This easy, cheesy Asparagus Casserole is a simple spring dish made with fresh asparagus, eggs, bacon, and homemade cheese sauce.

serving Asparagus Casserole


 

This easy asparagus casserole is a classic southern side dish made with fresh asparagus, hard boiled eggs, and bacon all smothered in a homemade cheese sauce and topped with buttery Ritz cracker crumbs.

It’s a great casserole for spring celebrations like Easter brunch or Easter dinner. It goes perfectly with a ham dinner.

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ingredients for Asparagus Casserole

Ingredients You’ll Need

To make this easy asparagus casserole recipe is perfect for Easter brunch or dinner. You’ll need:

  • Asparagus – Fresh asparagus spears.
  • Butter – You can use the butter you have on hand, either salted or unsalted.
  • Flour – We use regular all purpose flour for this.
  • Whole Milk + Water– This adds some additional creaminess as it cooks.
  • Salt – We use Kosher salt for this recipe. 
  • Gruyere cheese – You could use a different hard cheese such as cheddar cheese if you prefer, but we love the mild flavor of Gruyere, which is a swiss cheese, and we also love how it perfectly melts into a dish without being oily. 
  • Hard-boiled eggs – Boil your own or buy them already cooked at the grocery store. It is a great dish for using up those hard boiled Easter eggs.
  • Bacon – You can use your preferred flavor and brand.
  • RITZ crackers – Cracker crumbs on top of a casserole is a southern thing, we put them on our pineapple casserole too, but you could also use panko breadcrumbs, regular bread crumbs, fried onions, or other crunchy topping you like.

This simple casserole with asparagus is similar to green bean casserole with a homemade cheese sauce instead of cream of mushroom soup and asparagus instead of canned green beans.

Cook a few extra hardboiled eggs when you’re preparing your deviled eggs and throw in some classic macaroni salad and you have yourself a meal!

Picking the Right Asparagus

You’ll want to use fresh asparagus for this dish. No frozen or pre-cooked asparagus as it will be too mushy.

The weight indicated in the recipe is the weight before the asparagus is trimmed. We did that so you can weight it at the grocery store and know you have the right amount.

That being said the amount of asparagus you’ll need can vary depending on the thickness of your asparagus. this weight was for thin asparagus about the width of a pencil.

If you use thicker asparagus you’ll want to make sure you get enough so that when it is cut up it can make 2 layers that will cover your dish. 

Instructions

Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

A bunch of steamed asparagus on a white paper to make Asparagus Casserole

Step 2 – Prep the asparagus. First, trim the asparagus ends and then divide into two bunches. Wrap each bunch of asparagus in a wet paper towel and then microwave each bunch separately for 2 to 3 minutes a piece or until the asparagus is tender but still a bit of a bite to them.

The amount of time you need to steam your asparagus will totally depending on the thickness. Thick asparagus will take longer than thin asparagus so make sure not to over cook it!

Cut the asparagus spears into 1 inch pieces.

Step 3 – Prepare the eggs and bacon. Roughly chop the eggs and cooked bacon into small pieces. 

how to make Asparagus Casserole with hard boiled eggs and bacon

Step 4 – Layer. Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray, olive oil or some melted butter. 

Spread half of the asparagus over the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle chopped eggs and bacon over the asparagus. Spread the remaining asparagus over the top. 

Melted cheese in a pan on a white surface to make asparagus casserole

Step 5 – Make the cream sauce. In a medium saucepan, over medium high heat, melt the butter and then quickly whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until the roux turns a light golden brown and then whisk in the milk and water. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and then add the salt and continue to cook until the sauce begins to thicken. This should take about 3 to 5 minutes.

Finally, add the cheese and continue to stir until it is fully incorporated.

Asparagus Casserole made with crushed Ritz cracker on top

Step 6 – Pour in the sauce and bake. Pour the sauce over the ingredients in the baking dish. I like to give it a shake or two to help the sauce get down between all of the layers. 

Crush the RITZ crackers, don’t go crazy you don’t want a fine powder leave some chunks of crackers too. 

