Gluten Free Living – 2014

Pesto Asparagus is so simple and easy, yet incredibly delicious. And when I say simple, I mean S-I-M-P-L-E as in 3-ingredients and super quick and easy. This satisfying casserole has pesto sauce, parmesan cheese and asparagus. That’s it!

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How can something so simple be so tasty? Oh contraire, it really is. The first time I made this recipe I was trying to throw a meal together with only stuff I had on hand. I looked in my cupboards and freezers and refrigerators and found plenty of cheese (any flavor as I keep cheese well-stocked in the freezer constantly). I had a bag of frozen asparagus and two jars of Pesto sauce sitting on one of my shelves. I thought, why not?

I didn’t do anything really spectacular or difficult here. I poured frozen asparagus into a baking dish. Mixed some pesto with parmesan cheese and just kind of spread it over the top and baked it. After it had been in the oven about 30 minutes or so (covered), I pulled it out of the oven and stirred the pesto/parmesan mixture into the asparagus. That was it. But the taste was amazing.

The next time I made this recipe I used fresh asparagus. Oh my, the difference was incredible. If you’re an asparagus lover, you’ve got to try the fresh version.

While I used a store-bought pesto sauce, I’m sure if you had tons of basil in your garden and wanted to make homemade pesto sauce it would turn out even better. For those of you who have gardens this summer and you are scratching your heads trying to figure out new recipes to use to serve asparagus, give this simple recipe a try sometime.

I liked it so much I would even recommend it for holiday baking when you’re making up all those yummy casseroles for Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Years. Besides all that, it’s gluten free, healthy and low calorie. And, did I say it was quick, easy and simple? 😉

When I initially posted this recipe in April 2014 I didn’t bother taking pictures with my good camera. I really wasn’t expecting the casserole to turn out quite as wonderfully as it did. I recently remade Pesto Asparagus for our Friday night care group (May 2017) and served this tasty side dish along with Beef Teriyaki, Popovers and Pina Colada Earthquake Cake (since one of our gals was having a birthday). Everyone raved over this asparagus and wanted the recipe! Can’t beat that for three ingredients. 🙂

Pesto Asparagus is a scrumptious side dish with wonderful flavor.

Pesto Asparagus is mouthwatering yet very simple.

Pesto and Parmesan cheese really spruce up this delicious vegetable. It’s also gluten free.

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients.

Wash asparagus. Cut off the bottom third of the stalk and place in a greased 9×13″ glass baking dish. (I only used two bunches of asparagus).

Place pesto sauce and parmesan cheese in a mixing bowl.

Stir to combine.

Spread pesto sauce mixture over top of asparagus. Cover with foil.

Bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes or until asparagus is fork tender. Stir gently before serving.

 Serve with your favorite entree.

Pesto Asparagus is the perfect side dish for big holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter if you’re able to find asparagus. It’s so easy to prepare that it doesn’t make a lot of extra work for the cook!

Here’s the recipe.

PESTO ASPARAGUS

(My own concoction)

Pesto Asparagus was fantastic. I highly recommend this delicious dish for holidays.

Simple, quick, easy, and three-ingredients! This recipe is a keeper.

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Skinny Roasted Asparagus

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Asparagus Mushroom Chowder