Let me start by saying….I LOVE asparagus! So, I quickly took advantage of a sale on this tasty vegetable at our local grocery store. Looking back at these 7 frugal and delicious uses for asparagus, I now wish I had purchased more asparagus.

Please join me on this frugal adventure as I share delicious uses for asparagus. And as an added bonus, I share a few uses for the rubber bands that surround the bunches. Yes folks, I’m that frugal!

Let’s get started on this frugal and delicious asparagus adventure!

Below are photos and descriptions of the frugal ways I created delicious dishes using just 2 bunches of asparagus.

Let’s start by removing the rubber bands from the bunches of asparagus, Save the rubber bands-I’ll show you why later! 

Then wash the asparagus and let dry on paper towels or a tea towel. Break off or cut off the harder woody ends of the asparagus. You can easily break them off with your hands and they will separate naturally at the point where the softer part of the asparagus meets the harder version. For some reason, I find this process oddly therapeutic. 

As they are, the bottom ends of the asparagus are not pleasant to eat. So, put them into a saucepan to use later. They will need to be cut into smaller uniform pieces before we use them. 

The next step is one of my favorite ways to use asparagus spears. 

Roasted: The Best Frugal and Delicious Use For Asparagus

In my opinion, roasted asparagus is the best and my most favorite way to enjoy asparagus. It’s so simple, so true to the best of this vegetable and it’s so delicious.

All you need is olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the asparagus onto a foil lined sheet pan to roast in the oven. The foil isn’t necessary, but makes for easier clean-up.

Pour a bit of olive oil onto the asparagus spears, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss around to coat.

As you can see, roasting asparagus creates a toasty caramelization to the exterior of the spears that makes me feel like I’m eating asparagus candy. The interior is soft, concentrated with flavor, sweet and juicy. I’m kind of obsessed and totally addicted to this version. I honestly have trouble restraining myself from eating it all before I serve it for dinner! The crispy and slightly charred tips are my favorite!

For extra flavor, you can sprinkle the warm asparagus spears with lemon zest or grated parmesan cheese before serving. So YUMMY!

Two other ways to prepare roasted asparagus…

Besides using an oven to roast asparagus, you can also use an air fryer. Just prepare and season as above. Use the same temperature as the oven, but roast for less time and turn halfway through the cooking time-same as above.

Or, you can grill the asparagus outside on a charcoal or gas grill. I like this method, because I can grill the asparagus while I’m grilling steaks or chicken for dinner. It takes very little time, so turn them frequently and watch them carefully. I also advise using a grill mat to avoid the spears falling through the grill grates. 

Note: also season and prepare as above. 

Grilling adds a smoky flavor to the asparagus and there are fewer dishes to clean afterwards! It’s a delicious win, win!!

Bonus: Frugal and delicious uses for leftover roasted asparagus…

If you have any leftover roasted asparagus, it’s incredibly delicious the next morning in an omelet with cheddar cheese. 

I also like it with poached eggs-hollandaise sauce optional. 

Or you can chop the roasted asparagus into smaller pieces and add it to cooked rice for lunch or as a side dish for dinner. Add a bit of feta cheese for a creamy, salty, flavor boost. 

I’ve also added it to garden salads and macaroni salads. It adds a unique flavor and lovely color.

Frugal and Delicious Asparagus Stock and Creamy Asparagus Soup

Now let’s use those end pieces we broke off from the asparagus spears earlier. Never waste anything, especially when there’s such potential for greatness in those little pieces of asparagus.

Add salt and a spoon of minced garlic for extra flavor to the asparagus pieces and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue to boil them until very soft in texture. Let cool for a bit.

When cooled a bit, put the cooked asparagus ends into a deep bowl and use an immersion blender to puree them. Doing this step in a pan can result in a spray of green water on several surfaces of your kitchen. Trust me, it’s not fun! Using a high sided bowl is key for saving a messy clean-up.

Note: If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can puree the mixture in an upright blender or a food processor.

When the mixture is pureed, it may contain fibers from the asparagus that are not pleasant to eat, so you will need to separate the fibers from the liquid.

Strain the pureed asparagus mixture through a colander-using a spatula to press the liquid from the solids. This creates a fabulous and flavorful asparagus stock to use for soups or sauces.

Set the fiberous solids aside and I’ll show you what to do with them later….after we make a delicious creamy asparagus soup!

From Asparagus Stock To A Creamy Asparagus Soup

Now let’s make a frugal and delicious creamy asparagus soup from that fabulous asparagus stock. It’s very simple and so easy to make.

Just pour the asparagus stock into a saucepan and place over medium heat to warm. Add some dried minced onions for extra flavor and texture.

Then pour in some evaporated milk to otain a creamy texture and color-to your taste.

Finish the soup with a few pats of butter. The butter adds a richness of flavor and a velvety texture that is so appealing and satisfying. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When heated through, pour into a bowl. Top with croutons for extra crunch and texture. Sprinkle with dried or fresh dill and fresh cut chives for a flavor boost of freshness. You can also sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese if you would like. This is so good for lunch, dinner, an appetizer or a snack. I absolutely loved it!

