🧀🙌💛 My Asparagus Casserole is smothered in a rich cream sauce, and layered with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, along with perfectly crispy breadcrumbs. This will be your new FAVORITE way to eat asparagus! Makes a wonderful holiday side dish from Thanksgiving to Easter, but it’s FAST and EASY enough so you can serve it at weeknight dinners!
If you’re a fan of asparagus, I’ve got the perfect fast, easy, yet decadent side dish recipe!
But even if you’re not the biggest fan of asparagus, or have some picky eaters at your table when you smother homemade cream sauce reminiscent of alfredo sauce all over the asparagus, and then top it with two types of cheese, and bake it to perfection so that the top gets perfectly crispy, everyone will dig right into this asparagus casserole!
I adapted an old family recipe that we tend to serve on holidays alongside green bean casserole including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. One nice thing about this easy asparagus side dish is that you can prep it in advance, which works out so nicely for holiday cooking. More on that below.
But it’s simple enough to make as an easy weeknight side dish, especially when it’s springtime and asparagus is seasonal and abundant. There’s a reason it has a five-star rating, after all!
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need only a handful of very common and easy-to-find ingredients including:
- Fresh asparagus
- Unsalted Butter
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic – I prefer garlic powder to garlic cloves because it’s easier and it dissolves more evenly into the sauce. However, you can use cloves if you don’t mind the texture
- Heavy cream – Heavy cream is our go-to but half-and-half or whole milk will work
- Parmesan and mozzarella cheese – I like the combo of grated Parm and shredded mozzarella used in the ratios listed, but you can adjust to taste. I don’t recommend cheddar cheese or other cheeses you may easily find in your grocery store for both their flavor and how well they do or don’t melt
- Panko breadcrumbs – My mom’s original recipe calls for Italian Bread crumbs but I changed to panko for extra crispiness. You can use whatever “crumb” topping you prefer. For example, some people prefer crushed Ritz crackers
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Select Asparagus
I use fresh asparagus that’s what I would call “medium” or average sized in diameter. Not too fat, not too skinny. This recipe was developed with average sized asparagus in mind.
I am not a fan of very thick asparagus because I find it to be tough. Very skinny or thin asparagus is nice and tender, but in this recipe where the recipe will bake for ~20 minutes, it could become overdone.
How To Trim Asparagus
People make such a big deal about this and I am not sure why!
Here’s what to do:
- grab 1 pound of the asparagus
- take off the rubber band that’s likely binding the base or middle
- place the tips in your left hand, the base in your right hand, and using your right hand, pull or snap down with a bit of force (reverse this if you’re a leftie)
- repeat with the second 1-pound bunch
The fibrous and inedible base part should snap off at the point where the tender and edible portion of the stalk begins. Voila, you now have ‘trimmed asparagus’.
You can also cut the base off using a sharp knife however you’re flying a bit blind since you won’t know that sweet spot where fibrous-meets-tender on the asparagus stalk.
How to Make Cheesy Asparagus Casserole
It’s a cinch to make this easy asparagus casserole recipe!
Step One: Preheat the oven, and spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Place the asparagus in the dish.
Step Two: In a small saucepan, add 3 tbsp of butter, melt it, whisk the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into the melted butter, and cook it for about 2 mins. This is called making a roux. And it’s what we’re doing to avoid using cream of mushroom soup!
Step Three: Slowly add the heavy cream and simmer for about 4 minutes, or until the mixture is thick. Off the heat, add half the Parm, and stir to combine. Pour the cheese sauce over the asparagus.
Step Four: In a separate small bowl, melt the remaining butter over medium heat, add the remaining cheese, panko, and mix to combine. Sprinkle this topping mixture over the saucy asparagus.
Step Five: Bake and serve!
Recipe FAQs
Honestly, this recipe is a zillion times better with fresh asparagus! I urge you to use fresh asparagus.
Frozen asparagus (or canned asparagus – also a no!) will simply be mushy when you thaw it. And then it will also release much more water into your cream sauce and the whole thing could turn into a soupy, unappetizing mess. Fresh is best!
