Sautéed Asparagus with Garlic Butter
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Sautéed asparagus with garlic butter is one of those recipes that makes you wonder why you’d ever cook asparagus any other way. The whole thing is done in about five minutes, start to finish — faster than roasting, no pot of boiling water to deal with, and the results are better than either.
I’ve built up quite an asparagus recipe archive here, and they all use different methods. Roasting concentrates flavor; blanching and steaming preserve its color.
The beauty of sautéeing is that it does both jobs at once — a hot skillet adds a little char and caramelization on the outside, and a brief covered steam at the end keeps the inside tender and the color vivid green. Add garlic and a swirl of butter at the end, and the pan does the rest — the juices emulsify into a light, glossy sauce that coats every piece.
If you want to enjoy asparagus without any cooking at all, try it raw in this asparagus salad — it tastes sweet and crunchy straight from the bunch.
I made this today and it was perfect! Easily the most tender asparagus I’ve ever made and super fast and easy. Definitely a keeper!
~Monica
Why these ingredients matter
- Fresh asparagus: When you’re shopping, look for asparagus bunches that are plump and smooth, with tightly closed buds on top. It doesn’t matter if the spears are thick or thin. As a matter of fact, FAT asparagus spears often have the best flavor and texture. If you notice any spears that have smashed or soggy tips, keep looking. You’ll need one pound of asparagus for this recipe, which makes four servings.
- Garlic: One teaspoon of finely chopped garlic — roughly one small clove — is the right amount. You want it in there, but not overwhelming. Add the garlic after the asparagus has already had a couple of minutes in the pan to protect it from direct high heat. If you add it at the very beginning with cold oil, it will brown before the asparagus is done — and overcooked garlic on delicate green vegetables doesn’t taste great.
- Butter: It does two things in this recipe: Adds richness, and picks up all the savory, garlicky bits left in the pan and pulls them together into a quick sauce. That’s why the instructions say to swirl rather than stir — you want the cold butter to emulsify with the pan juices as it melts, not just melt into a puddle. Use unsalted butter so you stay in control of the seasoning.
How to trim and slice asparagus
Hold a spear in two hands, and bend toward the bottom end until it snaps off into a 2-3-inch piece. It will naturally break at the point separating the tender part of the spear with the tough end.
Continue trimming the whole bunch. Save the tough, woody ends to make asparagus risotto, broth for soup or put into your compost. There’s no need to peel the spears. Slice each spear on the diagonal into 2-inch long pieces. They’re perfectly bite-sized!
Sauté the asparagus, step by step:
1. Rinse the sliced asparagus with cold water. 2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add the asparagus in one layer. Cook over medium-high heat 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add water, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover the pan to steam the asparagus for 2 minutes. 4. Uncover the pan, add the butter and swirl the pan until the butter melts into a sauce.
5. Squeeze fresh lemon over the asparagus. 6. Transfer to a serving platter and enjoy!
Sauteed Asparagus with Garlic Butter
Equipment
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh asparagus, bottom stalks trimmed, sliced into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1-2 wedges fresh lemon
Instructions
- Trim the tough ends from the stalks of 1 pound fresh asparagus. Cut the spears into ½-inch pieces on the diagonal.
- Put 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a 12-inch saute pan or skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and cook 3 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan frequently.
- Add 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cover the pan and cook 2 minutes — this step steams the asparagus, cooking it from the inside out.
- Uncover the pan and add 2 tablespoons butter, swirling the pan off the heat until it melts.
- Transfer the asparagus to a serving platter — be sure to scrape out all the buttery pan juices. Squeeze the lemon wedges over the platter and serve.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Before cooking, check this photo tutorial for trimming and prepping asparagusÂ
- If you’re dairy-free, substitute an equal amount of olive oil for the butter. The sauce will be thinner and lighter, but the asparagus will still taste great.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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Hi
I made this using green beans as I do not like asparagus
came out tasty and delicious. It’s a keeper for a fast veggie side.
I made this today and it was perfect! Easily the most tender asparagus I’ve ever made and super fast and easy. Definitely a keeper!
Delicious
Awesome recipe. Hubby loved it!
OMG!! Fabulous! a whole new take on asparagus without that soggy washed-out green look you get from 100% steaming. Gorgeous color and texture, too. A joy to eat!!
Thank you I’m thrilled you loved it! Sautéing really does keep that gorgeous color and brings out the best in asparagus so it’s tender-crisp. 😊
Cooked this way, asparagus tastes like springtime. One of my most influential mentors growing up in St. Louis was Martin Mantia, a semi-retired grocer I was lucky enough to work for when he operated a produce stand at an outdoor market. Among the many valuable pearls of wisdom Martin imparted to me: that Fat asparagus > skinny asparagus, and that asparagus must be snapped to trim, never with a knife (he also advocated peeling). I still think of Martin often, and I always think of him in springtime, when (domestically grown) asparagus first appears at the grocery store.