Delicious, colorful, and flavorful
For dinner one night recently, I prepared a set of new recipes for my family. The plate included cilantro-lime brown rice, bag-steam/roasted orange/maple glazed sweet potatoes, & this WFPB Oil-Free Air-Fried Asparagus recipe with the Easy WFPB Bearnaise Sauce drizzled over the top.
The meal was all delicious, colorful, and flavorful & I knew I would like to post each recipe to this Green Circle Kitchen website. The tough part was deciding which recipe first! So, I reached out to the Green Circle Kitchen Community group to ask which items on the plate intrigued them the most!
The asparagus won!
The cilantro-lime rice got a lot of votes. More than I expected, actually! However, just as many (& just a bit more) people voted for this WFPB Oil-Free Air-Fried Asparagus recipe. The asparagus won!
The cilantro-lime rice came in at a very close second. It will be coming to this website soon too! The glazed sweet potatoes roasted in a bag recipe won't be left behind either. Yum!
Jump to:
Gathering your ingredients
Begin by preheating your air fryer to 430° F (or about 220° C) and by gathering your ingredients. After snapping off the tough end of each asparagus stalk, you'll just need some aquafaba and a few spices. This recipe is actually quite simple!
- asparagus
- aquafaba (liquid brine from a can of chickpeas)
- nutritional yeast seasoning
- Sunny Paris seasoning
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- sea salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Combine the dry spices
Simply combine the dry spices in a small bowl. Stir well with a spoon & set aside briefly.
Drizzle and coat
Then, it's time to drizzle and coat. Just drizzle the aquafaba over the asparagus and lightly toss to coat. Then, sprinkle on the spice mixture and lightly toss to coat again.
Time to air fry!
Lastly, line up the coated asparagus spears in the basket of your preheated air fryer. Be sure not to stack or overcrowd the spears. They need to be slightly separated for even cooking. If you have a smaller air fryer basket, you may need to cook in smaller batches.
Air fry for about 7 minutes (this time may need to be adjusted slightly based on the size of your asparagus spears and the heat of your air fryer).
When done, the asparagus should be tender yet crisp. The flavorful outer spice coating adds another level of light crispiness. If serving on a plate, use a fork and a steak knife to easily slice through & enjoy. Or, once slightly cooled, grab a few spears to enjoy as a handheld snack!
You may also like to add this absolutely fantastic Easy WFPB Bernaise Sauce. You can drizzle it over the top or serve it as an appetizer or snack and use the sauce as a dip for your asparagus spears. Either way...whoa, is it ever good! I never knew asparagus could be so addicting! 😋
Frequently Asked Questions
The Green Circle Kitchen Community is a fun and welcoming group on Facebook where we share WFPB no oil (& limited refined sugar) recipes from any blog. Admins also share Lifestyle Medicine resources. If you aren't already a member, I hope you'll join us!
Sunny Paris is a fantastic salt-free seasoning from Penzeys Spices. The ingredients include purple shallots, chives, green peppercorn, French basil, French tarragon, chervil, bay leaf, and dill weed.
📖 Recipe
WFPB Oil-Free Air-Fried Asparagus
Equipment
- air fryer
- large bowl, pan, or plate
Ingredients
- 20 spears asparagus (tough base of stems snapped off)
- 2 Tbsp aquafaba (aquafaba is the brine from a can of chickpeas)
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast seasoning
- 2 tsp Sunny Paris seasoning (a wonderful salt-free blend from Penzeys)
- 2 tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
- black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/16 tsp)
Optional:
- ½ cup Easy WFPB Bearnaise Sauce (fabulous for drizzling over or dipping into & only takes about 5 minutes to make!)
Instructions
- Preheat your air-fryer to 430°F (about 220°C).
- Add the dry spices to a small bowl and stir well to combine. Don't add the aquafaba yet.
- Place the asparagus in a large bowl or on a large plate or pan. Drizzle the aquafaba over the asparagus and lightly toss to coat.
- You may be able to place the asparagus directly on your air-fryer rack at this point and add your dry spices there. Otherwise, keep the asparagus in your large bowl, plate, or pan. Then, sprinkle the combined dry spices over the asparagus and toss to coat.
- Place the coated asparagus on your air-fryer rack. Do not overlap. Spread out with a bit of space between each piece for even cooking. If you have a smaller airfryer basket, you may need to heat in smaller batches.
- Air fry for about 7 minutes*, then carefully remove from the air fryer, serve, and enjoy!
Optional:
- Serve with Easy WFPB Bearnaise sauce drizzled over the top OR slice the asparagus stalks in half and serve with the Easy WFPB Bearnaise sauce as a dip. The sauce only takes about 5 minutes to make. It's delish!
