Quick and easy Asparagus with Sautéed Veggies; a trio of bell peppers and sweet corn finished with balsamic vinegar dressing!
Asparagus are plentiful during the spring and we sure ate our fair share since everyone in my family likes the veggie. I find that tender asparagus nicely compliments any main dish. I add them to pasta, serve them on the side with beef, fish or chicken, and they’re easy to cook too. I grill or roast them with just a light coat of olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper. It doesn’t take much for the natural succulent flavors to pop out!
I froze quite a few pounds in May so that we could enjoy them during the Fall, but apparently not enough! When I went to prepare this easy side dish, I quickly learned that we’ve already eaten our stash!
I don’t know about you, but there are times that I get something in my mind that I want to make, and I just HAVE to find a way to keep my menu in motion, so off to the store I went to find asparagus!
California usually has plenty of vegetables, even when they’re out of season, so I thought it would be no problem as I looked on the shelves at Trader Joe’s to grab a bunch. Not one fresh asparagus was to be found! Just as I was rethinking my menu, I thought, hmmm, I wonder if TJ’s has frozen asparagus spears?!
Of course they do! In fact, I was surprised to find “Grilled Asparagus Spears” in the frozen section! How cool is that? They did all the work for me. They must have known we would go through our fresh asparagus stash quick! Right away I took a close look at the package to see if they added any freaky unpronounceable ingredients, and was happy to see that the list of ingredients is simply ASPARAGUS!
I know some of my friends in Australia are just getting a crop of fresh asparagus, so I’ve included roasting and grilling instructions on the recipe. You lucky ones 🙂 For those that must resort to frozen asparagus, Trader Joe’s has kept us in mind 🙂
Asparagus with Sautéed Veggies
Simple asparagus with sautéed veggies; a trio of bell peppers and sweet corn finished with balsamic vinegar dressing! This side dish will compliment any main dish.
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus spears (grilled or roasted, see notes),
- 1 cup diced green, yellow, red bell peppers (I use all three)
- 1 cup cooked corn
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1-2 tablespoon extra-virgi olive oil for sautéing and finishing veggies
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare asparagus (see notes) and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and when hot add peppers and sauté for 5-8 minutes. Fold in cooked corn, thyme and balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil over the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.
Notes
To roast asparagus, lightly coat asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees.
To grill asparagus, lightly coat asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium-high for 3-4 minutes.
For frozen asparagus, follow directions recommended on package.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 149Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 104mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 5gSugar: 7gProtein: 5g
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.
Healing Tomato
This will make for a great and healthy lunch. Thanks for the inspiration
Sandra Shaffer
Indeed! Thanks for stopping by, Rini!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
What a pretty way to serve asparagus. I’m surprised that you couldn’t find fresh asparagus at your California market. The local market that I shop at in our rural area of New Hampshire has asparagus basically year round. I guess we are really lucky. What I don’t have though is a Trader Joes.
Sandra Shaffer
I bet if I went to another store I would have found fresh asparagus. They were definitely the first to go at Trader Joe’s!
Sandi Gaertner (@sandigtweets)
Looks delicious and healthy!!
Jen
Asparagus and balsamic is one of my favorite flavor combinations – yum! I love the addition of texture of peppers and corn too, the perfect side!
Sandra Shaffer
Thanks, Jen! We grilled steaks to go with this, but it really is a nice compliment to anything!
[email protected] Tastes Good
You are one smart cookie to think ahead and freeze some! We usually can find fresh year round in FL too, but the price sure does shoot up when they are out of season! Sadly, our closet TJ’s is over an hour away, so I don’t get there much. So glad you were able to find some frozen and make this delicious dish! Looks good!
Sandra Shaffer
Next season I’m going to be ahead of the game and try to freeze double of what I did this year. I love eating asparagus all year long!
The Food Hunter
I love asparagus and I love what you did with it. I will be making this recipe soon!
Sandra Shaffer
Thanks, Theresa! Hope you enjoy this asparagus recipe!
christine
I love asparagus but never thought to jazz it up like this. Great idea!
Sandra Shaffer
Thanks, Christine! It’s such a simple recipe and presents well too 🙂
Jamie H
I love asparagus! I think that the fact that it’s only available for a short period of time makes it more desirable. I actually saw signage at our local grocery store the other day for “new crop” asparagus, which I thought odd, and I thought it was a spring only thing.
Sandra Shaffer
Oh, wow! They must have shipped in those asparagus! We get plenty in the Spring, and then Trader Joe’s must buy them all up so we’ll buy from them in the Fall!! 😉
Mary Ellen
I’ll have to check TJ next time I go for these. I love how you served the other vegetables with it!
Sandra Shaffer
Thanks, Mary Ellen! The corn and peppers are a tasty combination!
Norma Chang
Must look in the freezer section for those asparagus next time I visit TJ. Great idea with the peppers and corn.
Sandra Shaffer
I hope your store carries the same stock of asparagus! They’re super good!
Michele @ Flavor Mosaic
I love asparagus and this looks delicious with the other vegetables. Thanks for sharing.
Sandra Shaffer
Thanks, Michele! I’m glad you like these veggies 🙂
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama
This looks like a delicious side dish! Love that you added peppers and corn to the asparagus! 🙂 And thank goodness for frozen veggies…
Sandra Shaffer
The peppers and corn just add a little bit of texture to the asparagus. I was so glad to have found these spears in the frozen section!!
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads
This looks like such a perfect recipe! The photos are gorgeous too! Thanks for sharing!
Sandra Shaffer
Thank you, Sheena for the sweet comment! Healthy side dish is always a good choice 😉