Air Fried Crispy Asparagus

About

Make this crispy and healthy Keto snack with your air fryer for a super quick cooking time. Whole stalks of asparagus are coated in heart-healthy olive oil and a breading of ground pork rinds. At your discretion, you can choose plain pork rinds or hot pork rinds for a spicy kick. You may also include any additional seasonings you’d like in Step 1, again, at your discretion. The asparagus completely cook through in the air fryer, so there’s no worry of underdone veggies. You can enjoy this Keto snack like you would a finger food, or you can include it in your main meal as a side dish. For the best-tasting recipe, you’ll want to make these crispy asparagus fresh in the air fryer every time.

Should I Use Parchment Paper In My Air Fryer?

Whether or not you should line your cooking tray with parchment paper completely depends on the style of air fryer you have. Some air fryers have a pull-out tray with many small holes perforating it. These styles may not need any parchment paper. If your air fryer is more like a standing confection oven, you may have removable trays with wider holes. In this case, you may want to line the tray with parchment paper to avoid any pork rind breading falling through. To keep the parchment paper in place, use some pan spray to “glue” the paper to the tray. You can also weigh down the parchment paper with any heat-safe, heavy item, such as a small glass bowl.

Keto Dips For Your Asparagus

If you’re choosing to enjoy this recipe as a Keto snack, you can make a Keto-friendly dip. For a cheese dip, try the Carb Manager Keto Cheese and Chive Dip or the Keto Cheesy Avocado Dip. If you don’t want a cheesy dip, you can make the Carb Manager Keto Baconnaise Dip or Low Carb Avocado and Bell Pepper Dip. If you don’t want to make a dip, sour cream is a Keto-friendly ingredient you can pair with your asparagus. Another way to add more flavor to this recipe is to toss the oiled asparagus with a seasoning of your choice, such as garlic powder. You can also season your ground pork rind breading at your discretion.

Ingredients

6 medium – spear – 5 1/4" to 7" long asparagus, raw
½ teaspoon olive oil
½ ounce fried pork rinds

Instructions

Select 6 pieces of asparagus per serving. Choose pieces that are similar in thickness and length. Try to avoid particularly thin pieces. Cut off any hard, purple ends, and add the asparagus to a mixing bowl. Toss the asparagus with the olive oil until they are completely coated and shiny with olive oil. There shouldn’t be so much that the oil is dripping or pooling.
Turn on your air fryer and preheat it to 350 degrees for at least 5-7 minutes. Line your air fryer tray with parchment paper, if necessary. Meanwhile, arrange ground pork rinds on a plate or clean, flat surface. You can turn pork rinds into a crumbly breading by pulsing them in a food processor or blender. One by one, roll each piece of oiled asparagus in the pork rind breading and place them on the sheet tray. You should have approximately ½ TB of pork rinds coating each piece of asparagus.
Place the tray of asparagus in your air fryer and cook for 7 minutes. Then, rotate or flip the asparagus over and cook for an additional 7 minutes. To check for doneness, the breading on the asparagus should be dark and adhered to the asparagus. The asparagus itself will be quite soft and tender. Once cooled, enjoy as finger food with your favorite Keto dip or as a side dish with a fork and knife.