I’ve seen this recipe made where you trim the asparagus into 2-inch pieces and scatter them in a baking dish – similar to how green bean casserole looks. However, I’ve always eaten this dish with the asparagus served as spears rather than in segments.
I like panko bread crumbs for the extra level of crispiness they lend. However, regular or traditional Italian bread crumbs are fine. In a pinch, you can even use crushed Ritz crackers or saltine cracker crumbs in place of breadcrumbs. They’re not nearly as crispy, but they’ll work.
Yes, simply use GF bread crumbs and flour. I recommend gluten-free flour intended for baking, such as a 1-to-1 flour.
I used heavy cream in this because that is how we’ve always made this baked asparagus recipe, but you can also use whole milk or half and half. I don’t suggest a lighter milk like skim, 1% nor 2%.
For extra crispy topping you can broil the casserole towards the end, but I never need to. It depends a bit on your oven, your breadcrumbs, and personal preference.
Remember that if you do decide to broil, you need to pay VERY close attention so you don’t burn it! I can imagine 2-3 minutes, tops, is all it would take. Any longer and that and I fear char city coming up!
Possibly but this recipe was developed as tested as it’s written and you’d have to do your own research to making it using one of those methods.
Storage Instructions
In the Refrigerator: This recipe will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Note that the crispy panko topping will no longer be crispy. There’s no way to avoid it.
In the Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing this recipe due to the cream sauce potentially separating upon thawing, the asparagus turning super mushy, and the crumb topping being soggy.
To Reheat: I use my microwave for quickness and ease and reheat my leftovers for about 30 seconds on high, or as needed.
What to Serve With Asparagus Casserole
Asparagus Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs, Italian breadcrumbs may be substituted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and spray a ceramic or glass 9×13-inch baking or casserole dish (or 4-quart rectangular casserole dish) with cooking spray and place the asparagus inside; set aside.
- To a small saucepan, add 3 tablespoons butter, and heat over medium-high heat to melt; swirl the pan to encourage melting.
- Add the flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and whisk to combine. Whisk nearly constantly for about 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened nicely. Tip – This is called making a roux. Do not shortchange this step because this is what will help your cream sauce to thicken up later on since there's no canned or condensed soup being used.
- Slowly pour in the heavy cream, whisking constantly until the mixture reaches a gentle simmer. Allow mixture to simmer for about 3-5 minutes, or until nicely thickened; whisk nearly constantly while it simmers. Tip – Do not allow the mixture come up to a rapid or fast boil as this excessive heat could cause the cream to 'break' at which point you'd have to start over. Keep the simmer controlled.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and whisk to incorporate and keep whisking until smooth.
- Pour the sauce evenly over the asparagus; set aside.
- To a medium microwave-safe bowl, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and heat on high power to melt, about 30 seconds.
- Add the panko and stir to combine.
- Add the remaining 1/2 cup Parm and all the mozzarella cheese and stir or toss to combine, noting that the mixture will be crumbly and you won't be able to stir it smooth, which is the intention since this is the topping.
- Evenly sprinkle the topping mixture over the saucy asparagus and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the topping is as golden browned as desired. Tips – I like to rotate my baking dish once midway through baking since even the fanciest ovens still bake a bit unevenly and this helps to ensure even browning. Bake until done in your oven. Baking time will depend a bit on your oven, climate, baking or casserole dish used (metal bakes faster than ceramic or glass) and the size/diameter of your asparagus. Serve immediately. Recipe will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4-5 days, reheat leftovers gently in the microwave. Note that the crispy topping will not stay crispy on any leftovers, and there's nothing to do to prevent it.
Notes
- grab 1 pound of the asparagus
- take off the rubber band that’s likely binding the base or middle
- place the tips in your left hand, the base in your right hand, and using your right hand, pull or snap down with a bit of force (reverse this if you’re a leftie)
- repeat with the second 1-pound bunch
- Alternatively, you can trim with a knife, although it’s harder to determine the natural demarcation point of inedible fibrous material and more tender edible stalk
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This sounds so good 😊 I will try to make for Easter 🐇🐣
Thank you and hope you enjoy it! It’s a perfect Easter side!