Air fryer asparagus are so easy to make and are delicious. Topped with delicious buttery, garlicky, and cheesy breadcrumbs, these asparagus become a restaurant style side dish.
Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to line the bottom of the air fryer. This will prevent the breadcrumbs from creating a mess.
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
Prepare asparagus
Start by trimming the ends of the asparagus, about an inch up from the bottom.
Next with a peeler remove the skin from the asparagus, the skin can be tough to eat. Please note, these instructions are for normal to large asparagus. Very thin asparagus (see notes) do not need to be peeled, as it would be almost impossible to peel.
Place asparagus on a plate and drizzle with oil and toss, then add salt and pepper to taste and toss.
Breadcrumbs
In a bowl place the melted butter (see notes), breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and grated garlic. Toss until well combined.
Air Fry Asparagus
Carefully place the parchment paper in the air fryer and asparagus on the parchment paper. Set the preheated air fryer to 10 minutes.
After 5 minutes, add the panko breadcrumb mixture on top of the asparagus, and air fry for the remaining 5 minutes. Take them out of the air fryer carefully and place them on a serving dish.
Oven Baked Instructions
For the oven baked instructions, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the prepared asparagus on a baking sheet and top with the breadcrumb mixture.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Notes
To melt the butter, in a bowl place the butter then microwave for about 1.5 minutes using the defrost setting.
If you are using very thin asparagus, you will need to reduce the cooking time to about 7 minutes.