Balsamic Asparagus

Balsamic Asparagus is a beautiful and delicious recipe that celebrates Spring. With just a handful of ingredients and twenty minutes, you can make a gourmet side dish for a holiday meal or a regular weeknight.

I love going to the farmer’s market as often as I can, and eating with the seasons. Granted, here in the Midwest, “the seasons” are approximately one week of Spring, a long hot Summer, and then a little bit of Fall before a dark, depressing Winter.

If you own a Spring jacket, you maybe get to wear it once or twice a year, if you play your cards right.

But in that one week of Spring, almost nothing is as exciting as that first asparagus for Spring salad or goat cheese pasta salad.

I also think earthy, savory asparagus is a natural pairing for tart, tangy balsamic glaze. This balsamic asparagus recipe is a simple side dish that my family has on repeat whenever local asparagus is available.

Just like my balsamic green beans, it’s the perfect side dish for things like savory oatmeal, lamb bolognese and salmon pasta.

About this balsamic asparagus recipe:

If you include making the glaze, this recipe has just five ingredients (plus salt and olive oil), making this balsamic asparagus recipe so so easy to pull together.

There is a link to a homemade balsamic glaze recipe in the recipe card below, or you can buy pre-made balsamic glaze at the grocery store.

You will need a half batch of homemade balsamic glaze for 1 pound of asparagus. I have ideas on what to do with the other half of the batch below!

Simply cook the asparagus using your favorite preparation method – roasting, grilling, sautéing, broiling, boiling – whatever you like!

I like blanching when I want to include asparagus on an Easter charcuterie board. But here, I chose to quickly roast the asparagus, which allowed it to become tender enough to eat and got some brown roasty flavor on it.

This light and fresh asparagus with balsamic glaze pairs really well with something rich like slow cooker beef stroganoff, pastitsio or fettuccine bolognese.

What you’ll need to make this roasted asparagus with balsamic glaze:

• asparagus – you will need 1 pound of fresh asparagus for this asparagus with balsamic glaze recipe. Trim the woody stem end of each stalk (about the bottom 1 to 2 inches of the stalk).
• balsamic vinegar – it goes without saying that this is the key ingredient in the glaze! Because you’ll be reducing the vinegar to half of its original volume, that means the flavor will concentrate, too. Which means you’ll want to start with a nice mid-range vinegar for roasted balsamic asparagus. Doesn’t need to be super high end, but it’s also not the time to use the really cheap bargain stuff, either. Eataly has a lot of good information on how to buy balsamic vinegar.
• light brown sugar – this balances the acidity of the vinegar and adds to the syrupy consistency of the glaze for this balsamic asparagus recipe.
• soy sauce – this isn’t traditional in most balsamic glaze recipes, but it is in mine! Rather than salt, I use soy sauce to season the glaze, because it also adds a punch of umami, too. It’s also not traditional in homemade gravy or balsamic steak marinade, but I also use it there for the same reasons.
• unsalted butter – I like to swirl a pat of butter into the glaze at the end of the cooking process, to enhance the mouthfeel and flavor of the glaze.

Other uses for this balsamic glaze for asparagus:

As mentioned above, you’ll only need half a batch of homemade balsamic glaze for 1 pound of asparagus (4 servings, which is perfect for 4 servings of lamb lollipops).

You can simply halve the ingredients of the glaze and make just a half batch for this balsamic asparagus recipe, or, as I prefer, you can make a full batch and use the remaining glaze to spruce up other meals throughout the week!

Balsamic glaze is so good when served over a variety of protein. I love drizzling it over thinly sliced, rare grilling flat iron steak and steak lettuce wraps.

It’s also delicious served over roasted or grilled chicken, even when it has been marinated in buttermilk chicken marinade first!

It also adds a special finishing touch to my sockeye salmon recipe, shrimp or almost any other type of seafood you can think of.

I think balsamic glaze really shines when it’s served with vegetables, and not just asparagus. I love balsamic roasted carrots (when I’m not making honey roasted carrots) and parsnips, and this glaze is perfect drizzled over mini Hasselback potatoes, too.

And when I’m not making maple Brussels sprouts, I absolutely adore Brussels sprouts with balsamic glaze.