Baked Asparagus with Parmesan and Balsamic Vinegar

Wow! We’ll eat our vegetables like this every night. This combination of still slightly crisp asparagus, nutty cheese, and the sweet balsamic vinegar was a combination made in heaven.

The recipe was such that you could blanch the asparagus ahead of time, then just top it with cheese and olive oil and pop it in the oven at the last minute. I used 1/2 teaspoon of salt on the asparagus in addition to the 1 tablespoon in the simmering water.

This is the PERFECT side for grilled meat, roast chicken, or the braised short ribs that I served. We also loved the extra balsamic vinegar on the side—we kept dipping our asparagus in it. A delightful and delicious dish to add to my vegetable file!

If you don’t like asparagus, you need to try this recipe. It’s fantastic. I’ve always wanted to like asparagus, and I keep trying different recipes—but this one has converted me. This is very simple and quick to prepare.

Our asparagus were very thin so I didn’t blanch them. My only reason for not calling it absolutely perfect is that the Parmesan did not stick to the asparagus when it melted, it just sort of clumped up. Next time I’ll use a microplane grater on the cheese instead of finely grating it.

All of the flavors blended so well in this. I really loved the tart concentration of the balsamic reduction and the saltiness of the Parmesan cheese with the bright grassiness of the asparagus. I have made something similar before by roasting the asparagus. Simple, quick, easy, no fuss—yet elegant.

This would do equally well on a holiday buffet, as part of a meal for company, or as a weeknight side. I served this with Parmesan-crusted chicken breasts and warm bread.

If you love asparagus, this is heavenly. If you don’t, this recipe will convert you.

I used super-thin asparagus, so I didn’t blanch them. Also, because there’s cheese, go easy on the salt. The syrupy reduction of balsamic vinegar and melted cheese make this dish so delicious—just perfect for the spring season.

I rate this asparagus recipe a Testers’ Choice simply because it gives the reader a new, easy, elegant, and delicious recipe to make for family or company. The golden brown Parmesan with the slightly reduced balsamic vinegar adds a very special touch to otherwise boring asparagus. You won’t declare this the best thing you’ve ever eaten, but you and your guests will love the new taste sensation.

To make it even more special, add finely minced fresh rosemary to the balsamic vinegar as it reduces.

I’m always looking for new ways to cook my favorite veggies—and adding balsamic vinegar and Parmigiano to asparagus is a winning idea. The liberal sprinkling of freshly grated cheese with the caramel-y balsamic makes the asparagus rich and delicious.

The only drawback to this recipe is that it requires 3 pans: one for blanching the asparagus, one for reducing the balsamic, and one for baking the asparagus. Also, I cut back a bit on the salt and the olive oil in the final drizzle.

I usually make a version of this recipe that doesn’t require blanching, so I was excited to try this variation.

I used very thin asparagus, and normally when I roast asparagus that thin, it tends to overcook. The blanching method shortened the roasting time, so the spears stayed crisp and tender. As the season progresses and asparagus gets thicker, however, I’ll ditch the blanching method and continue to only roast them. All in all, I loved the recipe.

Roasted asparagus with cheese alone is a wonderful side dish, but the addition of the sweet, thickened balsamic syrup on top of the salty, cheese-baked asparagus provides a wonderful contrast in flavor. Hooray for a simple side that’s also sophisticated! This would work for a casual Sunday supper or even a fancier Saturday evening dinner party.

My grocery store only had the super-skinny asparagus, so I skipped the blanching step.

Overall, I loved this recipe and will definitely file it away for another menu.

This recipe makes an aesthetically beautiful side dish that paired well with pasta. I enjoyed the extra reduced balsamic vinegar as a drizzle on the side. Since my asparagus was rather thin, I didn’t bother blanching them, and for health reasons, I omitted the salt.

Overall, this is a delicious side dish that’s great for everyday meals, as well as entertaining. My hubby and I loved it and I’ll be making it again.

This recipe really is more than the sum of its parts. Simply blanched asparagus, Parmigiano-Reggiano and reduced balsamic vinegar—a classic combination.

I reduced the balsamic in a Pyrex in the microwave, which works just as well as the stovetop method. Just make sure to give it enough room to boil, and watch it carefully. It’s truly a versatile dish, with a terrific interplay of saltiness from the cheese and sweetness from the vinegar.

I’ve always loved asparagus, so it practically goes without saying that I love this recipe. My husband, on the other hand, puts asparagus in the same category as beets and Brussels sprouts. He needs them to be dressed up a bit to be palatable. So perhaps this is more to share with you that he gobbled up this dish and went back for seconds.

I started out by reducing the balsamic vinegar as directed. Although I didn’t see much of a change while the vinegar was on the stove, after sitting off the heat for a while it thickened to a molasses-like consistency. This made for a tangy yet sweet syrup that was good enough to lick straight from the spoon and was even better drizzled over cheesy asparagus. This isn’t exactly a low-cal vegetable dish. There’s quite a bit of cheese and oil. The result is delicious as written, but the final drizzle of oil could be omitted to lighten it up a bit.