Asparagus Casserole in a creamy Alfredo sauce topped with crisp cheesy bread crumbs. This asparagus bake is an easy and impressive side dish.
We love roasted asparagus and asparagus recipes in general like our popular baked asparagus with parmesan or this Shrimp Scampi Pasta.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Asparagus Casserole Recipe:
Spring is in the air which means asparagus is plentiful in grocery stores! Read on to learn how to select the best quality fresh asparagus for this casserole.
This is a holiday worthy asparagus casserole (think Easter!) and comes together quickly. Watch everyone’s eyes light up when they see you pull this beauty out of the oven. This asparagus bake is irresistibly good served with creamy mashed potatoes and beef tenderloin or prime rib.
Is Asparagus Better Thick or Thin?
Thin Asparagus generally come from a younger asparagus crown (root bed). Skinny asparagus cooks faster so it’s a great option for stir frying.
Thick asparagus comes from an older asparagus crown. Since it takes longer to cook, it tends to be better for high heat cooking (broiling and roasting).
Ultimately, size is not important. Both thin and thick asparagus will work in this recipe. They taste the same and are equally sweet and tender. Be sure to adjust the timing as skinny asparagus will bake faster and big asparagus spears will take longer to reach desired tenderness.
How to Select Asparagus:
Size doesn’t matter when it comes to selecting asparagus, but freshness is importance. The signs of freshly pickled asparagus are:
- Tops that are tightly closed (not open or fraying)
- Bottoms that look moist and plump (not too dry or shriveled)
How to Trim Asparagus:
There are several methods for trimming asparagus. You can either peel the ends with a potato peeler or snap off the ends. For two pounds of asparagus, the easiest way (our preferred method), is to snap off the ends. Hold the bottom third of the spear with both hands and bend. It will naturally snap where the fibrous portion ends and the tender part begins.
Is Asparagus Healthy to Eat?
Asparagus is impressively good for you! It is known for its high folic acid, potassium, fiber, thiamine, B Vitamins, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin K content. Adding to the list of asparagus health benefits, it also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.*
How to Make Asparagus Casserole:
- Butter a 9×13 casserole and arrange trimmed asparagus, packing it so the surface is level.
- Make the Sauce: melt 3 Tbsp butter in a saucepan and add 2 1/2 Tbsp flour, whisking until golden. Add 2 cups half and half, 2 tsp garlic salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and whisk until starting to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup parmesan.
- Pour sauce over casserole and bake at 400˚F for 15-18 min.
- Meanwhile, make the topping: stir together 1 Tbsp melted butter with 1/2 cup bread crumbs then stir in 1/2 cup parmesan. Halfway through baking, sprinkle on the topping.
- Broil 2-3 minutes at the end until topping is crisp and golden.
Our Best Asparagus Recipes:
- One Pan Salmon and Asparagus – easy, excellent dinner!
- Chicken Pesto Pasta – made perfect with asparagus
- Chicken Madeira with Asparagus – Cheesecake Factory copycat
- Sausage Asparagus Quiche – great for breakfast or brunch
Watch Natasha Make this Asparagus Casserole:
This really is such an easy recipe! I hope this asparagus casserole becomes a new favorite for you.
If you enjoy our recipes, please and click the bell icon to get notifications when we post a new video. THANK YOU for subscribing – it really means so much to us. Our channel is almost at half a million and it’s growing so fast!
Asparagus Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 lbs asparagus, trimmed
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided, plus more to grease casserole
- 2 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half and half, (or equal parts milk and heavy cream)
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 400˚F with the rack in the center. Butter a 9x13 casserole dish. Arrange trimmed asparagus in prepared casserole dish, packing it down for a fairly flat and even surface.
- Place a saucepan over medium heat. Melt in 3 Tbsp butter then add 2 1/2 Tbsp flour and whisk constantly for 3 minutes or until butter just starts to turn golden in color. Whisk in 2 cups half and half, 2 tsp garlic salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Whisk until sauce just starts to thicken then remove from heat. Sprinkle in 1/2 cup parmesan and whisk until cheese is melted and incorporated.
- Pour sauce evenly over the asparagus, leaving about 1" space on the long sides of the casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 400˚F for 15-18 minutes (depending on thickness of asparagus), or until asparagus reaches desired tenderness.
- While the casserole is baking, make the topping: in a small mixing bowl, melt 1 Tbsp butter. Mix in 1/2 cup bread crumbs, stirring until evenly moistened, then stir in 1/2 cup remaining parmesan cheese. Halfway through baking, sprinkle the bread crumb topping evenly over the casserole then return it to the oven to finish baking.
