

Perfect Asparagus

Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Prep: 5 minsCook: 2 minsTotal: 7 minutes
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Scale:

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • large bowl of ice water

Instructions

  1. Prepare your asparagus by rinsing them and snapping off the hard ends.
  2. Fill a large bowl full of ice water. Set aside.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a strong boil. Toss in your entire bunch of asparagus.
  4. As soon as the water comes back to a boil, cook the asparagus for exactly 2 minutes (or 1 minute if your asparagus is very thin; up to 3 minutes if your asparagus is very thick).
  5. As soon as the cooking time is up, turn off the heat and with tongs, remove the asparagus from the hot water and plunge into the ice bath.
  6. Allow the asparagus spears to cool for 1 to 2 minutes, then drain well.
  7. Serve as is or with our Favorite Vinaigrette.

Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.


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Martha

Martha is part of the husband-wife team that creates A Family Feast. She loves to cook and entertain for family and friends, and she believes that serving a great meal is one of the best ways to show someone that you care. Martha is a self-taught home cook, who loves to read cookbooks and try new recipes. After a decades-long career in business and online marketing, she now runs A Family Feast full-time. Her specialties are baking, desserts, vegetables and pasta dishes.

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Updated: 1/23/23

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  1. Falan says

    Posted on 11/7/22 at 3:45 pm

    Hi I love this recipe, but my boyfriend doesn’t like it cause the asparagus is cold after. I find it great cause they r nice a crisp… do u have any advice for this? Should I reheat?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 11/7/22 at 5:28 pm

      Hi Falan – I’d suggest slightly undercooking the asparagus when you boil it, then you could do a quick plunge in hot water to warm through right before serving, or a quick saute in a pan on the stove. (Or during warmer months, we sometimes grill the asparagus just to add a little char and to warm through). Hope that helps!

      Reply
  2. Todd says

    Posted on 8/5/22 at 8:19 pm

    I had this with grilled lamb sirloin chops. It tastes great just like it is.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 8/7/22 at 7:24 am

      Thanks Todd!

      Reply
  3. Sean says

    Posted on 4/25/22 at 11:53 pm

    Absolutely perfect.
    I made a larger batch so ended up pulling at like 4 min but I began checking for doneness at 2min like recommended.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 4/26/22 at 7:43 am

      Thanks Sean – agree – the timing may need to be adjusted based on how quickly the water comes back up to a boil as well as the thickness of the asparagus.

      Reply
  4. Jill says

    Posted on 3/7/19 at 1:35 pm

    Absolutely PERFECT for pencil asparagus. I was hesitant as I was afraid of that size being mushy. Turned out just as stated and I’ll go back to the market and buy more.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 3/7/19 at 4:29 pm

      So glad you enjoyed the recipe Jill!

      Reply
  5. Elaine Vega says

    Posted on 12/13/18 at 8:32 pm

    Can you add butter and eat them warm?

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 12/14/18 at 7:23 am

      Sure Elaine!

      Reply
  6. Jay Pocius says

    Posted on 8/19/15 at 11:16 pm

    Good recipe! I follow UR directions, but instead of ice I drain the hot water and fill it 3 times with cold water, and drain. Works fine!

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 8/20/15 at 9:39 am

      Thanks Jay – Yes – anything that will stop the cooking process will work! Thanks for the suggestion!

      Reply
  7. cocodagner says

    Posted on 8/8/15 at 7:37 am

    I love Asperagus

    Reply
  8. Mel says

    Posted on 11/5/14 at 11:39 pm

    I followed the recipe/technique exactly, but my family didn’t like it because the asparagus was cold after the ice bath. Even after I added a warm butter, salt & pepper drizzle. Did I do something wrong? It’s bee very hard finding the perfect asparagus recipe and I am tired of just sauteing them. Do you have any other techniques or ideas for asparagus?

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 11/6/14 at 6:55 am

      Hi Mel – You can take the asparagus out as soon as the spears stop cooking and turn bright green – they don’t have to stay in so long that they become ice cold. That might help! Otherwise, you could cut back just slightly on the cooking time in the water, follow the same (brief) ice bath method and drain, they toss them on the grill (or in a grill pan) for a minute to warm up and get a light char on them.

      Reply
  9. Adrienne says

    Posted on 2/7/13 at 1:45 pm

    I just wanted to let you know that I LOVED this recipe, and reblogged it on my recipes page, here: http://thegreenworldrecipes.blogspot.com/2013/02/lemon-grilled-chicken-and-perfect.html

    I used one of your lovely photos as well, but gave you credit for both recipe and photo and provided links back to this post. Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply
    • Martha says

      Posted on 2/7/13 at 1:50 pm

      Hi Adrienne! Thanks so much for featuring our recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it – and I agree…a balsamic dressing would be fabulous on the asparagus too! And if you’re grilling, after tossing it with the balsamic dressing, you could put the asparagus on the grill just for a minute or so to give it a little bit of caramelization! Thanks so much for writing! Martha

      Reply
  10. Madonna says

    Posted on 1/24/13 at 8:23 pm

    I have become an asparagus snob. Thanks for the tip.

    Reply

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