How To Freeze Asparagus For Later Uses

To savor asparagus goodness for ease and enjoyment in future meals, just freeze it. But, there are a couple of steps that you have to do first, to protect and preserve the integrity of this tender and tasty vegetable.

Blanch and shock asparagus

Prepare a pot of boiling water. Truth be told, I used a high sided frying pan for this step. The pan opening is larger than a saucepan, so it accommodated the length of the asparagus spears better. It also required less water, so it came to a boil much faster and was easier to add and remove the asparagus spears each time.

Place the asparagus spears into the boiling water for 2-3 minutes-to preserve their lovely green color.

Then remove from the boiling water and immediately place into an ice bath to shock the flavor goodness in place and stop the cooking process.

Remove the asparagus from the ice bath to drain on paper towels.

Then place the asparagus spears on a parchment paper or wax paper lined sheet pan in a single layer and freeze. This is known as IQF (individually quick freeze). It helps to freeze the asparagus faster and maintain their shape.

Note: Don’t leave the spears on the wet paper towels to freeze. Removing and separating the saturated (now frozen) paper towel pieces from the frozen asparagus is not a pleasant task-trust me!

Freeze asparagus

Remove the spears from the sheet pan when fully frozen. Place in freezer wrap and then into a zip top bag to protect the spears and place them back in the freezer.

Later, you can remove as many spears as you would like from the freezer wrap and cook as desired when needed. Super simple. Super frugal and delicious!

Another Frugal and Delicious Use For Asparagus…Feed the Chickens!

So, about those asparagus fibers I separated…they became a delicious and healthy treat for our chickens! They absolutely loved it. And in case you are wondering about the earlier flavor addition of minced garlic….well folks, garlic is also good for chickens! The added benefit is happy and healthy chickens that give us even better eggs! That’s another win, win in my books!

And the final frugal and delicious use for my asparagus purchase…

Last, but certainly not least….I added some of the asparagus end pieces to my veggie stock bag in the freezer. The addition of the asparagus pieces will add extra flavor and color to my next batch of vegetable stock-creating more frugal and delicious soups, sauces and gravies.

I also added the remaining water in the frying pan from blanching the asparagus to my veggie stock bag in the freezer for even more flavor in my next batch of veggie stock. Again…wasting nothing!

Bonus: 7 uses for those rubber bands around the asparagus bunches…

It may seem silly, but save those rubber bands around the asparagus bunches. Wash them and allow to air dry. Then use wherever a rubber band may be needed. But, here’s a few other unexpected uses…

• #1-For you ladies out there, and a few gentlemen as well…if you lose the back to your earring, just cut a small piece of rubber band (these wider versions work best), and insert your earring into your ear and through the center of the rubber band piece on the back of your ear lobe to hold your earring in place. Makes for a quick temporary fix when needed.
• #2-These wide rubber bands also work great for opening jars with stubborn lids. Just place the rubber band on the jar lid and give it a twist. The extra grip between your hand and the lid adds enough extra strength to get the jar open.
• #3-If you’re a crafter, these rubber bands work great for holding your spools of ribbon in place-preventing unraveling of loose ribbons that often create tangled messes.
• #4-Safety first…To prevent a cutting board from slipping while you are cutting items or rolling out doughs, just wrap a rubber band around each end of the cutting board. This prevents the board from sliding around on the counter when you use it.
• #5-If you have a stripped screw, just place the rubber band onto the screw head. Insert a screwdriver into the rubber band on top of the stripped screw. Turn to the left. The extra friction makes removing the stripped screw a lot easier and less expensive than purchasing a special tool from the hardware store to do so.
• #6-Add a rubber band to each end of your plastic hanger to prevent clothes from slipping off the hangers.
• #7-And last but not least…for all those pesky times when a serving spoon falls into a liquid and you have to go fishing to remove it from the depths of the bowl….just wrap a rubber band around the spoon handle and lean it on the side of the bowl to prevent it from sliding in.

In a frugal and delicious uses for asparagus conclusion…

Don’t underestimate the uses and versatility of those lovely bunches of asparagus and the creations they can achieve. Suffice to say, those 2 little bunches of asparagus went and continue to go a long way in creating many frugal and delicious dishes along with a few helpful uses for their rubber bands. Not wasting anything is a fun, frugal and delicious adventure!

I hope you have enjoyed this blog and I hope I have inspired you to take advantage of the next sale on asparagus at your local market. Now, I think I need to look into growing my own asparagus.

Please Like, Share, Follow and Subscribe to Frugal and Delicious on all our social media pages for more frugal and delicious updates. Thanking you in advance. 

Take care. Be safe. Virtual Hugs.

Chauncey

P.S. Saving vegetable scraps makes for the very best homemade veggie stock. It’s one of my very favorite frugal and delicious things to do. Check this out…

https://frugalanddelicious.com/homemade-vegetable-stock/

Here’s a link to the Food Lion website for many more recipes using asparagus…

https://www.foodlion.com/recipes/categories/main-ingredient/asparagus/