Instant Pot Asparagus (with 10 Ideas to Add Flavor)

This new recipe for Instant Pot Asparagus might be the easiest method you’ve ever seen for cooking asparagus! And this post has 10 ideas to add flavor to the finished asparagus once it’s cooked. See notes in the post for cooking this if you don’t have an Instant Pot.

PIN the Instant Pot Asparagus recipe to try it later!

Everyone who loves asparagus and loves easy recipes is going to love this new idea for Instant Pot Asparagus, and this was definitely a wow for Kara and I when we tested the recipe. And although my site has an abundance of amazing Asparagus Recipes, I think this extra-easy method for cooking asparagus is something you’ll find useful.

This is the asparagus recipe you’ll want to use when you’re making a dinner with several different dishes and want to serve a quick and easy side dish. And the 10 ideas to add flavor can help you dress up the simple asparagus so it’s fancy enough to serve to guests. I promise, this is method for cooking asparagus that you’ll use over and over!

This Instant Pot Asparagus with any of the 10 ideas for adding flavor will be Keto, Low-Carb, Gluten-Free, and Vegetarian, and although I’m not tagging this post Dairy-Free or for the original South Beach Diet, many of the serving suggestions will be fine for those diets as well.

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• trimmed asparagus
• water
• salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
• check recipes for additional ingredients if you’re using one of the 10 ideas to add flavor

Why cook asparagus in the Instant Pot?

• This method produces perfectly cooked asparagus.
• Using the Instant Pot to cook asparagus gives you a method that doesn’t really have to be watched, (although if you like your asparagus to stay a bit crisp you might want to release the pressure after 5 minutes.)
• Because you set the Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, for 0 minutes, this method for cooking asparagus is very quick. (Yes, ZERO MINUTES is not a typo! The asparagus cooks perfectly in the time the Instant Pot comes to pressure and releases.)

Should you use thick or thin pieces of asparagus for Instant Pot Asparagus?

This method worked perfectly with the thick pieces of asparagus we had (from Costco.) If you have really thin pieces of asparagus, I recommend releasing the pressure manually to skip the natural release, otherwise I think the thin pieces might get softer than you’d prefer.

What size Instant Pot did I use?

I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot (affiliate link) for all my Instant Pot Recipes. Check out all my Instant Pot Recipes! You can find more Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Recipes on my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker site.

What if you don’t have an Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot Asparagus is steamed; using the Instant Pot just makes it quicker and makes it so it doesn’t need to be manually timed or watched. But if you don’t have an Instant Pot, just use instructions in my recipe for Asparagus with Basil Vinaigrette to steam the asparagus; then use one of the ideas below to dress it up.

10 Ideas to Add Flavor to Instant Pot Asparagus:

1. For the asparagus shown in this post, we melted about 1/2 a cube (2 ounces) of butter. (You can cook it a few minutes more and make Brown Butter if you have time.) Put the cooked asparagus on a serving platter, drizzle the melted butter over, and top with a generous amount of shaved Parmesan.
2. Top the cooked asparagus with Lemon and Parmesan.
3. Top the cooked asparagus with Gorgonzola and Pine Nuts.
4. Top the cooked asparagus with Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest.
5. Top the cooked Asparagus with Basil Pesto.
6. Drizzle the cooked asparagus with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette.
7. Toss the cooked asparagus with Soy-Sesame Glaze.
8. Drizzle the cooked asparagus with Basil Vinaigrette.
9. Sprinkle cooked asparagus with the fresh-herb sauce Gremolata.
10. Serve the cooked asparagus with Tahini-Peanut Dipping Sauce.

How to make Instant Pot Asparagus:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Trim the woody end of the asparagus and cut each trimmed piece in half.
2. Use a Trivet (affiliate link) that goes in the Instant Pot.
3. Put Trivet in and add one cup of water.
4. Lay asparagus on top of trivet.
5. Lock lid, make sure valve is closed, and set to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, ZERO MINUTES.
6. When Instant Pot reaches pressure, let it natural release for 5 minutes, then manual release remaining pressure. (If you don’t like any crispness in your asparagus, you can let it natural release the whole time.)
7. Remove asparagus and season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
8. Serve Instant Pot asparagus hot, with one of the 10 ideas to add flavor (above) if desired.

More tasty dinners with Asparagus:

• Chicken and Asparagus with Three Cheeses
• Easy Cheesy Baked Ham and Asparagus
• Chicken and Asparagus Bake with Creamy Curry Sauce

Continue to Content

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Yield: 4 servings

Instant Pot Asparagus (with 10 Ideas to Add Flavor)

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

This amazingly easy Instant Pot Asparagus just might become your go-to asparagus recipe, and you can use one of the 10 ideas to add flavor to make this asparagus worthy of serving to guests!

Ingredients

• 1 lb. trimmed asparagus (see notes)
• 1 cup water
• salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Trim the woody ends of asparagus. (To see where to trim, hold one piece in two hands and bend until it breaks. Trim off about that much from each piece.)
2. Then cut each trimmed piece of asparagus in half.
3. Put Trivet in the Instant Pot and add one cup of water
4. Lay asparagus pieces on top of the trivet.
5. Lock the lid, make sure the pressure valve is closed, and set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, ZERO MINUTES.
6. When the Instant Pot reaches pressure, let it manual release for 5 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
7. If you don't like any crispness in your asparagus, you can let it natural release the whole time. For asparagus that is quite crisp, you can natural release it sooner than 5 minutes.
8. Remove cooked asparagus from the Instant Pot and season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
9. Serve Instant Pot asparagus hot, with one of the 10 ideas to add flavor (in the notes below) if desired.

Notes

We had a big package of asparagus from Costco, so we used enough asparagus to weigh one pound after trimming. However, even if you buy a one-pound package and then trim, that will still make four servings.

Nutritional information is for asparagus only.

10 Ideas to Add Flavor to Instant Pot Asparagus:

1. For the asparagus shown in this post, we melted about 1/2 a cube (2 ounces) of butter. (You can cook it a few minutes and make Brown Butter if you have time.) Put the cooked asparagus on a serving platter, drizzle the melted butter over, and top witha generous amount of shaved Parmesan
2. Top the cooked asparagus with Lemon and Parmesan.
3. Top the cooked asparagus with Gorgonzola and Pine Nuts.
4. Top the cooked asparagus with Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest.
5. Top the cooked Asparagus with Basil Pesto.
6. Drizzle the cooked asparagus with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette.
7. Toss the cooked asparagus with Soy-Sesame Glaze.
8. Drizzle the cooked asparagus with Basil Vinaigrette.
9. Sprinkle cooked asparagus with the fresh-herb sauce Gremolata.
10. Serve the cooked asparagus with Tahini-Peanut Dipping Sauce.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 26Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 164mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This recipe (including all suggestions for 10 ideas to add flavor to the asparagus) is suitable for low-carb or Keto eating plans. Asparagus is also a great choice for all phases of the original South Beach Diet, although some of the flavor-adding ideas might too high in fat to be strictly SBD suitable.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Asparagus Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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