Cheesy Asparagus Casserole Keto Recipe
This Asparagus Casserole Keto Recipe is easy to make and delicious. Made with fresh asparagus, a creamy cheese sauce, and crunchy bacon, everyone will love this keto-friendly comfort food side dish.
Cheesy Baked Asparagus Casserole Keto Recipe
Cheesy baked asparagus casserole is easy to make and delicious. With a delicious creamy alfredo sauce and bacon crumbles, this hearty low carb casserole pairs perfectly with steak, a bunless burger, or grilled pork chops for a few ideas. The keto diet doesn’t have to be boring. There are so many ways you can change meals for variety.
Below you’ll find a step-by-step tutorial with pictures and tips. The complete recipe with the full list of ingredients and instructions is at the bottom of the post in the printable recipe card.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees, wash and trim asparagus spears. Then place them in a 9 X 13 baking dish.
Is it important to trim fresh asparagus for this keto casserole?
Yes, the hard pale end of the asparagus lacks the moisture that the rest of the asparagus has, making it dry and wood-like. If you do not trim the asparagus, the whole stalk will become chewy, stringy, and hard to eat, but don’t worry, trimming asparagus is super easy!
How do I trim asparagus?
There are multiple ways to trim fresh asparagus. You can peel the bottom until the tough woody outside is removed, leaving the more tender juicy part of the asparagus. You can pinch the end part and bend until it snaps, or line all of your asparagus up on a cutting board and chop the ends off. Here are detailed steps if a visual is more helpful.
Step 2: Add cream cheese, heavy cream, chicken broth, butter, garlic powder, and other seasonings to a saucepan. Turn stovetop onto medium heat, and stir until it’s combined.
Tip: If you do not have garlic powder on hand, 1/4 tsp is equivalent to 2 garlic cloves, similarily you can use 1 tsp of minced garlic.
Step 3: Simmer the cream sauce until the heavy whipping cream begins to reduce and thicken. Continue to whisk so that the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Step 4: Add parmesan and Monterrey Jack cheese. Stir until the cheeses are melted, and the sauce is completely smooth.
Step Six: Pour the cheese sauce over the asparagus, then top with mozzarella cheese and crushed red pepper. This will add a slight kick to this asparagus casserole. Feel free to leave it out if you are serving little ones or are sensitive to spicy foods.
Step 7: Bake the casserole for approx 15 minutes then cover with bacon crumbles. If you prefer your asparagus to be crunchier, you may want to adjust the cooking time down.
Tip: When cooking bacon for this recipe, line a baking sheet with parchment paper before putting bacon on the sheet. Then place in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until it reaches the desired amount of doneness. By placing parchment paper over the baking sheet, you significantly reduce the amount of cleaning needed.
Step 8: Finally, bake the cheesy asparagus casserole recipe for an additional 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste if needed, and enjoy.
Is asparagus keto?
Yes! One cup asparagus contains 7 grams of carbs and 3 grams of fiber, making it only 4 grams of net carbs per cup.
If I have thinner asparagus is the bake time affected?
It comes down to preference and how crunchy or tender you like asparagus. However, thinner asparagus is going to cook faster than thicker asparagus, so you may need to reduce the baking time by a couple of minutes.
What do I eat with this?
This keto asparagus casserole pairs great with the following:
- Steak
- Grilled Chicken Wings
- Brisket
- Keto Pulled Pork
- Bunless Burgers
- Mississippi Chicken
Can I use other vegetables instead of asparagus in this recipe?
Yes, you can use whatever type of keto-friendly veggie you’d like! Perhaps try fresh green beans, zucchini, cauliflower, or Brussel sprouts for a nice change of pace.
Can I make this ahead?
This asparagus side is easy to make. You can also make it in advance by following all of the steps in the recipe card except baking it in the oven. When you are ready to bake it, warm it slowly by putting it in the oven while the oven is preheating then following the remaining steps in the recipe card below. Warming it slowly is very important to keep the sauce from separating. It may take a few extra minutes to bake since it has been refrigerated.
More Keto Side Dishes
- Keto Air Fryer Roasted Green Bean Recipe
- Cheesy Keto Brussels Sprouts and Bacon
- Keto Green Bean Casserole Recipe
- 10 Easy Keto Side Dishes
- 37 Keto & Low Carb Casserole Recipes You Must Try
Cheesy Asparagus Casserole Keto Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 bunches asparagus
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/8 cup pepper jack cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim the asparagus, then grease the 9 X 13 baking pan and lay them in it. See how to trim asparagus in the notes below.
- In a skillet melt butter on medium heat, then add softened cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, chicken broth, garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Continuously whisk until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Reduce to a medium/low heat and allow the sauce to simmer gently boiling until the heavy whipping cream has reduced and thickened. Keep whisking so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. It will take a few minutes for the sauce to reduce and thicken.
