Smoked Asparagus is a healthy and delicious side dish that is incredibly easy to make. All you need is one bunch of asparagus, avocado oil, sea salt, pepper, and lemon, and the pellet smoker takes care of the rest! This is a perfect summer side dish with an amazing flavor that your whole family will enjoy.
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I absolutely love our Traeger Pellet Grill—I’d have to say it’s one of the best cooking-related purchases we’ve made. I'm always looking for new ways to cook my favorite vegetables, so why not try smoking asparagus? I'm glad I did because I can't get enough of the smoky flavor, and it's now my favorite way to prepare this veggie! If you don't have a Traeger grill, that's okay—you can use any type of smoker.
For more smoker recipes check out my Smoked Beans, Smoked Scalloped Potatoes, and Traeger Smoked Salmon.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple And Easy: This simple recipe requires minimal ingredients and requires very little effort, making it a great side dish for almost any meal.
- Packed With Flavor: Say goodbye to boring vegetables! The smoky goodness infuses the tender asparagus and it also highlights in natural sweetness.
- Customizable: You can experiment with adding garlic, cheese or even adding bacon. Play around with the flavor combo and create your own variation!
Ingredients
- Asparagus: The best-tasting asparagus is usually found at your local farmers market. You can however also find it at your local grocery store, though you’ll want to make sure it’s organic. Fresh asparagus should be vibrant in color, the tips should be tightly closed and the stalks should be firm and plump. If the color is dull, or the tips are soft, that would indicate that it is likely not at all fresh.
- Avocado Oil: You will want to use good quality avocado oil. If you don’t have avocado oil on hand, you can certainly use a good quality Olive Oil if you like.
- Sea Salt: Pink Himalayan Sea Salt provides a lot of flavor to this dish. My favorite is Redmond's Sea Salt.
- Pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper.
- Flakey Finishing Salt: This step is optional—a pinch of Maldon's Flakey Sea Salt is a wonderful finisher to this dish. You could also use a Truffle Salt, which I find exquisite.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh squeezed, please don’t use bottled lemon juice. It's just not the same!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions And Variations
- Spice It Up: If you enjoy some heat, try sprinkling on some crushed red pepper flakes.
- Add Cheese: When the smoked asparagus comes off of the pellet grill, try adding some freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.
- Garlic: If you enjoy garlic, you can add some crushed or minced garlic when you add the oil, salt, and pepper.
- Bacon Wrapped: If you are feeling adventurous, you can also take 4-5 spears of asparagus and wrap them in bacon, then smoke!
How To Smoke Asparagus On A Pellet Grill
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1. Preheat your pellet grill to 250 degrees f.
Step 2. Trim, wash, and dry the asparagus, then place them in an aluminum pan. Drizzle the asparagus with a little avocado oil, salt, and pepper and toss to combine.
Step 3. Place the aluminum pan on the grill grates of your pellet smoker and cook for 1 hour, flipping halfway through.
Step 4. Once the asparagus is done, remove it from the grill and top with fresh lemon juice and a pinch of flakey sea salt.
Expert Tips And Notes
- Trimming Asparagus: Once you are ready to use the asparagus, you will want to trim the ends, as that is the woody part of the spear, which is too tough to eat. The best way to determine how much of the asparagus to trim is by holding it from the top of the spear in your left hand and the bottom of the spear in your right hand. Bend the asparagus, and where it naturally breaks, this is an indicator of where you should trim each asparagus spear in the bunch.
- Short On Time: Smoke your asparagus for 25 minutes, then crank up the heat to 375 degrees and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
What To Serve With Traeger Smoked Asparagus
Serve it alongside many main dishes such as:
- Beef
- Chicken Breasts
- Chicken Thighs
- Smoked Whole Chicken
- Traeger Grilled Salmon
- BBQ Chicken Kabobs
- Pork Chops
- Prime Rib
Storage and Reheating
- Storage: You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat in the oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes or until warmed through.
Recipe FAQs
When you bring it home from the store, you can store it standing up in a mason jar with a little bit of cold water and cover it with a plastic bag. To keep it fresh, you will want to avoid washing it until right before you are ready to use it.
For grilling or smoking, medium or thick asparagus spears are a good option, as the thinner stalks can easily shrivel. However, the thinner asparagus varieties do work well for steaming and stir-frying or in the air fryer.
Other Related Side Dish Recipes
If you tried this Traeger Smoked Asparagus or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Traeger Smoked Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Asparagus
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ⅛ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Pepper
- 1 pinch Flakey Sea Salt
- 1 squeeze Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat your pellet grill to 250 degrees.
- Trim, wash and dry the asparagus, then place asparagus in an aluminum pan.
- Drizzle the asparagus with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
- Place the aluminum pan on the grill grates of your pellet smoker and cook for 1 hour, flipping the asparagus half way through.
- Once the asparagus is done, remove it from the grill and top with fresh lemon juice and a pinch of flakey sea salt.
Notes
- Trimming Asparagus: Once you are ready to use the asparagus, you will want to trim the ends, as that is the woody part of the spear, which is too tough to eat. The best way to determine how much of the asparagus to trim is by holding it from the top of the spear in your left hand and the bottom of the spear in your right hand. Bend the asparagus, and where it naturally breaks, this is an indicator of where you should trim each asparagus spear in the bunch.
- Short On Time: Smoke your asparagus for 25 minutes, then crank up the heat to 375 degrees and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
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