Olive Garden Parmesan Roasted Asparagus was a recipe that was requested by so many of you that I had to make a special trip out to one of my best-loved restaurants, the Olive Garden. They have a new menu item as part of their lighter fare, and let me tell you; it is delicious.
You may wonder how to cook asparagus. You can prepare asparagus in many different ways. You can enjoy asparagus raw, sauteed, roasted in the oven, or grilled.
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Why we like this recipe.
Roasted Asparagus is a discontinued Olive Garden menu item, but it is completely delicious, and grilled asparagus with a creamy Parmesan sauce and a balsamic vinegar glaze really takes your asparagus to a whole new level. Balsamic vinegar glaze is sweet and with the perfect touch with acid. The creamy cheese sauce pairs very well with the flavored of grilled asparagus.
Ingredients for Olive Garden Roasted Asparagus
You will need to roast the asparagus, and then make a creamy Parmesan cheese sauce.
- Fresh asparagus
- Vegetable Oil
- Salt
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Parmesan Cheese
- Heavy Cream
- Lemon (optional)
- Tomatoes
How to grill asparagus
This copycat Olive Garden recipe has asparagus simply grilled with a little dressing of oil and a sprinkling of salt. I added a squeeze of lemon juice just to bring out the flavor of the asparagus.
- Prep the fresh spears. Cut off the bottoms of the spears.
- If the spears are very large, consider using a vegetable peeler on them. By shaving off the outside layer of the asparagus you remove the woody portion of large spears.
- Drizzle oil over the spears, and toss them around enough to cover them with a thin film of oil. You need to add oil to protect the spears while cooking.
- Grill spears for a few minutes on each side. Depending how hot your grill is cooking time may very, two to four minutes each side is a good starting point. Cook the asparagus until it begins to blacken, and then rotate.
I then reduce a small amount of balsamic vinegar and make a Parmesan cheese sauce to pair with this. Does it get any better? I don’t think so when it comes to asparagus.
Fresh asparagus buying tips
- When buying fresh asparagus, I suggest that you look for smaller stalks they tend to be less woody. If your market keeps them on ice even better.
- I always like to turn over my asparagus and make sure it looks very well hydrated. If the ends look a little dry, you can always snip off the ends and soak the stalks in a bit of water so they will rehydrate.
- The tips should be full and closed, stay away from spears that are wrinkly, it means they aren’t as fresh and they have begun to lose water and freshness.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. For those of you who are paleo, and gluten-free, I have had given you a recipe you can enjoy as well.
More Asparagus Recipes
- Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Asparagus Recipe
- Asparagus Oven Roasted
- Easy Asparagus Casserole Recipes
- Creamy Asparagus
- Asparagus Lasagna
Popular Olive Garden Copycat Recipes
- Capellini Pomodoro
- Seafood Pasta Olive Garden
- Alfredo Sauce Olive Garden
- Lasagna Olive Garden Recipe
- Olive Garden Chicken Parm
- Salad from Olive Garden
- Olive Garden Italian Dressing Ingredients
- Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe Copycat
Be sure to take a look at more of my easy side dishes and the best copycat restaurant recipes.
Olive Garden Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh asparagus
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for the sauce
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese for garnish
- 1 lemon optional
- 2 teaspoons chopped tomatoes
Instructions
- Prepare balsamic vinegar reduction by adding 1 cup of balsamic vinegar to a small pot. Heat on high until the mixture boils, then turn down to simmer for 20 minutes. The reduction should yield 1/2 cup of vinegar. Store in an airtight container.
- Prepare asparagus by cutting off about 1 inch of the bottom end of the asparagus, lay asparagus on a sheet pan drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast on medium heat on a grill for about 10 minutes turning the asparagus over.
- Cooking time with vary with the thickness of the asparagus. Remove asparagus from grill when done. If desired squeeze 1/2 of a lemon over the asparagus. I do not think the Olive Garden does this, but I think it really helps to bring out the flavor of the asparagus. Prepare Parmesan sauce by adding heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese in a small pot or skillet.
- Simmer on low for about 10 - 12 minutes. The cream should reduce by 20% in volume. To prepare plate some of the cooked asparaguses on a plate, drizzle balsamic vinegar on top. Garnish with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, and then serve with the sauce. Garnish with fresh chopped tomatoes if desired.
Notes
- If you can only find large asparagus, you can peel the stalk with a vegetable peeler, this will peel away the tough part of the asparagus!
Tex
I love roasted asparagus. instead of cheese, I prefer to add a few pieces of ham on top and a few drops of olive oil. but this way of preparing it is also delicious.
Jan
Loved this! I added lemon and chopped garlic into the sauce itself.
Lynda Trumpower
Serving size? Recipe says serves one.
robinincanada
This looks nummy. Fortunately tomorrow is Market Day :D. Looks like I know what part of tomorrow’s supper will be, lol.
Jess
I made this and it was awesome!
Stephanie Manley
I am happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe.
MzRareBreed_xo
Has anyone tried making this? I wanna know if it taste like the Olive Garden’s Parmesan asparagus & what tweaks people have made to make it just as tasty?
stephaniemanley
I tried to make this the best that I could to taste just like it did in the restaurant. I hope you give the recipe a try.
Aimee Gaskins
The parmesan sauce in the picture appears to have something added other than the cheese and cream? Is the pictured sauce of the one in recipe?
Stephanie
I got a little heavy handed with the pepper to break up the white sauce for the photo.
stephaniemanley
Sure, I got a little heavy handed with the pepper trying to make the sauce less white. I was unhappy with my photos with all of that white sauce there.
kalynskitchen
Hi Stephanie, I’m featuring this recipe but I think you might have one too many Roasteds in the recipe title? Just wondering, feel free to delete this after you read it.
stephaniemanley
Thanks 😉 I’ll take care of this. That’s what I get for writing posts as soon as I roll out of bed in the morning!
Iaimport
Is there a anything I can substitute for the Heavy Cream?
stephaniemanley
Milk or heavy cream would work well.
Joydee Mccorkle
How about subbing with non fat evaporated milk?
stephaniemanley
That could work too, that isn’t something I buy very often so I never think about it.