- When asparagus has reached desired doneness, set oven to broil for 2-3 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown. Remove from oven and serve.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
*Asparagus Nutrition and health benefits sourced from draxe.com
This was a simple yet elegant and delicious recipe! I had no panko on hand so just mixed the extra parmesan into the cream sauce and baked 15 minutes at 400. This was my first time visiting your site and am looking forward to trying your other recipes. I share your philosophy of cooking from scratch with honest ingredients. You are a modern day Irma Rombauer (author of Joy of Cooking)!
Glad that worked out well! Thank you for sharing that with us, Deb. We appreciate your review.
I made this for just two people. I halved the recipe since I was using one pound of asparagus, and I cheated and used store bought alfredo sauce. It was delicious! I will definitely make this again! Love all your recipes!
So glad you loved it! Thanks for sharing, Nancy!
I am having 10 people for Thanksgiving. Can this dish be multiplied or do the asperagus need to be in a shallow layer?
Hi Jean, it’s best to pack them down fairly flat and even. If you have a larger pan/casserole dish, that could work.
Hi Natasha, I tried your recipe today for the first time today, and it turned out fabulous, everybody lovedit. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Michelle. Great to hear that the recipe was a huge hit!
Hi Natasha! I tried a premade frozen dish recently that was very similar to this but made with broccoli. Do you think I could substitute broccoli instead of the asparagus?
Hi Courtney, I haven’t tested that, but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Its amazing and so delicious
Thank u ❤
Thank you for your good comments and feedback!
I have to watch my sodium intake, could I omit the salt and use garlic powder instead? Looks delicious
Hi Heather, it would be missing some depth of flavor, but you could modify it if you are reducing sodium intake.
This was really yummy! The taste is heaven….the only problem I had – my asparagus was a little tough. Do you think that means I didn’t cook it long enough? The breadcrumbs were brown. Cooked it 15 minutes total. My asparagus was fairly thin. Maybe just a bad bunch. I will for sure make again. Lovely presentation and the dish was SO good. Love your recipes!!
Hi Cindy, it will still have a bite to it, but it should be tough. It may be the asparagus itself. I’m glad you enjoyed that recipe, though!
I have always hated asparagus. For good reason – my mother used to serve it out of a can. Seriously. But I made this for my family, tried it, and you now have a convert! Thanks!
Love it! Glad this recipe was a hit, Mo.
My Mother used to give us canned spinach, so I can relate. It was horrifying. This recipe was really good!
I’ve been cooking this recipe and my family loved it!! Thank you natasha!
Nice to know that this is now one of your favorite recipes at home! You are most welcome.
I followed the recipe to the T. It turned out absolutely amazing. Was a perfect side dish to our Easter ham. Thank you for a delicious and easy recipe that looks and tastes wonderful. My family couldn’t rave enough about how good it was.
You are very welcome, Michelle. Glad it was a hit!
Diane, Could you please tell me how to make Gluten free? I have guests coming for dinner & they sre GF. Thank you.
Hi Chris, one of our readers reported making this gluten-free and it worked really well. They didn’t mention which substitutions they made, however.
Natasha,Can you Please give me a recipe for Sunday Gravy-
Tomato Sauce.I want a recipe that has meat balls and sausage in it.Thank You Philip DeAngelo
Hi Philip, here are some of my meatballs recipe.
I made this tonight and it’s Sooooo good!!!!! I did a few things different, I only used a lb of asparagus but left everything else the same, switched out the garlic salt for a citrus garlic seasoning they have at trader joes, added some ground Italian sausage right before adding the bread crumbs and I served it over a little farro. Amazing!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Can this be frozen either cooked or not cooked?
Hi Maria, I haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
What was the name of the deep fryer you used when you made those italian donuts
Hi Anna Marie, we love using this Deep Fryer in our Amazon shop.
I just Made this is Dish and it was Buss’n … It’s a great alternative if you wanna ditch the pasta .. My new favorite dish
Glad you loved it, Priscilla! Thanks for giving this recipe a wonderful review.
How much would 2lbs be…2 or 3 bundles?
Hi Diane, it really depends. I suggest you check the label if you’re going to purchase it from the grocery store it would usually have that info.
Today is 1-5-21 will be making this to tonight but I will add mushrooms on top of it.
I made a gluten free version – it is so good.
Great to hear that, Diane. Thank you for sharing!
Can I make the day before?
Hi Reb, this one is best fresh. You could pre-make the sauce but you may need to heat it up slightly before using it since it will become thick when chilled.