Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus

Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus – How to Love Cooking

Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus

A veggie dish that’s also festive with only two ingredients? Yep! This Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus recipe checks all the boxes and then some!

I’m not going to pretend that my Instagram feed during the month of December isn’t mostly buttery, sugary, baked goods. Between all the parties, December birthdays, holiday gifts for friends and colleagues, and me just enjoying life a little bit at the end of the year, I would guesstimate that I’ve been baking at least 3 times a week.

However, being my omnivorous self, treats aren’t the only thing I have in my kitchen. I still love to get my veggie on, too. So today I bring you a ridiculously simple two ingredient vegetable dish. It’s easy enough for a weeknight side yet festive enough to serve at the holiday table – thanks to its red and green color scheme. 🙂

First let’s talk asparagus…

Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus – How to Love Cooking

Asparagus is one of those veggies I grew to love. I hated it as a kid, but found new ways to prepare it as an adult, and now it’s one of my favorite foods to eat!

My word of advice is this, if you aren’t fond of a particular vegetable – try roasting it. I don’t know of a single vegetable that isn’t delicious when roasted. Plus, roasting is super easy, too. All you have to do is wash and dry your veggies, chop them up, lay them on a roasting pan, toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and put them in the oven!

Want more roasted veggies? Try this Roasted “Chicken Soup” Vegetable Medley recipe!

If you like, you can get fancy and add garlic (fresh or powder), dried herbs, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, or as we will do, some of your favorite pesto.

Whatever you do, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll enjoy it.

Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus – How to Love Cooking

How to Prepare Asparagus

Luckily for us, asparagus is a pretty low maintenance veggie. You can chop them into pieces or leave them in long spears, it’s up to you.

The only thing to do, really, is trim off the bottom half inch to an inch. The bottoms can be quite tough to eat and digest. Therefore, we need to cut them off. To find out where exactly you should cut, grab one asparagus spear and bend it towards the end. The tough, bottom part should snap away easily.

Use that bottom part to guide you as to where to cut the rest of your spears. So, if the bottom part that snapped away is about an inch long, just cut an inch off the bottom of all of them. It’s much faster than snapping each individual spear, no?

Here’s a quick video from MyRecipes YouTube Channel showing the process. (For the record, I don’t peel my asparagus, but it’s up to you.)

Want to pin this on Pinterest? Tap or click the image below to save it!

Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus – How to Love Cooking

Seasoning the Asparagus

By now, you all know I love Aldi, so I thought I’d share another one of my favorite products of theirs (not sponsored just a fan). Their Rosso (Red) Pesto is such a great ingredient to use in your dishes, and it’s what gives all the flavor and pop of red to this Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus.

On a large sheet pan, I toss the asparagus spears (I used one pound) with two tablespoons of the red pesto before I put them in the oven. Then, they bake for 15 minutes. As soon as they’re out, I grab a spatula and toss them with one more tablespoon of pesto. Then they’re done!

That’s it! It’s barely a recipe!

The reason I can get away with simply using the pesto to season the asparagus, is because the pesto alone already has so many delicious ingredients. It’s got olive oil, cheese, herbs, salt, pepper, and of course, sun dried tomatoes to give it that lovely color and flavor.

Red Pesto Roasted Asparagus – How to Love Cooking

Asparagus is Good for You!

Beyond being a beautiful and easy to prepare vegetable, asparagus is very nutritious! It’s got lots of fiber and vitamins and many other healthy properties. I love incorporating it into my cooking and eating, and I hope you’ll give it a try too.

The recipe is a cinch to put together and would look gorgeous as part of your holiday spread or weeknight dinner.

Did you make this?? Please let me know in the comments below or tag me on social media #howtolovecooking! I’d love to know how it went for you!

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Red Pesto Roasted Aparagus

This flavorful and festive side dish will make a wonderful addition to your holiday table.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Fresh Asparagus Washed, Dried, and Trimmed (See post and video link above for how to trim asparagus!)
• 3 TBS Priano Rosso Pesto Sauce (From Aldi) (Divided)
• Salt and Pepper (To Taste)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking pan with foil, parchment, or a silicone mat.
2. Place the asparagus on your lined baking sheet. Drizzle 2 TBS of the Rosso (Red) Pesto sauce over the asparagus, and toss to coat evenly.

3. Bake for 15 minutes. Once the asparagus is out of the oven, drizzle one additional TBS of pesto over the veggies. Toss to coat with a spatula. 

4. Sprinkle a pinch or two of salt and pepper over the asparagus just before serving, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

For instructions on how to trim asparagus, scroll up to read the post and see the video link above!