This is truly the BEST asparagus casserole recipe ever!. This is perfect for Thanksgiving, Easter, or anytime! Tender asparagus gets a sharp cheddar cream sauce treatment with crispy, crunchy Ritz crackers for topping. I love this with cheesy baked rice (trust) as a side dish to weeknight cast iron NY strip steak or a fancier meal such as prime rib roast with chocolate chess pie for dessert - one of my favorite Christmas dinner recipes!
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When it comes to Thanksgiving, there's a balance of "we always have that," and "let's try something new," you know?
This is my favorite casserole, but I'd also venture that it's the best Thanksgiving side dish ever. It's the perfect line between "super classic" and "a little updated," and let's just take a moment to bow to the Casserole Gods of Thanksgiving. They love us, and we love them, largely due to the Ritz cracker topping.
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Recipe Notes
- Quick: The total best thing about this is that we throw the asparagus in RAW so it cooks and softens in the oven but doesn't get brown and mushy, thanks but no thanks.
- Add Eggs? There are also some old fashioned asparagus casserole recipes that include hard boiled eggs? No. Not happening. I don't like them and also it sounded weird. But, if you're into hard boiled eggs, throw some chopped on top of the 'role. Let me know how it is.
- Asparagus Variations: I use fresh asparagus in this casserole (which makes it a perfect Easter dinner recipe when asparagus is in season, but I have made this with frozen AND canned asparagus and it works great in all the ways. Promise.
Ingredients
You need asparagus, just trimmed and cut up. Then onion, garlic, flour, milk, mayo, grated cheddar, and Ritz crackers, heck yes. Maybe some salt and pepper, and that's it!
Ingredient Notes and Variations
- To make this gluten free, skip the flour and instead whisk 2 teaspoons cornstarch into the milk mixture BEFORE streaming it into the onion skillet. Stream in the milk/cornstarch mixture, and proceed with the rest of the recipe. Swap the crackers for a gluten free cracker or crushed chip of your choice.
- YES there is mayonnaise in here and I don't want to hear a thing about it, it tastes delicious and you 100% will not know it is in there, mayo-haters. I see you, I validate you (I'm kidding, this isn't a mental health issue), but trust me the flavor added is a good one, and the texture is important. Don't skip it. If you need a mayo-free asparagus recipe, I love this 5-minute Vegan Broiled Asparagus as an alternative.
- Feel free to swap the cheese for any grated melty cheese that you like. Swiss or Fontina cheese are both really yummy!
- Ritz Cracker Topping: I think that Ritz crackers are the true queen of casserole toppings BUT panko bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs are delicious too! Just mix about ½ cup bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons melted butter and use them just like you would crushed crackers.
- Many readers have commented that adding 1-2 cups of cooked shredded chicken makes this an entire meal for their family. Definitely do that.
Step By Step Instructions
To start, crush the crackers in a bag and set them aside.
Then, add the asparagus, grated cheese, and mayonnaise to a bowl.
Heat the onions in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes with a drizzle of olive oil.
When the onions soften and brown just slightly, sprinkle the garlic and flour over the onions. Stir them together to create a roux. A paste!
Let the onion mixture cook, stirring, for a minute or two to brown the flour just slightly. Then, very slowly pour in the milk, stirring as you go to incorporate the milk into the flour. The mixture should be smooth. Stir until the milk comes to a bubble, then sprinkle the mixture with salt and pepper and turn off the heat.
When the milk/onion mixture has thickened, pour it into the bowl with the asparagus and other ingredients.
Stir everything together, and pour the mixture into a casserole dish prepared with some cooking spray. Sprinkle the Ritz crackers over the top of the casserole.
The dish bakes at 375F for 40-50 minutes until the asparagus is tender but not mushy and the cheese is hot and bubbly.
Make Ahead and Storage
You can make this in advance and bake it on Thanksgiving (or on a Tuesday, whatever), just keep it in the fridge for a few days before you want to eat it. If you're worried about oven space, you can also bake this halfway, for 15 minutes or so, then finish it cooking on the day of your big meal.
I would at least reheat this prior to serving; but leftovers are really delicious in the fridge for at least 3 days.
PS this works perfectly with broccoli so you could totally double the cheese sauce ingredients and make 2 casseroles that are identical but with different veggies.
Serving Suggestions
- I love this for Thanksgiving OR year round.
- For a weekend dinner, I'd serve this with a roast chicken and some baked mushroom rice. YUM.
- For Thanksgiving, a smoked turkey breast, healthy green bean casserole, baked mashed potatoes (another make ahead dish!), and roasted brussels sprouts are always at the top of my list.
Recipe
Asparagus Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds asparagus trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese grated
- ½ onion diced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup milk
- salt and pepper
- 15 Ritz crackers or similar crushed
Instructions
- Place the asparagus, mayo, and cheese together in a large bowl.
- In a skillet over medium heat, add the onion with a drizzle of oil. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes until soft and slightly browned. Sprinkle the garlic and flour all over the onion mixture. Stir to create a roux and let the flour cook for a minute or two.
- Very slowly pour the milk into the skillet, stirring as you go to incorporate the milk into the flour mixture. Let the milk sauce come to a bubble. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- When the milk sauce is slightly thick, pour it into the bowl with the asparagus and other ingredients. Stir to mix everything together, and pour the mixture into a baking dish, 9x13 or similar. Sprinkle the crushed crackers over the casserole.
- Bake the asparagus casserole at 375F for 40-50 minutes or until the asparagus is just tender and the cheese is bubbly. Broil the top for one minute if you'd like to brown the crackers. Serve. Eat. Enjoy!
Notes
- Asparagus: This works beautifully with fresh asparagus, but canned/drained asparagus or thawed frozen asparagus are also delicious in this casserole.
- Make this in advance up to the baking step, it will keep in the fridge for 3 days or so. Then bake right before eating.
- To make this gluten free, skip the flour and instead whisk 2 teaspoons cornstarch into the milk mixture BEFORE streaming it into the onion skillet. Stream in the milk/cornstarch mixture, and proceed with the rest of the recipe. Swap the crackers for a gluten free cracker or crushed chip of your choice.
This recipe was originally published in 2017 and has been updated with more information and tips and tricks to help it turn out perfectly every time!
This was a huge hit at Thanksgiving this year! The only thing to know is to prepare much longer than for a 15 minute prep time.
Thanks for the note! I agree, prep time is always a strange thing for me to write because it varies so widely from kitchen to kitchen (are you chopping asparagus? are you including making the cream sauce in cook time or prep time?), so I'm glad you mentioned this!
I have made this several times & my family loves it!! I want to make this for Thanksgiving dinner but I need to know if it can be made and frozen then baked on the day of?
Beverly, I'm so glad you like the casserole! The short answer is: yes, and it depends. If you're using canned or frozen/thawed asparagus it will work great. Fresh asparagus is a little trickier since freezing it and thawing it from raw (in the casserole) may make the casserole more watery than you'd like. To make this in advance I'd blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 1 minute then drain it really well and make the casserole as usual. You can also make the casserole up to 3 days in advance and keep it in the fridge, then bake it that way. Let me know what option you go with!
I have made this many times it’s delicious! For Thanksgiving I made it the night before (fresh asparagus used). Let it cool, put in the fridge. The next day I heated it for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees before dinner. I did double the recipe so heat up time might not be as long.
Perfect adjustments, thanks for reporting back!