Baked Asparagus Fries are a healthier alternative to regular fries. Asparagus stalks are coated in panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and baked until crispy.
These days, I’m all about vegetable fries. And I especially love baked vegetable fries. They satisfy my craving for fries without all the guilt.
Asparagus, in particular, makes great fries. They have the perfect shape and size, and they hold up well, too. This is my new favorite way to eat asparagus.
Ingredients
- Asparagus
- Large eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Cooking spray
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Panko bread crumbs
Asparagus: For fries, I use the regular fresh asparagus spears. I don’t recommend thin asparagus stalks or the extra thick ones. You will need to trim them, which is easy. The ends of the stalks are usually more fibrous and tough. You can cut the ends off with a knife, or you can bend the stalks and they usually break at the point where the stalk is more tough.
Eggs: You will need to whisk the eggs in a shallow baking dish or bowl that is wide enough to hold an asparagus stalk.
Flour: You will also need a shallow dish that’s long enough to hold the asparagus. I use an 8″ loaf pan.
Cooking spray: This is used to coat the panko so it gets nice and crispy in the oven.
Parmesan cheese: I like to use fresh-shredded Parmesan cheese.
Panko: I’ve been making so many baked, crispy panko-coated foods that I started buying panko breadcrumbs in bulk on Amazon.* It’s cheaper than buying multiple small boxes that only last for 1-2 uses.
*Some of the links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
How to Make Them
First, you toast the panko. This is easy to do on a baking sheet – just spread them out, spritz them with cooking spray, and bake until they are golden brown.
Once you have the toasted panko, you can bread the asparagus.
I like to coat each stalk in egg, flour, and egg again and then roll them in the panko breadcrumbs.
Bake the asparagus fries until the stalks are tender and the coating is crispy.
I like to serve them with a dipping sauce, as you would with regular fries, like ketchup, ranch dressing, or aioli.
More Vegetable Side Dishes
- Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- Garlic Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
- Eggplant Fries
- Roasted Ranch Brussels Sprouts
Baked Parmesan Asparagus Fries
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus stalks trimmed (try to choose the regular stalks as opposed to slim or extra thick stalks)
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- cooking oil spray
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a three-quarter baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread panko crumbs evenly across the lined baking sheet, keeping your panko crumbs to a thin layer. Spray panko crumbs surface with cooking oil spray.
- Bake panko crumbs for about 5 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool. Turn oven heat to 425°F.
- Once bread crumbs are cooled, mix in 1/2 cup parmesan cheese while panko remains on the pan. Then spread out mixture evenly across baking sheet again. Line a separate three quarter baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a container long enough to fit asparagus, pour in whisked eggs. I used an 8-inch loaf pan. In a separate container long enough to fit asparagus, pour in flour.
- Coat asparagus lightly in egg. Shake off excess egg and then lightly coat asparagus in flour. Tap asparagus a few times against container to shake off excess flour. Coat asparagus in egg again and shake off excess egg. Make sure that you thoroughly shake off any excess egg drippings before rolling in panko because the panko will not stick if it gets too moist. Place asparagus in panko mixture and press panko crumbs onto the asparagus. Avoid trying to roll the asparagus across all of the panko crumbs because it will cause many of the crumbs to get too moist and they won't stick to the asparagus. Keeping the panko spread out on the sheet rather than having them in one container should help keep most of them from getting too moist. Set coated asparagus aside on empty lined baking sheet. Repeat until all asparagus is used up.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes at 425°F, or until asparagus is cooked and the outside coating is crispy. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
These look amazing! Would the recipe translate well to thick, flat greeen beans? Also, sweet and sour sauce would be a good dipping sauce.
Thank you! That would be a great sauce for these. You can definitely try swapping out the asparagus with green beans. The cook times should be similar but keep an eye out just in case if you try it!
Followed the directions precisely and they came out perfectly wonderful and CRISPY. It looked as pretty as these pictures. If you follow the directions yours will look like this too. I used seasoned panko. This I am putting on rotation. So easy and a perfect side dish. Thank you!!
Thank you for your great review!
These were absolutely delicious — an entirely new dimension to cooking with one of my favorite vegetables — I made a huge batch and stored some of them in my refrigerator and simply reheated them in a 425- degree oven for a few minutes and they tasted as fresh and wonderful as the previous day. Thanks.
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Just had similar appetizer at houlihans with a horseradish and lemon dipping sauce. Delicious!!! Can’t wait to try this recipe
horseradish and lemon dipping sauce sounds delicious!
These look beautiful.
aw thank you!