Sprinkle the crackers over the top of the dish. 

Step 7 – Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cracker crumbles are lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. This gives the sauce a little time to cool down and set up a bit. 

Asparagus Casserole made with hard boiled eggs and bacon

How to Steam Asparagus in the Microwave

This is our easy tip for quickly steaming your asparagus in the microwave:

  1. Trim asparagus ends
  2. Wet a paper towel with water and wring it out so that it isn’t dripping.
  3. Wrap the paper towel around the asparagus bunch and place in the microwave.
  4. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave.
  5. When it comes out of the microwave, it will be perfectly steamed: softened but with just a little bit of a bite to it.

If you would prefer not to use the microwave, you can always steam the asparagus the traditional way with a pot of boiling water on the stove top.

Alternate Toppings

We use Ritz crackers on top because that’s the southern thing to do! Of course, you can play around with different toppings if you want to change things up. The key is to make it something crunchy to add a little texture to the dish. 

Some alternate toppings we recommend include:

  • Parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs mixed together with a small amount of butter
  • Regular bread crumbs mixed with a small amount of butter
  • Crispy fried onions, the kind you would find on green bean casserole
  • Your favorite crushed up crackers
serving Asparagus Casserole topped with Ritz

How to Store and Reheat

First, allow the casserole to cool completely and store in a sealed, airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

To reheat, place a single slice in the microwave for 2 to 2.5 minutes or cover the casserole dish with foil and heat  in the oven at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes or until warmed through. 

We do not recommend freezing the casserole since the asparagus doesn’t hold up well. 

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Servings: 10
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Asparagus Casserole

This easy, cheesy Asparagus Casserole is a simple spring dish made with fresh asparagus, eggs, bacon, and homemade cheese sauce.
serving Asparagus Casserole
Print Recipe
4.50 from 16 votes

Ingredients

  • 2.5 pounds Fresh asparagus, see note 1
  • 4 Hard-boiled eggs
  • 8 slices Cooked bacon, approximately 2 ounces cooked
  • 10 RITZ crackers, crumbled
  • 4 tablespoons Butter
  • 4 tablespoons Flour
  • 1 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 8 ounces Gruyere, grated

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Trim the asparagus ends. Divide into two bunches and wrap each bunch of asparagus in a wet paper towel.
  • One at a time microwave the asparagus bunches for 2-3 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave) until the asparagus is tender but still has a crunch to it.
  • Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
  • Roughly chop the hard boiled eggs and the cooked bacon. Set aside.
  • Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Spread half of the asparagus over the bottom of the dish.
  • Sprinkle chopped eggs and bacon over the asparagus.
  • Spread the remaining asparagus over the top.
  • In a medium saucepan, over medium high heat, melt the butter and then quickly whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the roux turns a light golden brown and then whisk in the milk and water.
  • Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth. Add the salt and continue to cook until the sauce begins to thicken, approximately 3-5 minutes.
  • Add the cheese continue to stir until it is fully incorporated.
  • Pour the sauce over the ingredients in the casserole dish. Give the dish a little shake to help the sauce get between the layers.
  • Crush the Ritz crackers, leave some chunks you don’t want a fine powder. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
  • Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cracker crumbles are lightly browned.
  • Remove and serve.

Notes

  1. This is the weight before the asparagus is trimmed. The weight of asparagus can vary depending on the thickness of your asparagus. You want enough to make 2 layers that will cover your dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 2g, Calories: 265kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 122mg, Sodium: 432mg, Potassium: 368mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 1378IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 319mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition Disclaimer: We are not certified nutritionists. Nutrition facts are an estimate and are provided as a courtesy. They are generated by an online API which recognizes ingredient names and amounts and makes calculations based on the serving size. Results may vary.
Author: Kat Jeter & Melinda Caldwell
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: asparagus casserole, asparagus casserole recipe, casserole with asparagus, recipe for asparagus casserole
Handwritten signature for Kat & Melinda

This recipe was originally published in 4/25/2019. It was republished with updated instructions and new photos on 3/30/2022/