- Once it has thickened, add the parmesan and pepper jack cheese then continue to stir until the cheeses melt and the sauce is smooth.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the asparagus down the middle of the casserole dish, avoiding the tops of the asparagus. Next, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and crushed red pepper flakes on top of the cheese sauce. (Make sure to check out the process pics above the recipe card.)
- Bake for 15 minutes. If you prefer crunchier asparagus, you can reduce the baking time for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from oven and add bacon crumbles to the top.
- Bake for another 3 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
How do I trim asparagus?
There are multiple ways to trim fresh asparagus. You can peel the bottom until the tough woody outside is removed, leaving the more tender juicy part of the asparagus. You can pinch the end part and bend until it snaps, or line all of your asparagus up on a cutting board and chop the ends off. Here are detailed steps if a visual is more helpful.If I have thinner asparagus is the bake time affected?
It comes down to preference and how crunchy or tender you like asparagus. However, thinner asparagus is going to cook faster than thicker asparagus, so you may need to reduce the baking time by a couple of minutes.Can I use other vegetables instead of asparagus in this recipe?
Yes, you can use whatever type of keto-friendly veggie you'd like! Perhaps try fresh green beans, zucchini, cauliflower, or Brussel sprouts for a nice change of pace.Can I make this ahead?
This asparagus side is easy to make. You can also make it in advance by following all of the steps in the recipe card except baking it in the oven. When you are ready to bake it, warm it slowly by putting it in the oven while the oven is preheating then following the remaining steps in the recipe card below. Warming it slowly is very important to keep the sauce from separating. It may take a few extra minutes to bake since it has been refrigerated.Nutrition
I would suggest adding “9×13” as the size baking dish to use, would be helpful. š
Hi Shelly, in the process pictures under the very first one it did say to use a 9X13 pan. Since I know some people skip all the added tips and process pics, I also added it to the recipe card. Thanks for the feedback.
could you substitute canned or frozen asparagus for fresh?
I’ve only made it as is. I would thing that frozen would work, but you would likely need to adjust the cooking time.
Hi, in the recipe instructions you said Monterey Jack, in the recipe you said pepper jack. Which do you use? And also, is it really only a half an ounce of cream cheese?
It doesn’t really matter which one you use. Pepper Jack gives a little kick. Yes, it is only a half an ounce of cream cheese.
This was excellent! My husband loved it! I’m not sure why but after 15 minutes it was still hard. They were the thin stalks from Aldi’s. So I covered them and cooked them 20 minutes more. just right!
I’m curious about the amount of Cream Cheese as well. 1/2 oz. doesn’t seem like it would even be worth opening a package of Cream Cheese!
It is the correct amount but you are welcome to use more or less if you’d like to alter the recipe.
When it says 1/2 oz cream cheese does that mean 1/2 of 1 oz or 1/2 of 8 oz package?
It means 1/2 of an ounce or 1.2 of 1 ounce.
Cream Cheese comes in 8oz block. You mentioned just using a 1/2oz.
I’m not sure if that would be enough, hmmmm..?
It worked out great, but you can always use more if you’d like.
It;s such a small amount, could it be omitted? I have all the ingredients except cream cheese, LOL!
I’ve only made it as is but it’s worth a try.
That looks amazingly good!
That sauce is amazing! I think I could eat it on anything!
Yay! That is a win. So glad you loved it.
Been on keto a week. This meal has been the highlight! Itās amazing and I literally could eat the whole pan!
Awesome! So glad yo loved it.
Sauce is delicious but you did not specify to cover the asparagus and when you do not cover it comes out tasting raw
I did not cover the asparagus. I did mention thinner asparagus may require a shorter baking time and to adjust cooking time according to your preference. The cooking time is a bit subjective depending on how thick your asparagus is as a thicker asparagus would cook more slowly and every oven cooks differently.
Omg this is really good
Awesome! So glad you loved it!
Delicious!, made only one change. Laid the asperagus over a bed of fresh spinach. Turned out GREAT! Thank you for the recipe!
Great! So glad you enjoyed it.
This is a fabulous almost vegetarian dish. I used a large bag of Asparagus from Costco (made two layers of Asparagus). put a little broth on the bottom of the 9X13. Used 1/3 c of Pepper Jack. Baked 20 minutes, added bacon and baked for 5 min more. Perfect!! Used as main course for two (with a little saved for tomorrow’s lunch) and didn’t need any other dishes.
Perfect! Costco has the best deals on veggies. Thanks so much.
I made this for Easter dinner. My grandson said it “it is the bomb”! Loved by all. Was told it definitely was a keeper recipe. I used 3 pounds of medium circumference asparagus. Blanche 2 minutes, then put in cold icy water, for a few minutes, lay on towel to dry. Then followed the recipe doubling remaining ingredients. Baked 10 mins 400 degrees, added bacon and baked 4 minutes more. Loved this delicious way to make asparagus!
I’m glad you all enjoyed it.
I was never much of an asparagus eater but this was the best ever!
So glad you loved it, Cindy. It’s my favorite way to enjoy asparagus.
This was amazing! I would never know it was low carb.